Harvey Bourgeois always loved an old house in his hometown Chéticamp, located on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. He had moved out to Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories to pursue his entrepreneurial ideas but his dream was to open an inn back home. He and Steve Dinham bought the 1895 historical house when it came up for sale and began to renovate it into a bed and breakfast inn.
The transformation took a full year to complete and during that time, local resident Lyne Larade was thinking about changing her life. After 20 years of working in a non-challenging environment she decided to reach out to Harvey as she was considering getting into the innkeeping business. Harvey checked out her credentials before their meeting and offered her the job on the spot.
"Harvey spent a lot of money on restoring and turning the house into an inn, it was a gamble, I was the first innkeeper when it opened and we haven’t looked back. I got to decide on the furniture and decorating, it was exciting.”
Now open for four years, the quaintness is what the guests love. All eight rooms have private baths and patios that look out to the water and the beautiful view on Cape Breton Island. People love the inn - it gives the feeling of being in a beautiful home, it’s and quiet and surreal. Lyne and staff help guests choose an outing or adventure, whale watching, museums and more. “The culture here is a French Acadian village.”
Breakfast is classic here and Lyne says, "We love simple and serve ham, bacon and eggs of all sorts. We feature the nearby Aucoin Bakery they make the best bread and sweets and the inn uses their bread for the French toast - it is the best!"
Lyne has met so many people and loves every minute. And as for Harvey, he's still in the NWTs and loving his life there letting Lyne and staff run the business at home.
"We don't have a spa but I love it that our guests leave like they have just had a massage, they leave very relaxed and happy"
Maison Fiset House
15050 Cabot Trail Road
Chéticamp, Nova Scotia
Tel. (902) 224-1794 / 855-292-1794
Transformation of a Dream
14
Inns E-Magazine / Summer 2014
Maison
Maison
Fiset
Fiset
By Mary Hughes