Decore Hotels: 50 Great Years By Nerissa McNaughton
J
asper, Alberta. It’s a place of beauty in all seasons, sought by tourists all over the world. From the pristine lakes to the majestic mountains, a visit to Jasper means nourishment for the body, mind and soul. Those familiar with Jasper know to make reservations far in advance of any long weekend to ensure a place to stay. Those in the know make those reservations at a Decore Hotel. The Tonquin Inn and Maligne Lodge have long been staples of the Jasper experience. How they came to be? Well, that’s a story 50 years in the making. The Decore family’s interest in the area goes back to the early ’60s when John Decore was starting his career as a lawyer. He had a client, Mr. Diamond, who was selling his Jasper motel. Mr. Decore made the purchase and Diamond Motel became the family’s first resort property. The Decore family were always movers and shakers. John’s father, a Liberal member of parliament, was a close friend to Lester B. Pearson (and, little known fact, was the one who nominated him to be leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, becoming Canada’s 14th Prime Minister five years later). John’s brother, Laurence, was Edmonton’s 31st mayor. John and his two brothers, Laurence and Leighton, were the third generation to run their grandfather’s law firm. When the trio succeeded to ownership, they renamed the firm Decore & Company. Though they loved building a dynamic law firm, Laurence and Leighton could see the potential of Jasper and felt the time was right to build another hotel in Jasper – the Tonquin Inn. John Decore bought the Tonquin from his brothers in the ’70s. John’s wife, Maureen, was in from the start. Maureen saw to the customer service, and as a longstanding patron of the arts, designed how the properties looked and felt from floral landscaping, to luxurious linens, to the soft colours in each room. “Our parents always had people visiting us at home and our mother wanted every customer to feel that staying at a Decore Hotel property would be like staying in your own home,” says Karyn Decore, daughter of John and Maureen and the president of Decore Hotels. “Following in the footsteps of my grandfather, father and uncles, I decided to also pursue a career in law and joined Decore & Company in the late ’80s. While I enjoyed law, I wanted to do something different and was on my way to Vancouver when my father said ‘Karyn, we have these two hotels in Jasper, maybe you could help out.’ That was about 25 years ago and I’m still there!” Karyn’s introduction to the world of Jasper accommodations started early. She was cleaning rooms in the Tonquin at 12 and each summer, progressively performed more and more tasks at both the Diamond Motel and the Tonquin Inn. “Those summer
Karyn and Nicole Decore
Maureen and John Decore
jobs helped me pay for my education, and being in Jasper satisfied my athletic interests – ski racing, mountain biking, running, and more. I have been on every trail in Jasper and can say, there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.” She wasn’t the only one. Karyn’s sister, Nicole, started her summer work at the Jasper properties when she was 13 and in between making beds and cleaning bathtubs, the girls would hit the trails on their bikes or jump into one of the many icy lakes for a refreshing swim. “Jasper is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies. It’s where wild animals roam freely and comprises of spectacular mountain ranges, lakes, rivers and hundreds of kilometres of hiking trails. Jasper prides itself on maintaining ecological integrity for future generations and we are incredibly fortunate to experience this firsthand,” says Nicole.
Decore Hotels | 50 Years | Page 1