Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu

Well, let’s start with location: it’s great! But of course the location is great- it’s a Fairmont. But here’s the thing: it feels like nothing‘s been updated or renovated since William Howard Taft used to stay here. The lamp in the room didn’t work, the air conditioner is on the struggle bus and all of the rugs and fixtures and curtains and door handles feel like they belong in a dusty antique shop. It’s 2026- time to move into this century SVP.

We stayed at this property for 3 nights. It's a beautiful and grand property - stunning would be an understatement - the hotel grounds are magnificent. We had a standard room on the 8th floor in a corner, comfortable bed, nice linens, windows you can open and good black out curtains. It was very quiet where we were and we enjoyed the quiet and privacy very much. Upon check-in it was very busy at the front desk and they should have opened more counters to get guests through the process faster. They only had 2 desks open and very long lines of people waiting to check in, in this respect I think there is room for improvement. Valet service at the hotel is excellent and highly recommended as it can be tricky to find parking around the property. The hotel gym is top notched with modern equipment and facilities - you can access 24-hours. The onsite restaurants are great, Saint Laurent in particular was outstanding in both food and service - it's a beautiful restaurant that overlooks the St. Lawrence river, beautiful decor and ambience. The buffet breakfast is well worth it - we took the package that included breakfast and valet parking and were very happy that we did. The hotel pool gets very crowded and if I had one criticism of the hotel it would be this area. They do not have enough attendants working at the pool, picking up garbage outside, towels left behind or just keeping the chairs nicely put back. The pool area was not attended to at all, I did not see anyone working out there in the afternoon around 4pm. And, there were no towels available. Apparently there is a whole room full of towels but they were not staying on top of putting out towels for guests to use. This is the one area that needs significant improvement in general. In summary, I would highly recommend this hotel. While it is very busy in the summer with families and children, there are a lot of options for activities, dining and just a beautiful and historic hotel that is the very best of Charlevoix.

Despite its stunning location and outstanding reputation, this hotel unfortunately no longer lives up to the standards expected of a five-star property. From the moment we arrived, the service was disappointing. No one acknowledged us as we pulled up by car, and we had to unload and carry our own luggage. While the rooms were clean, they felt dated and would certainly benefit from refurbishment. Upon entering our room, one of the beds had not been made, and there were not enough towels or bathrobes for all the guests staying in the room. These are issues that might be understandable in a lower-category hotel, but they are simply unacceptable in a five-star establishment. Overall, the hotel did not meet the high expectations created by its reputation. The beautiful setting alone is not enough to make up for the lack of attention to detail and the level of service provided

Gabin our server and Matild the manager at the restaurant were very sweet, friendly and professional.

By far the worst Fairmont I’ve ever stayed at. For context; I am an AllAccor Platinum member (now diamond) and typically choose to stay at Fairmont’s due to their historic properties and fantastic service. We arrived somewhere around 5pm and was told our room was not ready and no upgrades were available. 10 minutes later the room was ready but smelled of cigarette smoke. I let the front desk know and they scheduled a turn down service and the room was sprayed with something to mask the odour. That same night we went to the bar to order a drink waited 30 minutes and we were not attended to. We left the bar and ordered champagne and snacks through room service. 45-50 minutes later the room service arrived with half of our order and we were charged for the full thing. I attempted to call them back but there was no answer. The next morning we attended the breakfast service and got terrible reception. We were not told about menus or anything. Just given orange juice and coffee that tasted watered down and lacking its original flavour. The food was awful and the presentation was worse. The sheets and bedding provided were not fairmont branded. Were itchy, uncomfortable and, hard. My back ached after a night. We left two days early and extended our reservation at another property. I couldn’t wait to leave. I’ve stayed at Super 8 motels and Holiday Inn’s with cleaner rooms, better beds, and most importantly better service. We will never come back.