From Chez Donat to Sunny Bay Hotel... to Petit Miami: the name may have changed but the warm welcome has always been present. First constructed on the north side of the road at the end of the 1920s, with a unique dancehall on pillars, stretching out over the river, the Chez Donat hotel was a local hotspot for several generations of Metis youth.
Moved to the south side of the river at the end of the 1950s and named Sunny Bay, its unusual turret made the hotel popular with photographers. A change of ownership brought the name Petit Miami some years later. Sadly, the hotel burned down in February 2002. Although nothing of the original building remains, the site is now home of the Place Petit Miami restaurant, motel and chalets.
Sherrill Shaver remembers going dancing at Chez Donat during the Second World War.