Local and sustainable down to the last detail: the artisans behind your favourite products

It's not uncommon for a guest to leave one of our hotels proclaiming that they particularly appreciated the scent of the shampoo, the comfortable pillows, the furniture design or our innovative fitness equipment. Each of these elements was carefully curated to allow you to discover unique products designed by bold Canadian artisans.

An unending desire to source the ultimate comforts

What do Marie l'Oie, the manufacturer of our cozy duvets, Kotmo, the supplier of our reusable slippers, and Ruby Brown, the fragrance designer behind Le Germain hotels’ body care products, have in common? They all create products that are not only local, but also increasingly responsible, which is perfectly aligned with the evolution of our sustainability approach.

At Bella Pella, the Montreal-based company that handcrafts the shampoos, conditioners and lotions offered in our rooms and boutiques at Alt hotels, the desire to move towards eco-responsibility together is very sincere. Lyne Pelletier, Jordana Ogly and their team have been audaciously creative since day one. They’ve gone so far as to design the supports that accompany their products in our showers and bathrooms to ensure they integrate perfectly, in addition to being made locally. "People and quality are at the heart of everything we do. For example, when we wanted to source the ideal containers for our bottles in the rooms, we considered the different types of use, in addition to ensuring that we manufactured them in Canada and used local, recycled and recyclable plastic," the company's founders proclaim passionately.

Spaces that reflect our values

Some of Canada's finest designers, such as Ébénisterie Rénova, a company that specializes in the manufacture of furniture for the restaurant and hotel industry, have been working with us since the very beginning. To nurture this long-standing relationship, "We have learned to trust each other. Our two teams give each other the latitude required to create exclusive products. In addition, we are two second-generation family businesses that share a common vision of promoting the culture of beauty, sustainability and quality," states Éric Veraquin, president of Ébénisterie Rénova.

The importance of forging lasting partnerships and promoting local art and design is reflected in our relationships with the architecture and design firm LemayMichaud, or the online art gallery Gallea, for example. All of these artisans have allowed us to display our true colours and carry out many out-of-the-box projects.

Continuous research and development for your well-being

Behind every item you enjoy is a lot of trial, error and analysis as we strive to bring you the very best’. Such was the case when we switched our single-use plastic water bottles to North Water bottles. Such was the case when we replaced our single-use plastic water bottles with ones from North Water, a company that bottles/offers Canadian spring water in recyclable and reusable aluminum containers. Extensive research went into ensuring that the container’s primary material could indeed be recycled in Canada.

Our most recent discovery, a company called Off The Grid, also knows their stuff: "We had to design a dozen prototypes before launching the state-of-the-art stationary bike you’ll find in the gym at Alt Hotel Calgary University District today. This long process of exploration ultimately led us to design, manufacture and assemble a piece of fitness equipment that can feed electricity directly back into the grid in real time. It’s made from 92% local materials: the aluminum structure, plastic components and even the electronic chips are all from Ontario. There aren’t many players in the field offering this type of eco-responsible alternative," enthusiastically claims Charles Couture Lebrun, co-founder and CEO of the Canadian tartup.

Germain Hotels’ commitment to offering you high-quality local products is sincere, as is that of our partners’. We can’t wait to hear which product becomes your new favourite the next time you stay with us!