Making accomodations
Hundreds of spectators came to the Canadian National Hotel in 1931 to marvel at the luxury
It was the first of its kind on Prince Edward Island and has lasted longer than many others that came after it.
The Rodd Charlottetown, often informally referred to as the Charlottetown Hotel, has been an anchor in the province’s capital for years. Nestled on Kent Street by the city fire department, most Islanders have been in the hotel for one occasion or another, be it one of the countless benefit dinners, weddings, conferences and or dinner theatre productions throughout the years.
While P. E. I. is now home to numerous hotels, the Charlottetown Hotel was the first step in the evolution of chain hotel tourism in the province.
A poetic article published in a 1931 edition of The Guardian described the formal opening of the Canadian National Hotel, which the Rodd Charlottetown was previously named, as marking “the beginning of a new era socially in the history of the Province.”
The hotel was characteristic of other upscale and lavish accommodations being built by CN Railway at the time and was described as “the first concrete example of post- war ‘ forward advance’ socially on which so much depends for the up- building of a greater and more glorious Canada.”
Nothing in P. E. I. came close to it: the 1931 article describes the hotel as a boost for P. E. I.’ s not- yet established reputation as a tourists’ playground. Up to that point, tourists in P. E. I. relied on small accommodations.
As well, the opening of the hotel created much buzz in the city, with the story describing hundreds of individuals marvelling at the “completeness of the accommodation and luxury of the furnishing.”
A book published by Lynx Images called Castles of the North was reviewed by The Guardian in 2002 and provides a look at all the grand hotels built in Canada and their significance in the history of the country.
The book provides an indepth look at the Canadian National Hotel, including style, materials, subsequent developments and other intimate details.
The book also shows a picture of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at the hotel, which is where they stayed during the province’s centennial Confederation celebrations in 1973.
The author also comments on the hotel as having forged its own identity when compared to others,
inns
for such as the Royal York in Toronto or the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.
“Small, intimate and a little quirky, the Charlottetown has not taken on the antiseptic, homogenous, brightly- lit feel of many of the larger grand hotels across the country,” Castles of the North reads. Even the powder rooms get a nod: “Original fixtures in the bathrooms, like the luxurious extra- long bathtubs, are a delight.”
The Charlottetown Hotel was sold by Canadian National Hotels to Rodd Hotels and Resorts in the early 1980s.
It now exists as a fouranda- half star hotel, with an obvious emphasis on its roots demonstrated through a décor of period replica furnishings, draperies and linens.
“Built in 1931 CN Railways, Rodd Charlottetown features the elegance and attention to detail synonymous with the historic Canadian National Railway Hotels,” states the home page on the hotel’s website.