The financial woes of China Evergrande, owner of Canada's storied Chateau Montebello, are causing worries among local municipal leaders, workers, guests and even tourism rivals
Evergrande, a once fast-growing Chinese property company that became the country’s second-largest developer, acquired the 211-room Chateau Montebello hotel in 2014.
Edmond Kingsbury, who owns the rival Petit Chateau Montebello bed and breakfast down the road from the big Chateau, says village residents are keenly aware that Evergrande is, as he puts it, “in big financial trouble.” His friends include several resort workers. The 21-hectare property includes cross-country skiing and hiking trails, indoor and outdoor pools, an 18-hole golf course, skating and curling. The hotel opened to the public in 1970, and everyone can see its gem: a spectacular six-sided, three-storey stone fireplace. Its hearth and chimney tower 20 metres above the large lobby.
“I was absolutely shocked. I was embarrassed for them,” Samantha said after her arrival. Lobby furniture was tattered and torn, carpets were taped, and exterior buildings were “a shambles,” she said. “It was shameful. I was horrified. People didn’t seem to care.”Andrew McIntosh / Global NewsA longtime Chateau Montebello employee says her reaction was not unusual. “A lot of people are making comments about the state of the buildings,” the worker said.
The conditions Samantha and others described online were confirmed by Global News during our own recent hotel visit. Decay started at its front gate and continued to the main entrance. Though some repairs were done by a log cabin specialist woodworker in 2018-2019, the Chateau Montebello worker said, the man left for a higher-paying job.
No deal price was disclosed, but the Guangzhou, China-based developer’s acquisition was a showy symbol of corporate China flexing its geopolitical power and influence.The Evergrande Group’s former headquarters in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province. It relocated from there in 2021 to reduce costs. Trading in the Chinese property developer’s shares has been suspended by the Hong Kong stock exchange. .
Against those dark skies, more than 1,100 furious Chinese consumers are suing an Evergrande subsidiary, alleging it took their money but never delivered apartments. “They told us not to worry. They said that they would keep sending money and pay people, and they are keeping us paid,” this person said.Advertisement
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