The Cuttle’s Tremblant Club

Cuttle. It’s a name which, for more than 30 years, was synonymous with a warm welcome, excellent food, and evenings filled with good humour. Cuttle’s Tremblant Club was owned by Jim and Betty Cuttle.

Jim and Betty winter 1957.

Nothing would have led one to expect that a young, energetic and athletic couple would become excellent hoteliers. In fact, Jim was a businessman employed by Dominion Textile and Betty was a housewife. Jim and Betty came into the region as tourists and were so taken with it that they dreamed of coming here to live.

The Tremblant Club was for them a way to make a living. Legend has it that originally, on the hotel site, there was a house of ill repute…a brothel. The loggers and rivermen used the falls at the end of Lac Tremblant to move the logs towards the mills that lined the Diable and Rouge Rivers. These men, far from home, were the place’s targeted customers.

But in business terms, the logging and log driving seasons were short. The establishment had to adapt to become profitable. The arrival of tourists meant that the Tremblant Club became a legitimate hotel. When Jim and Betty acquired it in 1956, the hotel was owned by the Lindsay family. Along with their son Jim Junior, who was only one at the time, the Cuttle family thus started on a great adventure.

Rapidly, the couple established themselves as attentive hosts. The rustic rooms with fireplace were very comfortable. Mr. Cuttle made sure that the hotel had a good chef and quickly, the cuisine at Cuttles attracted a crowd of people who enjoyed good food.

The Wednesday evening buffets brought in not only a trendy group of customers, but also locals who liked tasty food and an entertaining evening. The piano bar welcomed, night after night, customers who appreciated the talent and music of Philip Renney, as well as the conversation of barman André Mouton.

And it wasn’t just evenings at Cuttle’s. There was also the ski school which, year after year, attracted happy customers. I’m thinking here of two generations of ski school directors who, through their expertise, contributed to its fame and reputation. I’m speaking of Hervé Lalonde and Michel Beaulieu. Many were those who took their first runs with one of those two gentlemen.

While the Cuttles were highly appreciated as hoteliers, they also became integrated into the community and were rapidly friends with everyone. Betty and Jim hunted, fished, skied and played golf. What’s more, during a hunting expedition, Betty shot a moose which became the trophy in the place of honour at the entrance to the hotel bar.

When I was about 14, I saw on TV that in Cypress Gardens, the water skiers practiced barefoot skiing. Of course, I was sure that I could do the same thing. All I had to do was find a boat with a powerful-enough motor. It was Jim Cuttle who gave me the opportunity and I became, “the kid who skis barefoot”.

In 1990, Jim and Betty decided it was time to retire. With a new owner, the Cuttle’s Tremblant Club became Hotel du lac, but the address was still on the chemin Cuttle.

The Cuttles went to finish their days in the Canadian West close to their only son, who still lives there. The hotel is closed now and one question remains: where is the moose head?

 

By the same author: Jackrabbit, one of a kind (Click the image below)

 

Peter Duncan121 Posts

Membre de l’équipe canadienne de ski alpin de 1960 à 1971, skieur professionnel de 1971 à 1979 et champion américain en 1965, Peter Duncan a participé aux Jeux olympiques de 1964 à Innsbruck ainsi qu’à ceux de 1968 à Grenoble. Intronisé au Temple de la renommée du ski au Canada, au Panthéon des sports du Québec et récipiendaire de la médaille du gouverneur général, Peter a longtemps été commentateur de ski à la télévision./ Peter Duncan is a Canadian former alpine skier who competed in the 1964 and the 1968 Winter Olympics. He was named to the Canadian National Alpine Team in 1960 at the age of 16 and competed at the national level for the next 10-years until 1970 before retiring.

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2 Comments

  • Ron Cairns Reply

    February 5, 2020 at 12:13 am

    I worked 2 summers 1968 and 1969 at Cuttle’s Tremblant Club Kitchen and then bus boy and then waiter. Off hours a different jacket and wait for quests so I could carry their bags and make some change. I lived on site in the staff house. I was from Montreal. A great place and experience. Betty and Jim were wonderful to work I was allowed to sail the sun fish sail boat and Jim took be out water skiing. The chef was Alcide Grandmaison. I learned so much from watching him prep food. Excellent food and the mid week buffet was next to none. I went back for a visit a few years later when they have the kitchen remodeled and the upstairs steak house. One of the best steaks I ever had. Hospitality next to none. I recall the business summer conventions of 50 plus from the USA. They were there e the two summers I was there. Universal Guarantee and Olsonnite. Toilet seats and the key chains they gave out “Tops for you Bottoms” It was so nice to come across this and the picture exactly as I recall it. Thanks for the memories Jim and Betty. Ron Cairns Kitchener Ontario

  • Gardens and Mountains 2022-07-17 | SaugaBlog Reply

    July 17, 2022 at 1:41 am

    […] that extra tip about Cuttles Tremblant Club, I finally found the street address. That eventually led me to the site of the current hotel at […]

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