​​Press Room

Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, December 21, 2022 - While its snow and ice building site has been in full swing for a few weeks, today Hôtel de Glace will unveil the artistic theme that will headline the 2023 season. Night life is undoubtedly very inspiring and mysterious. Hôtel de Glace’s mission is to reveal the dark of the night's greatest secrets with night life inspired backdrops and themes. From Halloween to Greek mythology, through the realm of dreams, astronomy, the First Nations, dance and much more, you will be mesmerized by the charm of this one-of-a-kind and ephemeral work of art.

An Exceptional Postcard of Québec’s Winter

For over 20 years, Hôtel de Glace has been a key tourist attraction for the region, inviting both locals and international travellers to discover this unique North American destination.

"The purpose of this annual theme is to entice our visitors and expose them to a unique art form. The Québec City area stands out with its winter tourist attractions, and Village Vacances Valcartier and Hôtel de Glace are a must for anyone visiting the region" explains Sylvain Lauzon, CEO and Chief Operating Officer of the Calypso Valcartier Group.

New " Partnership with Défi Évasion! "

Hôtel de Glace and Défi Évasion are joining forces this year to introduce an enigmatic pathway that will be available all winter. In addition to contemplating the architectural and ice sculptures beauties, this year, visitors can also enjoy finding answers to enigmas and trying to solve the ultimate challenge. Additionally, as tradition has it, young and old have access to a fun zone, where the big ice slide can be found.

Massive Building for an Early Opening

About 50 people work on the structure each year, a project that takes about 6 weeks to complete. Whether it's the snow, ice, machinery or artists’ teams, work is ongoing day and night in order to open to the public as soon as possible. While Hôtel de Glace offers lodging as early as January 4, 2023, it plans to open its doors to daily visitors as soon as possible during the holiday season. Needless to say, Mother Nature's collaboration will be decisive in determining the exact opening date.

Note: it is now possible to enjoy the pleasures of winter as the Winter Playground opened its doors on December 17 with its tubing activity.

Under the Leadership of President and COO Sylvain Lauzon, Calypso-Valcartier Group Resort and Water Parks Joins Premier Parks, LLC

Premier Parks, North America’s Largest Independent Operator of Parks and Visitor Attractions, Acquires the Operations on June 2, 2022

Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Québec (June 2, 2022) – Active in the organization for close to 15 years, Calypso-Valcartier Group President and COO, Sylvain Lauzon, is set to lead Eastern Canada’s largest leisure destination into a new era of unforgettable experiences as the iconic resort company welcomes a new property owner – EPR Properties, and new management – Premier Parks, LLC. The company will continue to be led by Lauzon with the added benefit of industry experts bringing more than 250 combined years of theme and water park experience to the well-loved resort destination.

“We are truly thrilled to be joining Premier Parks, leveraging the company’s substantial expertise to continue our history of growth and unparalleled guest experiences,” said Lauzon. “There is simply no other group in our industry that has more experience designing, building and operating visitor attractions. We look forward to working together to grow our parks and continue to offer unforgettable memories for our visitors.”

Premier Parks has no plans to make organizational changes and are committed to work together to ensure continuity of business activities. Local jobs have been secured and each park’s distinct flavor will be featured as a strong sales attraction in its specific market.

“This is a very exciting time to welcome Village Vacances Valcartier and Calypso to our family of parks,” said Premier Parks CEO, Kieran Burke. “Quebec is a very special market and we are committed to honor the Drouin family legacy, not change the essence of what has been built here and loved by so many in Eastern Canada. We have great respect and confidence in the current management teams and in the leadership of Sylvain Lauzon.”

After an amazing business success story, the Drouin family has made a difficult decision. While they will no longer be involved, they are extremely confident in the leadership and excited by the new opportunities now available for Calypso-Valcartier Group. They are convinced that this transition is the best option to ensure the future of the parks, their employees, the local community, and the attractions. 

Calypso-Valcartier Group, now part of the Premier Parks family includes:

Calypso Waterpark - Canada’s largest water park features 35 water rides and slides including the tallest water slide tower in Canada, two immersive themed rivers, and the largest wave pool in Canada, located 35 kilometers east of Ottawa in Limoges, Ontario.

Village Vacances Valcartier – Located in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, this dynamic tourist and leisure complex includes a wide range of overnight accommodations, the largest winter playground in North America and two water parks. Just 20 minutes north of Quebec City, Village Vacances Valcartier offers full-time fun 365 days a year.

