For about $50 million, B.C.'s Fairmont Hot Springs Resort could be all yours

Fairmont Hot Springs Resort in British Columbia's East Kootenay is up for sale, with an asking price that will require a buyer with some deep pockets.

The 1,200-acre site in the Rocky Mountains — which features three outdoor pools fed by the largest natural hot springs in Canada — has been listed by Colliers International. In an interview with CBC, Mark Lester, the real estate company's senior vice president, indicated a "price range" of $50 million.

Lester said there has been interest in the property.

In his view, there's never a good time or a bad time to put a property like Fairmont Hot Springs on the market.

"I see this kind of property as sort of transcending market conditions because of its unique attributes," he said. "I think that if a property like this comes on the market, it's going to generate interest and activity simply because of what it is."

Fairmont includes a resort-style hotel, a lodge, cabins and cottages, an RV park, three golf courses, and a ski hill with 14 runs. The site also has close to 668 acres of undeveloped land.

Located 108 kilometres north of Cranbrook, B.C. and 145 kilometres west of Calgary, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort was purchased by Ken Fowler Enterprises in 2008. Fowler died in February 2017. His son, Doug Fowler, assumed responsibility for the resort.

Area residents 'pretty pragmatic' about sale

Fairmont Hot Springs is a major employer and economic driver in the region. As a four-season resort, it attracts an estimated 500,000 visitors annually.

Susan Clovechok, an area director and vice chair with the Regional District of East Kootenay, said she hopes the eventual buyer will be "really vested in the community."

Clovechok said she's not hearing much negative talk about the resort being up for sale.

"A lot of our community members are pretty pragmatic about it," she said. "It's like, 'Let's worry about that which we can control.' And who buys it, we can't [control], but how we work with them, we can."

CBC has reached out to William Woods, the interim CEO of Fairmont Hot Springs and board chair Steve Giblin.