{{current_weather.dt | momentjs( atts.date )}}
{{current_weather.temp | temp}} °{{units}}
{{day.dt | momentjs(atts.date)}}
{{day.temp | temp}} °{{day.temp_min | temp}} °{{units}}
{{current_weather.dt | momentjs( atts.date )}}
{{current_weather.temp | temp}} °{{units}}
{{day.dt | momentjs(atts.date)}}
{{day.temp | temp}} °{{day.temp_min | temp}} °{{units}}
History
Our Geological Marvel!
History of Fairmont Hot Springs
Incorporating the natural landscape, it’s as though Fairmont Hot Springs has existed here for an eternity, and in actuality – it has.
What Once Was
In the early 1900’s, visionary John Hankey bought the Fairmont Hot Springs Ranch from its original owner, Sam Brewer. Hankey re-named it the “Fairmont Hotel Springs” and offered accommodation for $2 per day, which included use of the hot springs. With the construction of the bathhouse (or “palatial sanitarium” as it was described), the resort staked its claim as a hub of health, wellness and hospitality – a tradition very much alive today.
Hankey owned the ranch and roadhouse until 1912, shortly after William Heap Holland – a cotton-industry millionaire manufacturer from Manchester, England –arrived in the Valley. Intrigued by the flowing hot waters, he purchased the property and operated it as a ranch and resort. So enamoured by the landscape, Holland published a brochure extolling the Columbia Valley’s virtues as the “land of milk and honey.” The brochure made its rounds through England, attracting scores of adventure seekers to Holland’s Utopia.
Under Holland’s ownership, Fairmont Hot Springs grew. Holland recognized the hot springs’ vast potential, so he harnessed the water, built a swimming pool, erected the main Fairmont Hot Springs Ranch barn (which still stands), started a restaurant, opened a tenting camp and constructed bungalows. Fairmont Hot Springs had officially arrived.
Changing of Ownership and Architecture
In the spring of 1957, Lloyd and Earl Wilder, two brothers from Saskatchewan, enjoyed a picnic at Fairmont Hot Springs. From a conversation with the resort manager, the brothers learned that he was hoping to see the resort sold so he could retire.
The seed was planted – within the year; Lloyd, Earl and a group of investors became the proud owners of Fairmont Hot Springs. By 1965, Lloyd Wilder was the sole proprietor, and he immediately began major expansion that would transform the area into the internationally recognized resort it is today. Through all the advancement, change and progress, Fairmont Hot Springs Resort remains a place where families can escape their day-to-day lives and experience the healing power of nature’s awesome splendour that is found in our hot waters.