Once upon a time — or, in television years, a lifetime in between Boston Legal and Big little lies – Producer David E. Kelley and actress Michelle Pfeiffer lived like bears Moderatemaking a home in a cozy log lodge amidst the evergreens of remote coastal British Columbia. Their closest neighbors were grizzly bears and black bears that wandered from the Great Bear Rainforest. The nearest big city, Vancouver, was an hour away by seaplane. At the top of the slope, they found refuge from dancing Ali McBeal Baby meme.
From 2007 to 2017, the duo and their children resided in their massive wood-hewn mansion in Butte Inlet, which sits on 340 acres between orca- and humpback-filled Pacific canals and a private spring-fed lagoon with its own dock and guest house. Within the Douglas fir bones of the main house were a movie theater, billiards room, chef’s kitchen, and a towering stone fireplace as a centerpiece. The wraparound patio overlooks the misty waters below Estero Peak, known in local Homalco First Nations tradition as the peak where their ancestors tied their canoes to survive the Great Flood.
All of this could be a declaration of Canada’s generosity — and it’s shocking that the nature-seeking crowds haven’t already destroyed it. Fortunately, with ownership of the inn passing from Hollywood icons to a French businessman, the newly christened Fawn Bluff Hotel pledges to remain a haven, with sustainability now at its core.
In a bold hospitality move, owners Claire and David Touchpant have plowed $30 million into the property to reopen it this year as a non-profit retreat available for exclusive takeovers (from $24,306 CAD per night, about $17,800 USD at today’s exchange rates). After operating costs are covered, proceeds from Fawn Bluff will go to the Homalco community to open an addiction counseling and recovery center — where many struggle with generational trauma — as well as support Homalco arts and rituals.
“There’s a reason we’re here,” David Touchpant says over Zoom. “We purchased property in the middle of First Nations territory, so our mission and goal now is to serve the community that we have, by chance, become a member of. We have no other purpose than to serve the Homalco First Nation community.”
Guests can join Homalco guides on bear watching tours, learn about locals and how to “walk marshmallow feet” (aka walk softly). In an old fire tower, you might see a baby bear stumbling along the riverbank while a mother bear tries to control her cub and Catch a salmon dinner. It’s so rewarding to watch salmon run, eagles dive, and whales breach while hearing how the animals play in First Nations traditions.
Getting involved with the wilderness—helicopter hikes on snow-capped glaciers, kayaking verdant alpine lakes, and foraging along mossy trails with Chef Quinn Marion—is also central to the Fawn Bluff experience. In fact, it was the siren call of killer whales that lured David all the way from Paris to Butte Inlet.
“I just discovered the property while chasing orcas – I’m a huge fan of orcas. They take care of each other. “They are the reason I am in British Columbia,” David says. “This property is completely unique to British Columbia. Our neighbors are mainly bears and whales. This makes a big difference – we are far away, but still connected to the rest of the world. You return to civilization by boat. It is a challenge, but doable.”
The family’s business model is called “hybrid enterprise.” In travel parlance, it’s an example of regenerative tourism – leaving the land better than when you came. The Tuchbants are also working on an agricultural school in France and building hybrid renewable energy systems in Fawn Bluff. “We are developing plans for a small hydropower project along Lisk Creek [which feeds the lake]“They are designed to provide consistent, low-impact power by working with the natural flow of the watershed rather than against it,” says operations manager Jonathan Clark.
Solar energy is also in the works. The weather can be windy in winter, so property operators aim to store energy during peak daytime hours to reduce their overall reliance on fuel during busier times. (Fawn Bluff’s season is short but sweet, from June to mid-October.) The shift towards greater energy independence is a strategic choice and a product of their isolation – you can’t go next door to ask for help. However, this remotely luxurious brand is one you’ll find Goldilocks Just right.
This story appears in “Hollywood Reporter”Sustainability issue for 2026. Click here to read more.
