Shaw's Hotel

Shaw's Hotel
Shaw's Hotel in Brackley Beach, Prince Edward Island.
Interactive map of the Shaw's Hotel area
General information
Location99 Apple Tree Rd, Brackley Beach PE
Coordinates46°25′27″N 63°11′30″W / 46.42404°N 63.19160°W / 46.42404; -63.19160
Website
https://shawshotel.ca/

Shaw's Hotel is a family-operated inn located at Brackley Beach on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, Canada.[1] It is one of the oldest continuously operated inns in Canada.[2][3]

History

The original Shaw farmhouse, constructed by Neil Shaw, was destroyed by fire in an accident. A second farmhouse erected subsequently was also lost to fire. The present two and a half storey farmhouse, built in the 1850s, served as a replacement for these earlier buildings.

Shaw's Hotel was established in 1860 when the Shaw family was contacted by the colleague of a family friend who was looking for a seaside place for his daughter with a respiratory illness to stay.[3] The Shaw family initially allowed paying guests to stay at the 5 vacant rooms within their farmhouse, but the 20-acre farmhouse property has since been expanded significantly to include a dining room extension to the main farmhouse in 1960, two barns in 1943 and 1944 and twenty-five cottages from 1896 to 2000.[4][5]

Shaw farms ceased operation in the 1970s, with the barns now being used as storage. The fields are still rented out to farmers.[1] The hotel was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on March 5th, 2004.[1]

The author Pierre Berton wrote part of The National Dream while staying at the hotel.[6][3]

In 2022, Hurricane Fiona impacted the Shaw’s Farms property, resulting in the destruction of a barn and a boathouse, and causing significant damage to the main farmhouse, including the loss of its roof. Repairs to the property were finished in the spring of 2023.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Shaw's Hotel. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  2. ^ "Shaw's Hotel & Cottages | Tourism PEI". www.tourismpei.com. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  3. ^ a b c "Perseverance: Keeping the doors open through decades, good or lean". The Globe and Mail. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  4. ^ "Shaw's Hotel National Historic Site of Canada". www.pc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  5. ^ "Shaw's Hotel & Cottages". Shaw's Hotel & Cottages. Archived from the original on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
  6. ^ a b Symons, Thomas. Shaw's Hotel Archived 2012-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, 6 August 2005