We have some very important travel advice for you – if we ever invite you on a ski trip, do not join us. Because it will rain.
Of the past six ski trips we have taken, six of them have involved rain – either during the trip or immediately before.
Club Med Charlevoix in late December? Rain.
Sir Sam’s in early January? Rain.
Prior to the start of this blog, we also visited Mount Tremblant twice – once in January and once in late March. And what happened then? Rain.
Blue Mountain is the closest exception to this, but it was terrible for other reasons – namely short staffing and poor management on the part of their parent corporation, Alterra Mountain Company. And we still think it rained shortly before we arrived.
And this year’s trip trip to Bromont, Quebec in December? You guessed it – rain.
But plans had been made – and deposits were non-refundable – so off we set along a very damp stretch of Highway 401:
We’d opted to take our little gas Honda HR-V, which was packed to the gills with winter gear:
Fortunately, the much-smaller Honda can hold almost as much as our Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo – despite it being the practical wagon version.
Unfortunately, the HRV has managed this feat by removing virtually all sound-deadening material. That makes it a very practical vehicle, but not the most comfortable highway cruiser.
Although a full inch of rain forecast, the drive was mostly manageable. Though there were a few sections of roadway with very large, very splashy puddles – along with the associated risk of hydroplaning – and a large-and-growing waterfall pouring onto a slip road on the outskirts of Kingston.
We stopped briefly at an ONRoute to get gas and order some A&W. Half of us had burgers, the other half got chicken tenders. The fries were particularly delicious.
And the fields were particularly green
Then it wasn’t long before we passed the foggy outlines of Bromont:
And pulled up to our rental with Sô Lodges.
Photo credit: SÔ LODGES – The Belvedere in warmer weather
Why Bromont, you ask? We landed there almost through a process of elimination. Charlevoix is too far and too expensive. Sir Sam’s is not quite large enough. Blue Mountain is busy and expensive, and Tremblant is very expensive and busy – but neither of them seemed particularly appealing after our previous visits.
So we asked around, and friends of ours spoke highly of Bromont, Quebec. You are forgiven if you’ve never heard of it before, and yet it has 450 skiable acres across 7 mountainsides, as well as 123 runs with a vertical drop of 1,300 feet – though it’s still dwarfed by Le Massif’s drop of 2,500 feet. And for those who enjoy night skiing, it’s the largest illuminated ski resort in North America.
With that research backing up our friends’ recommendation, so we decided to give it a shot.
With the resort decided, lodging nevertheless proved problematic – there is very little in the way of short-term ski in / ski out accommodations, so were forced to broaden our search.
And that’s when we found Sô Lodges.
Their offerings seemed to offer the right kind of combination – plenty of bedrooms, close to the ski hill, well-appointed, professionally managed, and with amenities like a sauna, hot tub, games area, and more.
But would the reality live up to the promotional photos? It was time to find out.
The upstairs living room
Downstairs living room and games room
Downstairs bedrooms – including the kids bedroom
A third downstairs bedroom and virtually identical fourth bedroom not pictured (Photo Credit: SÔ LODGES)
A small kids nook
Upstairs powder room and laundry
Master bedroom
Master bathroom
And the verdict – better than we’d hoped. Plenty of room for us and our friends – seven of us in total.
And not only did management offer us early check-in at 1 pm instead of 4 pm, they even included a Sô-branded bottle of champagne as a welcome present.
Very nice, indeed.
Speaking of welcoming committees:
A herd of deer passed by shortly after we arrived – this of course being the one trip I decided to leave my fancy camera at home.
And with the bags unpacked and dinner served, another welcome development – the rain started to turn to snow.
Then – shortly thereafter – good news from Bromont’s app: the hill will be open tomorrow!