• Hotel Valcartier, a premium four-star resort hotel with 153 rooms, group meeting space, multiple-themed dining experiences and retail shops, and the upscale Aroma Spa, offering a thermal experience and complete personal care;
• Bora Parc, a huge 102,000-square-foot indoor Polynesian-themed water park with 14 water slides, a large family pool, immersive adventure river, double wave surf machine and warm 86 degrees water all year round;
• Valcartier Outdoor Water Park, with 35 water slides, 100 water games, two themed rivers and a gigantic wave pool;
• Hôtel de Glace, the famous ice hotel welcomes more than 100,000 winter visitors each year, with charming artisan inspired themed suites, a grand hall, a chilling ice bar and the breathtaking chapel;
• Valcartier Winter Playground, the largest winter slide complex in North America, features 35 thrilling snow tube slides, the Himalaya high-speed slope, Mont Avalanche with unique snow rafting, and Everest, with 110 feet drop that is the steepest, highest acceleration slide in the country; and
• Camping Valcartier, located in a beautiful natural wooded area near the hotel and water park, offers over 600 sites for tents, trailers and RVs.

About Valcartier-Calypso Group

Valcartier-Calypso Group operates Calypso, an outdoor water park located in Limoges, Ontario, and Village Vacances Valcartier, an all-inclusive resort located in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, 20 minutes from Quebec City.  Village Vacances Valcartier includes the Hôtel Valcartier, a four-star hotel with 153 rooms, the Aroma Spa, offering a thermal experience and complete personal care, the Bora Parc a huge indoor water park displaying 86 degrees all year round, the famous Hôtel de Glace, an ephemeral structure unique in North America, an outdoor water park, as well as the largest winter playground in North America. Groupe Calypso Valcartier offers entertainment for the whole family, 365 days a year.

About Premier Parks, LLC:

Premier Parks, LLC owns, operates and manages theme parks, water parks, accommodations and multi-use venues throughout the US and Canada. As North America’s largest independent operator of visitor attractions and experiences, Premier Parks leverages more than 250 years of combined experience to improve financial performance and profit.

Premier Parks’ current portfolio of thirteen diverse properties includes Wet ‘n’ Wild water parks in Toronto and Hawaii;  Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier; City Museum in St. Louis; Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park in Denver; Wild Waves Theme & Water Park in Seattle; Nashville Shores Lakeside Resort; Ocean Breeze Waterpark in Virginia Beach; Hawaiian Falls The Colony and Garland water parks in Dallas; Magic Springs Theme & Water Park in Hot Springs; Island H2O Water Park in Orlando and Rapids Water Park in West Palm Beach.

About EPR Properties

EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) is the leading diversified experiential net lease real estate investment trust (REIT), specializing in select enduring experiential properties in the real estate industry. We focus on real estate venues which create value by facilitating out of home leisure and recreation experiences where consumers choose to spend their discretionary time and money. We have nearly $6.5 billion in total investments across 44 states. We adhere to rigorous underwriting and investing criteria centered on key industry, property and tenant level cash flow standards. We believe our focused approach provides a competitive advantage and the potential for stable and attractive returns. Further information is available at www.eprkc.com.

SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, December 10, 2019 - The Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) is pulling out all the stops to mark its 20th anniversary, with a very special edition held under the theme, “20 Years of Magic.” “Through an overview of the past 20 years at Hôtel de Glace, visitors are invited to relive the best moments of this world-famous winter attraction,” says Sylvain Lauzon, president and chief operating officer at Calypso-Valcartier Group.

“The Hôtel de Glace 2020 offers the best of each past edition,” explain Lauzon. “We wanted to pay tribute to the best moments from the past 20 years, but also try something new by giving our artists even more creative freedom.” 

The 2020 edition of Hôtel de Glace promises to impress visitors from every continent who come to marvel at the stunning and ever-so-grandiose masterpiece. With its 20 themed suites commemorating 20 years of magic, the Hôtel de Glace is sure to offer guests a breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime winter experience.  

Québec City takes centre stage

With the support of Québec City Tourism, artists have paid tribute to the Greater Québec City area—where the Hôtel de Glace has been located since its very beginning—by creating a vast recreational space, the Fun Zone. It plans to dazzle its visitors with a swirl of lights on ice, an enchanted forest, and a snow sculpture of the Saint-Louis gate. Throughout the Hôtel de Glace, and even in some of the rooms, guests can enjoy sculptures and artworks that evoke the beauty of our region.

