For sale: Canada's railway hotels

Buyers attracted by the 'story' behind the properties built to resemble castles

Published Wed, Jul 2, 2014 · 10:00 PM

[OTTAWA] The age when rail travel dominated in Canada has long passed. But the railway-built hotels that era left behind have retained much of that period's glory and glamour.

Now a decision by Ivanhoé Cambridge, which is owned by Quebec's largest investment fund, to largely eliminate hotels from its holdings has put a handful of Canada's most famous landmarks on the market.

First to go last year was the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, a turreted, stone-clad castle that was home to some prime ministers and which is often assumed by some tourists to be part of the neighbouring Parliament buildings.