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Drive the best on a Formula One course
Quintessence Resort Hotel is the site of Ferrari's regular driving school programmes
By: Mary Gostelow
Quintessence Resort Hotel, on the bank of the highly-desirable Lac Tremblant, in hilly woods 160 kilometres north of Montreal, is the site of Ferrari's regular driving school programmes.
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Any Ferrari owner can pay to take part in a two-day advanced session, which includes test-driving the glorious F430 on the professional Le Circuit Mont Tremblant, two kilometres away. Once the scene of Formula One, it has been upgraded by its present owner and local resident, fashion magnate Lawrence Stoll (his current brands include Michael Kors).
Oh the F430! For the technical specialist, here are some details: Overall length 176.3 in; Overall width 75.7 in; Height 46.6 in; Weight 2645 lb; Pirelli tyres, Front Slick 235/45-18; Rear Slick 295/45-18; Engine 8 cylinders V8 90 degree; Total displacement 219 cu in (3586 cm3); Maximum power: 400 bhp (294 kW) at 8500 rpm; Maximum torque: 275 lb ft (373 Nm) at 4750 rpm. www.ferrariworld.com
But actually even non-Ferrari owners will love Quintessence as hotel boss Sean O'Donnell can also arrange a day with Trioomph Inc, a company which will let you try not only the F430 but also a Lamborghini Gallardo, an Aston Martin DB9, a Porsche Turbo, and others. And of course you will stay at Quintessence, which movie stars Michael Douglas and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones loved so much they decided to buy a farm nearby.
Sean O'Donnell was already successfully running restaurants at the neighbouring Mont-Tremblant complex, which includes several mainstream hotels plus shopping village and internationally renowned ski slopes. He then bought a hundred-year old log cabin by the lake and finally achieved planning permission to build a hotel, which opened in 2005. The main building is three floors, with lots of external wood, and all 30 rooms overlook the lake, ten metres away. The two top suites have 70 square metre terraces, with hot tubs: 311 gives the morning sun, and 302 offers the sunset.
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We went out on the lake, admiring the peripheral mansions that, in some cases, can only be reached by water. I took a bike, to attempt some of the lower mountain slopes, and then had a Carita massage. Dinner was tasty, with excellent Canadian foie gras (from Quebec), beef (from Alberta) and wines (from Ontario), though next time I would book the adjacent Wine Bar or the six-seat chef's table in a small glass-walled conservatory.
In the morning I awoke to look out over the lake to what was by now a haze of early mist, but it soon cleared to give brilliant sun (just as a young staff member from Paris had predicted). After breakfast, Sean O'Donnell, who had flown in the previous evening with Lawrence Stroll from Las Vegas (opening of Le Cirque du Soleil's Beatles) and Indianapolis (The Indy), took me to Stroll's circuit. Yes, I was driven round Le Circuit Mont Tremblant by the head Ferrari test driver.... and then Sean drove me, in a Land Rover, back to Montreal. There is, by the way, an excellent private jet airport handy for this resort. Mont Tremblant International Airport, 30 minutes away, is a log cabin and the welcome is a glass of champagne. That is style!
www.hotelQuintessence.com www.ferrarichallenge.com www.trioomph.com
Hotel Quintessence, Mont-Tremblant, Canada See other hotels in Mont-Tremblant (2) Sign up for Confidential Newsletter Send this article to a friend View other Around the World Articles
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