“Already 20 years of innovation, beauty and eye-catching splendour at the Hôtel de Glace! By all means, this calls for a big celebration, and here at Québec City Tourism, we’re proud to partner with Valcartier Vacation Village for this milestone event centred around the Québec City area and its winter wonderland. The Hôtel de Glace, an iconic, stand-alone attraction for our beautiful destination, has put us on the map, attracting visitors from all over the world, not to mention that it perfectly embodies winter in all its magical splendour. We encourage Greater Québec City area residents to rediscover the Hôtel de Glace and invite visitors to fully immerse themselves in this Nordic experience,” says Benoît Pigeon, director at Québec City Tourism.

Every year, about 100,000 visitors come to experience and enjoy North America’s one and only ice hotel. Over the past 20 years, nearly two million tours and close to 70,000 overnight stays have warmed the Hôtel de Glace walls.

 Celebrating a milestone

To mark its 20 years, the Hôtel de Glace will come alive to host a number of activities and events scheduled throughout the season. Between late December and March 29, 2020, visitors can celebrate this anniversary edition with a tour of the themed suites, ice bar, and ice chapel.

As of 7:00 p.m. on January 17, everyone is invited to attend the Desjardins Grand Opening Night featuring an outdoor performance by the popular music band 2Frères. At around 9:00 p.m., visitors onsite can feast their eyes and ears on the impressive firework show to kick off the 20th season of Hôtel de Glace.

Among the many activities to include on your winter calendar this year, make sure to pencil in a story-time visit with Bonhomme Carnaval on January 24, Singles Night on February 14, and Arctic Spas’ spring awakening, a family-friendly activity to be held on the last weekend of the season, March 28 and 29.

Details of these events and a number of others will be announced on both the Hôtel de Glace and Valcartier Vacation Village social media platforms.

 Winter’s finally here in Valcartier!

 The winter season kicks off this Saturday, December 14, at Valcartier Vacation Village. Children and adults are in for a real treat with the snow slides and skateway, while Bora Parc’s indoor water park offers visitors the one and only year-long tropical experience in eastern Canada.

Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, June 11, 2019 – On the eve of our Outdoor Waterpark’s official opening for the summer, Mr. Sylvain Lauzon, President and Chief Operating Officer for Groupe Calypso Valcartier, revealed the ELDORADO sliding facility, a brand-new attraction for Village Vacances Valcartier. The tower, which can hold up to 6 different slides, is a 10 million dollars investment that will unfold over the next 6 to 8 years. This July, SALTO AND LIANA, our first two slides offering extreme sensations, will be open to visitors.

A facility with multiple slides

“ELDORADO is much more than the two slides we are introducing today. On a horizon of 6 to 8 years, 4 more slides will be added, promising fun for the entire family. Beside the thrills that SALTO and LIANA provide, we will have the possibility of adding multi-user slides or rollercoaster-type slides,” explained Mr. Lauzon.

ELDORADO is a lengthy process which required a year of preparation. In the pipeline since the beginning of 2018, the sliding facility is 100% manufactured by Canadian and Quebec-based companies. “All our suppliers were selected with care to maximize our investments’ economic benefits. The Canadian expertise of WhiteWater is recognised throughout the world and we are proud to offer our clients local products,” added Sylvain Lauzon.

An offering that is constantly renewed

“Novelty and client experience have always been at the center of Village Vacances Valcartier’s priorities. We have always listened to our clients and we are constantly thinking up new ways to stand out by improving our offering. Great examples are the addition, in 2016, of the Hôtel de Glace as well as the construction of Bora Park and Hôtel Valcartier, projects representing $75M. Investments announced today meet our visitor’s requests to feel all the thrills and feels,” explained Sylvain Lauzon.

“At both Bora Parc and Calypso, the most popular slides are those offering the most extreme thrills, in particular Aqualoops, Capsule and Chute libre. SALTO and LIANA will assuredly please our visitors this summer.”

About the ELDORADO facility

• Tower almost as high as a 10-floor building
• Possibility of holding 6 slides
• SALTO and LIANA opening as soon as July, free-fall type slides banking on G force and thrills
• Drop speed of 15 meters per second, or about 50 km/h for SALTO and LIANA
• 2019 new slides reserved for people 1,32m and taller
• Standing position in SALTO and LIANA
• Facility entirely manufactured in Canada
• Steel structure produced and assembled in Quebec
• More slides to be added in phases 2 and 3 coming over the next 8 years
• Total investment of $10M
• Investment for phase 1: $2,3M

“It is with great pride that Desjardins Business is collaborating to this great announcement. It is for us a privilege and more than anything a testimony of trust in our experts. For more than 10 years now, we have been gladly standing by a local business that keeps on evolving and creating much to the delight and wonder of clients of all ages,” mentioned Stéphane Pageau, Vice President Major Accounts for Eastern Quebec at Desjardins Business.

