St. Andrews, N.B., is a place trouble forgot

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2003 (8120 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. ANDREWS, N.B. — There is a rhythm to life in this New Brunswick town by the sea, a pattern as precise as the Bay of Fundy tides lapping at the picturesque harbour front.

The tourist season is fast approaching and that means the resort town of St. Andrews is preparing for its busiest time, readying tour boats, opening tea houses and gift shops and airing seaside cottages for visitors fleeing cities.

St. Andrews, the place that time and trouble forgot, is waking from its winter slumber and will soon be ready for its season in the sun.

The town has gone through this ritual every spring for at least the past 100 years, ever since hay-fever sufferers and vacationers seeking relief from hot downtowns recognized the seaside town as a haven.

“The bay breezes keep it cooler than inland,” says Mayor John Craig. “And there are no blackflies.”

Although the province of New Brunswick has faced an uphill battle trying to present itself as a tourist destination, especially for vacationers heading to the beaches of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, St. Andrews has always been able to attract a steady, well-heeled clientele based on its long history as a luxury resort and spa.

When Harry Chancey Jr. first wheeled into St. Andrews, situated on sheltered Passamaquoddy Bay, an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, he thought he’d arrived in heaven.

An escapee from the hustle and commercialism of New York, Chancey was surprised by the place.

“There’s no commercial component to St. Andrews at all,” he says. “It’s unspoiled. All the way down to St. Andrews there’s not a single commercial sign. The highways in the Maritimes have very few commercial signs. When you come into the town, you feel like you’ve driven into a garden spot.”

That was eight years ago. Since then, Chancey has opened Kingsbrae Arms Relais & Chateaux, a Mobil four-star luxury hotel and one of only a few such highly rated hotels in Canada.

Situated next to a breathtaking expanse of gardens and with suites overlooking the bay, Kingsbrae offers exquisite cuisine and beautifully appointed rooms for rates ranging from $720 to $1,140, plus 15 per cent sales tax, for a minimum three-night stay in July and August. Chef Randy Akey combines his native Maritime roots and understanding of the region’s foods with classic French training.

Travel and Leisure magazine has ranked the hotel one of the 50 most romantic places in the world.

“The suites all have wonderful balconies that look out on gardens and the sea beyond,” Chancey says. “You do have a feeling of romance. It’s a very pretty place.”

Other hotels and inns include the famous Algonquin Hotel, one of the original resort hotels built by Canadian Pacific in its heyday, and the Hiram Walker estate, a rambling mansion that once served as a cottage for relatives of the distillery magnate and is now a five-star inn.

St. Andrews is a favoured retreat for wealthy Canadians from Montreal and Toronto and for rich Americans from the New England states. Neither brash as Bar Harbour nor noisy as Newport, St. Andrews maintains a kind of Victorian serenity.

It was the summer getaway for Lord Beaverbrook — Max Aitken — the New Brunswick financier who became one of Britain’s key wartime ministers under Winston Churchill.

Railway magnate Sir William Cornelius Van Horne built a spectacular estate on a nearby island that can be reached only at low tide.

Chancey says the town’s location just minutes from the Canada-U.S. border makes it a desirable U.S. tourist attraction, especially in these dangerous times when many Americans are reluctant to fly to foreign lands.

“We’re doing our level best to bring Americans north this summer in the wake of other things that are happening in the world.”

For those who aren’t interested in lounging in luxury hotels and inns, activities include whale watching and sea kayaking on the calm, cold waters of the Bay of Fundy, renowned for its high tides.

A network of car ferries allows travellers to island-hop, including trips to Grand Manan Island, famous for its steep cliffs and varied bird life, and Campobello Island, where Franklin D. Roosevelt’s sprawling summer house is maintained as a museum.

The historic homes of St. Andrews date back to the 18th century when Americans, disgusted with George Washington and the revolution against Britain, simply moved across the St. Croix River and stayed loyal to the Crown.

St. Andrews also boasts one of the best golf courses in the Maritimes.

Probably one of the best things about St. Andrews is its unhurried nature. It is still something of an undiscovered jewel, which is both a blessing and a bit of a problem for its avid promoters like Chancey.

“Who needs to keep St. Andrews the best-kept secret?” he says. “I mean maybe a secret, but not the best-kept secret in the world.”

–Canadian Press

See www.kingsbrae.com