The Great George is an upscale, award-winning hotel in Prince Edward Island’s capital of Charlottetown. With 54 richly decorated suites among 17 carefully restored heritage buildings, this is a property like no other.
The property was built in 1846 by James H. Down. A few years later, a merchant named Henry Haszard bought the building and named it The London House. There, he sold many basic necessities of the era: parasols, corsets, boas, tea caddies, nails, and even groceries.
In 1857, Mr. Haszard remodeled the property into a fashionable hotel which he called The Pavilion. At the height of its popularity, the Pavilion Hotel had the distinction of hosting some of the delegates from the 1864 Charlottetown Conference on Union, where Prince Edward Island became the Birthplace of Confederation.
More than 120 years later, in 1990, Mike Cassidy and current owner Kevin Murphy purchased the property, then known as The Regent Hotel and began restoring it to its original glory with the goal of making it the most unique hotel in Prince Edward Island. Re-envisioning this entire section of downtown Charlottetown, the pair purchased all adjacent buildings turning almost an entire city block into one grand hotel. Their carefully planned restoration project certainly was not without its challenges.
The age and conditions of many of the buildings required that painstaking efforts had to be taken to maintain the original exteriors. The transformation of these heritage landmarks is nothing short of remarkable. Kevin and Mike’s objective to maintain the historical integrity of these buildings while renovating the property up to modern standards has gone down in history as one of Prince Edward Island’s largest private heritage development projects ever to be completed.
Renovations were completed in 1996, and The Inns on Great George, as we were formally known, was officially opened. Four years later, Kevin’s brother Michael Murphy and his partner Paul Smith joined the team, and became the official innkeepers of the prestigious four-and-a-half star hotel in Charlottetown. In July of 2009, Michael and Paul sold their shares in The Great George to Kevin and Kathy Murphy.
Since then, hoteliers, restaurateurs, and heritage tourism developers, Kevin and Kathy have been proudly serving and hosting visitors from around the world. General Manager, Ricardo Salvini, leads a dedicated staff, ensuring that every guest who walks through the doors has an unforgettable experience at The Great George Hotel.
Have a look at our elegantly appointed suites and peruse our one-of-a-kind Charlottetown vacation packages. If you have any questions before you book, simply give us a call – any time, day or night. We look forward to hosting you at the most unique hotel in Prince Edward Island.
