Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello

My wife and I were eagerly looking forward to our two night stay at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello last week (September 2025). The hotel, advertised as the largest “Log Cabin” in the world has enjoyed a popular following for many years and the Fairmont name has always projected quality and impeccable service. To be fair, the resort is situated on a scenic river side lot and the public rooms; the lobby and dining areas, are spectacular, with a central 4 story fireplace suited to a grand English castle. The guest rooms however, offer all the charm of a Northern Saskatchewan road side motel. Our room came complete with a stained carpet, peeling paint, cob webs on the ceiling light fixture, a cracked bathroom sink, and dirty windows with a broken window frame. The table lamp had a non-functioning light bulb, and the tub/ shower emitted a loud groaning noise when used and may have in fact been haunted. The HVAC unit was likely last popular on the Titanic. The room lack a proper desk, a pen or any literature explaining hotel facilities, or room service information and the furniture was old and heavily worn. All this luxury for the modest sum of $425 a night plus a mandatory “Resort Fee” of $40/day /person which gave you access to a beautiful outdoor pool and water sports facilities that despite very warm weather were both closed. There was of coarse a very nice indoor pool. To add to our disappointment the $40 per person breakfast buffet was entirely pedestrian featuring that pre-cooked “Memories of Bacon”, (devoid of any bacon flavour) and an uninspired omelet station with few options. The evening dinner offerings lacked taste and imagination, but not price. I have stayed at almost all the Fairmont Hotels in Canada and this one was a large disappointment. Save your money, buy a coffee at the lobby bar, walk around, take a picture of the fireplace and find yourself nice motel.

This iconic hotel is - sadly - so tired and run down, it would take a major multi-million dollar investment to bring it up to today's luxury hotel standards. It still has charm (especially in the public areas) and a gorgeous setting and exceptional food, but overall it feels like it needs a LOT of work. The recreational and pool equipment/furniture are dented, scratched and soiled. The overall condition, everywhere you look, is just worn out. Could be such a gem but will take a special touch and very big financial commitment to realize its potential.

What a cool place to stay! It is a huge log cabin with a very grand lobby - there was often singers performing and there was a lobby bar so you could grab a drink and relax in a comfortable chair. This is an old resort, built in the 30s so there are some amenities that are outdated, but you tend to forgive this because of its charm. The grounds are just beautiful. It was so peaceful sitting on the banks or the Ottawa River. We ate at the outdoor BBQ and although expensive, it was a great experience and tasty food. There is a lobby dog named Victor who visits during the week and he was lovely. Every hotel should have a lobby dog. Also something I was nervous about was being treated rudely for not speaking French, but every employee was outstanding with their customer service and they were all bilingual. They greet you with "bonjour/hello" and as soon as you say hello they switch to English no problem. The town is very easily accessible through the lovely path through the woods, not a ton to see there but some good restaurants (especially the bistro) and the chocolate store had delicious chocolate - highly recommend! Be sure to check out Parc Omega while there too - well worth it! I was on a mission to find a great authentic Quebec Poutine, and I found it through room service! It was delicious! Breakfast was included in our package and was high above typical hotel breakfast buffet offerings! Overall a wonderful stay. I have only two things I would suggest improving - the elevator needs some TLC as it's very aged and scuffed up and it's one of the first things you see on your way to your room. Also the shower was very small and the tub beside it seemed like a waste of space - bathrooms could be updated. But overall a great time!

What a wonderful experience!! The hotel itself is showing its age; but it's part of the charm. So many activities to do in the summer for kids - and all the activities are included. A perfect getaway for a family with active kids.

We recently stayed at Fairmont Château Montebello as a family and overall enjoyed the beautiful setting and unique log-cabin charm. The property has a lot of character and offers a great range of activities, especially for families with kids. That said, there are areas that could use improvement. The rooms, while cozy, felt very dated and are in need of an update, especially considering the price point. Service was hit or miss. Our room attendant didn’t get to our room until late in the day and seemed quite disengaged—at one point we noticed her outside on her phone rather than attending to rooms. Most disappointing, though, was our experience with the activities attendant. He was stationed at both the bike and boat rental areas and was consistently unfriendly and borderline rude. He acted as if helping us was a burden, rarely made eye contact, and didn’t respond when we thanked him. It genuinely felt like we were inconveniencing him by simply participating in activities the hotel offers. We also had an issue with food allergy cross-contamination on our first night, which was concerning. Thankfully, a manager followed up and our dinner the following evening was much better. We did enjoy our stay, but with some staff training and room refreshes, the experience could be significantly improved.