The Beginning of a Great Hostelry Tradition
The Dufour family hostelry tradition dates back to 1932, when Alvine Desmeules and Louis Dufour settled on the south-east point of Isle-aux-Coudres, at the top of a rocky cape. In 1956, they built a 10-room house on this spot to accommodate their family, which included 16 children.

As the Dufours were having trouble making ends meet by living off the land, Mrs. Dufour decided to rent out some rooms to tourists who were visiting the island in increasing numbers during the summer. The Dufour family home soon became known as "that charming little house" by island visitors. And so was born one of the first resorts in Quebec. Rapidly thereafter, the Dufour home became a prized vacation spot for Quebec City and Montreal families.

The success of this venture led to the kitchen being expanded in 1964 to accommodate hungry guests. Two years later, a dining room was added and the family home was renamed the Cap-aux-Pierres Hotel.

In 1976, the site of the former Dufour home included 26 new motel rooms, a heated, outdoor, salt-water swimming pool, a lounge and a hall for dances and shows. But on March 12 of that year, a major fire destroyed nearly all of the facilities. Undaunted, the Dufour family rolled up their sleeves and set to work. On June 24, 1976, the hotel, whose ground floor had been rebuilt, was reopened.

Renovations were constantly being made to the Cap-aux-Pierres Hotel, giving us today, this 98-room hotel featuring a dining room, restaurant, health spa and 10 meeting rooms able to accommodate up to 400 people.

Expansion Project
The site was a runaway success, owing to the fact that the Dufour family had solid boating expertise and Tadoussac was a strategic port of call for cruise ships. The Dufour family decided to operate three boats at this location, making whale-watching and tours of the Saguenay Fjord their major business activities.

The Dufour family founded a shipyard at Isle-aux-Coudres and developed its expertise in restoring and building high-tech vessels. It was here that the Dufours constructed their 340-passenger catamaran (N/M Famille Dufour II), 500–passenger monohull (Famille Dufour) and 48-passenger zodiac (Tadoussac III).

Following this successful venture, the company expanded once more. In 1986, the Dufour family developed a concept for a resort hotel and convention centre at station Mont-Sainte-Anne, not far from Le Massif de la Petite-Rivière-Saint-François and only 40 km (24 miles) from Quebec City. Guests of this hotel, the Val-des-Neiges, stay in extremely comfortable surroundings, which include 110 well-appointed rooms, 47 of which have a whirlpool bath. The convention clientele staying at the hotel are immediately won over by the two saunas, bar and many meeting rooms.

In 1992, the Dufour family added another hotel, the Clarendon, located in the heart of Old Quebec, to their list of accommodation establishments. This hotel is the oldest one in Canada and its restaurant, Le Charles Baillairgé, has the honour of being the country's oldest restaurant. The Dufour family decided to restore the faded lustre of this hotel, which was once one of the most famous in Quebec City. Shortly after extensive renovations to the hotel were completed, the Clarendon's café-bar Emprise became the temple of jazz in Quebec City.

Groupe Dufour
In 1999, a single owner assumed control of Groupe Dufour, the Pillenière family. Corporate headquarters were transferred from Beaupré to 22 quai Saint-André in Quebec City's Old Port district. A management team, vice-president, director of finance and director of human resources were appointed. Groupe Dufour entered into the world of e-commerce; its computer systems were updated and a communication network was implemented to link all of the establishments. Considerable sums of money were invested in the Groupe's hotels.

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