“The success of Village Vacances Valcartier has always been based on innovation, development and infrastructure renewal. Today’s announcement is directly aligned with the adventure created by Guy Drouin and still continued today by our administrators, Mathieu, Simon and Jérôme Drouin,” concluded Sylvain Lauzon, President and Head and Operations for Groupe Calypso Valcartier.

About Village Vacances Valcartier

Village Vacances Valcartier, located 20 minutes from Quebec City, is a must-visit destination for families who are looking for fun and excitement all year round. On top of the resort's outdoor waterpark, the summer offering of Village Vacances Valcartier includes 4-star hotel Hôtel Valcartier, a 600-site campground and 7 rustic cabins, as well as Aroma Spa and Bora Parc, an indoor waterpark open year-round. Village Vacances Valcartier is a leading major economic driver in Quebec’s tourism and recreation industry and employs over 650 employees in peak season. Visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, the outdoor waterpark opens on June 12 at 10 o’clock. For more information, visit www.valcartier.com.

SAINT-GABRIEL-DE-VALCARTIER, December 13, 2018 - In its 19th season, the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) in Valcartier Vacation Village nature abounds with its new theme: Hotel Gardens. From snow gardens to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the nature theme has opened up countless opportunities for artists and artisans taking part in designing the ephemeral hotel’s entire new theme. To impress its visitors, the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) will cover over 42,000 ft2—that’s 40% more surface area than last year—and will feature both the largest bar and biggest lobby to date.

An inspiring theme
Artistic director Pierre L’Heureux is behind the unique concept for 2019. “Landscape art inspired the aesthetics for the Hôtel de Glace’s (Ice Hotel) 19th edition. We’re exploring a winter garden concept, among others, to make it a place where nature, including winter, can create charming, pleasant, and comfortable spaces."

Erected on the Valcartier Vacation Village site for a third year, the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) offers a unique experience to nearly 100,000 visitors each year. "The Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) is now part of the amazing experience that Valcartier Vacation Village offers its winter visitors. Through combining the unique sensory experience of the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) with the comfort and charm of a stay at Hôtel Valcartier, we promise our guests an unforgettable experience," explains Sylvain Lauzon, President and Chief Operating Officer of Calypso Valcartier Group. "This year, for the first time ever, the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) lobby is curved; it’s an architectural innovation and an exciting challenge that our technical team has handled brilliantly. This new feature is in line with the Valcartier Vacation Village tradition of innovation.”

On the eve of its 20th anniversary, the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) has outdone itself yet again. This winter, 42 rooms and theme suites will host guests who have come to enjoy a peaceful, quiet night at the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel). Year after year, around fifty artists and sculptors shape the snow and ice for more than a month to create a magical universe comprising a chapel, several bars, a huge indoor slide, an impressive chandelier, and the various rooms with furniture entirely made of ice, where close to 4,000 people come to spend the night.

Events throughout the entire season
From the end of December until March 24, we invite visitors from all over the world to marvel and celebrate winter at North America’s one and only Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel). We have a special evening planned on December 31 to ring in 2019 in style, and come December 27th, visitors will be able to spend the night in a room carved entirely from snow and ice.

To mark the close of the artists’ work and highlight the official opening of the 2019 edition, the Grande Soirée Inaugurale Desjardins—a must for all Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) visitors—will take place on January 18. The festivities, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., will feature entertainment, a pop/rock concert, and colourful fireworks. On this same night, we will announce the three winners of the ephemeral architectural competition.

Several other events will also be added to the winter activity schedule, including those organized in collaboration with the Quebec Winter Carnival. Details will be announced on both the Hôtel de Glace (Ice Hotel) and Valcartier Vacation Village social media accounts.

It's winter in Valcartier!
The winter season kicks off this Saturday, December 15, at Valcartier Vacation Village. The slides and skating trails will once again delight both children and adults, while Bora Park, will continue to offer its visitors a unique tropical experience in Eastern Canada throughout the winter. For information, visit www.valcartier.com

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Appendix: 3D Illustration ©Atelier 21 Source: Ice Hotel Information and interviews:
Marie-Eve Doyon
Media Relations Coordinator
media@valcartier.com
Tel.: 418-844-2200 ext. 2309