Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac

A beautiful and historic property in a fantastic location. The hotel is situated near the peak of the old city, providing easy downhill walking access to restaurants, shops and other attractions. There is also easy access to the promenade above the river and a little bit further is access to the city’s fortifications. Staff were friendly and attentive and added to the enjoyment of our stay.

Good points - Great sense of history - Best views from 16th and 17th floors - Check in staff on 14th floor super helpful and worth $1200 a night - Business lounge avoids check in madness on ground floor Bad points - Lobby and bar gets swamped with wedding parties and visitors - Dining options limited but its only 2 minute walk to restaurants in town - Iconic = old bathrooms and in our case the smallest we've ever seen - Oddly there's no all day coffee shop other than a basic Starbucks - Bell staff ( not surprisingly ) take curtness to a whole new level. We went for four nights, enjoyed it, but would happily have gone after one. Pay up for Gold Service to avoid the zoo on lower levels.

We came to the Chateau for our 25th wedding anniversary, though it is worth mentioning that we are experienced travelers (>25 countries) and have stayed at several other fairmont properties. We will not return to this hotel. At Frontenac, we had a persistent series of experiences that really reflected very poorly. First morning we arrived at breakfast to find a line and a 45 minute wait. There were three hosts, standing together and whispering to each other at a (messy, dirty cable-ridden) computer station. They asked us (a couple) whether we had reservations, and we did not… so we asked if we could make reservations for the following morning to avoid this issue. Incredibly, they said they “do not take reservations for two.” We went to Starbucks even though we had PRE-PAID for breakfast and even though the breakfast room clearly had enough empty tables to accommodate many of us in the line. Later in the day we went to have a drink at the NEARLY EMPTY hotel bar. We were stopped as we entered and they told us that they needed to “seat us.” We asked for a seat at the bar and we were told we should wait in the hallway. We, along with others, leaned on the walls of the entryway waiting to be called (because there IS NO WAITING AREA). We were about 20 feet away, in full view and frequent eye contact with the hosts. After 20 minutes we approached the hosts again and asked about our seats at the STILL NEARLY EMPTY bar and they said they had called our name! They had not. They insisted that they had. No apologies, no consideration. They then escorted us into the bar and gave us poor seating. Took another 15 minutes to get a drink. That night we went to the concierge to book time for walking tour. The concierge said the tours were all full, and when we asked for alternatives, he told us that most people “just wander around.” Wow, just wow. We left the desk, pulled up Viator on our cell phones and booked a walking tour with the outfit across the street. The next day we returned to the bar. It was COMPLETELY EMPTY this time, but again we were told we could not sit and would need to be seated by them. We were told 10 minutes. 30 minutes later they seated us at the STILL EMPTY bar. WHAT KIND OF HOTEL DOESN’T **LET** YOU GO TO ITS BAR??? Our last day at the hotel we went to breakfast (early, so we could get a seat). After the three youthful hosts clicked away and whispered to each other for a bit, one of them escorted us into the room and showed us a table next to the salad bar. We looked over at the dozen or so empty two-tops along the window (nice view) and they told us those were reserved. I again asked if we could make a reservation and they said again they do not take reservations for two! SO HOW COULD THESE TABLES BE RESERVED??? I pushed, she clicked her iPad and seated us at the window. To be clear, our experience was not isolated. Even as we stood there in the bar or at breakfast puzzling over the odd gatekeeping policies, other couples around us were asking the same questions and wondering the same things. Happened every time; it wasn’t us. I even see a review here that had the same experiences we did! It’s worth noting that this hotel doesn’t have any public spaces… that is, there is no place you can go, other than your room, unless you are allowed into the bar or restaurant. There is no seating in the lobby, no lounge areas. If you don’t want to be in your room, you need to find a different hotel. Even as you find your way to breakfast, you are in the bowels of hotel, with open doors revealing behind the scenes decoration and service storage areas. As you head to the bar, you walk through a small shopping area crowded with tourists who are eager to buy $40 maple syrup nips in a hotel lobby. Were there good points? A few. Valet was prompt, but the bell desk lacked hustle (asking “do you want us to take your bags” instead of just taking them, as it is their job to do). Registration was smooth, though the lobby was chaotic and the process was very slow. They were apologetic that they could not offer us the upgrade that was included with our arrangements. Our room had champagne and chocolates waiting for us, since they had noted that it was our anniversary. The room was nice, with high quality fixtures (no cheap or crappy elements), though it lacked a refrigerator you could use (for medicine, for example). The room was quiet and the bed was comfortable. Bartenders were all great. Waitstaff in all the restaurants and bar were great. The location is of course very good, but with Uber and the Funicular, that matters far less these days; I would rather have stayed in the lower parts of the city. Our checkout experience was a perfect example of the consistently poor service we received. At checkout, the person at the desk asked “How was your stay?” And I said “Actually, we have had quite a few problems at the hotel.” Their response? “Thanks for staying with us, we hope you’ll come again!” I'm certain they heard me. Unbelievable …and yet exactly what had learned to expect from this hotel. We had a laugh about it all as we drove away.

Beyond disappointing experiences all around at this otherwise beautiful historic hotel. When we arrived we never got help from bellman or valet with our luggage. We sat and waited in our car a mere 10 feet away from the front entrance as they watched and spoke to visitors as we dragged out our luggage ourselves and placed it in front of them. Same level of assistance with valet. Had we not walked away from the car I am unsure if they would have noticed us at all. Check in was easy but our room was also incredibly disappointing. Small and barely room to fit both of our luggage. The bed was very comfy and attendants to clean and refresh the room were all quite good but the bathroom is so very tiny- sink toilet and shower barely room for one person to walk in and turn around. Then, each day at various times we walked down to the bar for a glass of wine and 4 times throughout our visit we’re told we could not walk into the bar to even get a glass of wine. The bar barely had people in it and it was astonishing that patrons of the hotel could never merely walk to the bartender and ask for a glass of wine! They do not appear to have a system where hotel patrons are priority over outsiders just walking in off the street. But worse, the bar was never full at all and still we were told we could not go in without waiting 30 min or more. We did have lunch at Sam and the food was exceptional. And pricey. Service here was good. Lastly, the hotel has parties in their ballrooms so be sure NOT to get stuck with a room anywhere near a ballroom. We laid awake 2 nights in a row until 1:30 in the am with our windows rattling and bed shaking from the loud obnoxious music. The manager on the final nights of our stay did offer to let us stay in another room but of course that is not convenient to get dressed and move at 1 am. All in all I would encourage a visit and tour of this beautiful building and skip staying the night. I am sure there are far better and larger rooms and better service than this Fairmont offers. The squeeze is not worth the juice on this Fairmont.

Beautiful hotel ; wonderful bar ; nice friendly staff and great food . BUT why can they not make the wifi readily available - it is a nonsense that they want you to register to get Free wifi when you have spent 1000 dollars a night. !! Pathetic