Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac

Waiting for a seat at the bar, waiting for a seat for breakfast no reservations? What kind of scam is this? A “5 star hotel” where guests can’t reserve anything and can’t get a drink without waiting in line behind tourists from outside the hotel? This hotel should not even be allowed to have a flag. Never again

What a special place. We upgraded to floor 10 in the main building with a view of the frozen river and old town. The welcome initially by door staff/bell porters and then Pascal on front desk was highly professional and super friendly. Pascal also called ahead to our next hotel to firm up our booking having had previous issues with another hotel. The room was large and comfortable with fabulous views. The concierge staff were then excellent, organising the city walking tour and a wine tasting for us, both complementary. I’ve rated the walking tour separately (excellent) so only comment here about the wine tasting which was excellent, 4 generous portions of wine using different wine glass shapes was really good. The young lady who looked after us was enthusiastic and knowledgable (wish I’d remembered her name) We’ve had nearly 3 weeks in Canada on an amazing trip and our visit to Quebec for only a couple of nights staying at this hotel was definitely a highlight. I would also recommend the ice slide just outside which as a guest of the hotel is complementary. Not sure I’d want to stay anywhere else due to the history of the hotel let alone the high quality service offered.

Staying at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac has been a bucket list item for years and we finally had a chance to visit Québec again in February so we booked a stay for 3 nights. I had high expectations and was not disappointed! The Chateau Frontenac was everything I thought it would be. The rooms are beautifully designed with modern touches but respect for the hotel’s history. We stayed in a Signature Room which was spacious and essentially a Junior Suite with a living room area. The indoor pool is great and is especially nice when it’s snowing outside. It appears as if the hotel was recently renovated as everything looked so well maintained and beautiful —the pool area is the only part that could use some updating. Staying as a family with a 7 year old, we found the hotel to be kid-friendly from the start. Children are given a little activity booklet with a treasure hunt to explore the Chateau at check in, which I found very thoughtful. The only criticism I would have—-and this has been true of all Fairmont hotels we’ve stayed in—there are no child sized slippers, though there are child sized bath robes, luckily. There are smaller women’s slippers, but they’re still too large for children under 10. Staff are amazing and very professional and friendly. Upon first arriving at the hotel after driving 3 hours from Mont Tremblant, the GPS brought us to the wrong side of the hotel where we could not find the main entrance for valet parking and there was no signage—we ended up in a self parking garage which was very far from the reception/main lobby and required lugging bags up and down several flights of stairs. Needless to say, I was very frustrated with the situation, and high initially gave us a bad first impression of the hotel. Oddly both Apple and Google maps took us to the wrong side of the hotel on the Parc des Gouverneurs side. Make sure your GPS has 1 Rue des Carrières and come in from the Rue Saint-Louis side. The reception desk agent was very kind and apologetic and really turned the situation around. As an Accor Platinum member, I found the welcome gift at the Chateau Frontenac to be one of the most thoughtful of any other Fairmont or other high-end Accor hotel in which we’ve stayed, with a personalised note from the front desk agent Cynthia, a tray or local cookies and sweets and a bottle of sparkling wine. In my experience, luxury hôtels rarely live up to the hype but the Chateau Frontenac absolutely does. No wonder it’s the world’s most photographed hotel.

No one can debate the beauty and very convenient location of the hotel but the rooms are not as luxurious or spacious are one could expect. Some even run down. Warm mini bar in the room as an example. Ok pool. Not a 5 star. Kudos to the cleaning staff. If you're looking for a beautiful room and for luxury, look elsewhere. The service is good but they don't have much to offer. The biggest disappointment was the extremely pricey brunch. Also very nice but not worth the price. Would come back to hotel with good price.

You can’t beat the location of the hotel. Beautiful setting right on the boardwalk overlooking the St Lawrence. Lots of activities and sights in the immediate area. Hotel room are very nice and beds are comfortable. Where we had minor issues, the hotel was very responsive and quick to remedy. Car valet service worked well- we were driving to skiing every day. Hotel is convenient to ski hills, St Anne being 30 minutes away and Le Massif less than an hour. Both easy and scenic drives. The hotel has it all for a nice holiday break.