Les Chalets du Lac Grenier
Philippe Ciaravola


Philippe Ciaravola

Philippe was born in Annecy, a village located in the French Alps. At the age of 9, his family moved to the Bahamas. Six years later, his family moved once again, this time to Montreal. There Philippe completes his Master's degree in Computer Science at McGill University. After a brief stint in the private sector, Philippe returns to McGill as Systems Manager for the School of Computer Science. In September 2008, Philippe leaves his position at McGill to fully dedicate himself to the new business.

The Projet


Les Chalets du Lac Grenier is a labour of love and the achievement of a dream, getting closer to nature.

Like most of us living in urban environments, it begins with weekend getaways we take several times a year to our parent or a friend cottage to relax. The pleasure we take in breathing fresh air, enjoying leisurely walks in the forest, slowly paddling around the lake in a canoe and enjoying endless cheerful conversations with family and friends around the dinner table. Small escapes from every day life, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and all our responsibilities.

Years pass and one day, having saved enough money, he buys a small waterfront lot on the shores of Lake Grenier in the Lanaudière region, with the dream of eventually building his own cottage. It takes some time and lots of work but eventually a beautiful little log home is built. He begins to spend more and more time in the country.

Soon after opportunity knocks at his door when a much larger waterfront lot on the same lake goes up for sale ... a project starts to take shape. Would it be feasible to transition full time to the countryside?

He takes time to consider the myriad of challenges facing him and eventually gathers all his savings, borrows the rest from the bank. He begins his project, to build rental cottages equipped with urban amenities and all the comforts of modern life in this magnificent serene setting.

At first he keeps his job in Montreal but a few short years later makes the big leap. He follows his dream to the end and leaves Montreal to settle full time in the countryside.

To this day, Philippe who went from Masters in Computer Science to mastering a snow removal tractor, still lives away from the hustle bustle of city life and manages his project with as much passion and enthusiasm as ever. He shares his time between the administrative responsibilities and work on the domain but particularly enjoys those fortuitous encounters he makes on the property with clients, who much like him, arrived here for their love of the peaceful tranquility of nature.