Le Capitole Hotel

Le Capitole Hotel & Il Teatro Restaurant Quebec City A Revamped Hotel for a Non-Spectacular Stay A Disappointment on Multiple Levels I had looked forward to a surprise 2 day stay and bday dinner with my daughter and had chosen to have it at Le Capitole hotel in Quebec City. The photos and advertising made it look like the perfect place. Unfortunately it was not. A beautiful revamped architectural 5 star hotel with 3 star service and food. Bad Communications This unpleasant experience began even before we arrived at the hotel. I had planned this surprise bday dinner for my daughter at the hotel restaurant Il Teatro a month in advance. I asked if we can make one of their small desserts for her with a festive bday look. Simple not to extravagant. As we are an hour from the city, driving to the hotel someone calls me from the restaurant to ask me : Obviously on car speaker phone: “Is its ok if we make a small surprise bday cake for 2-4 people for $48?”. I was shocked. This person had ruined the bday surprise for my daughter as she was in the car but a small cake at $48 was ridiculous. I said no. No attempt to even offer an alternative. By this time the gentleman had ruined the surprise weekend for my daughter. Front Desk Damage Fee Deposit & Full Charge for Stay on Day 1 To my surprise they had charged my Credit Card account the Full 2 Day stay( before I had stayed in the hotel) plus an additional $200 deposit damage fee. The full amount and $200 damage fee wasn’t on hold like most hotels, but charged on my credit card. This was not returned yet to day this review was written. This was not a good philosophy of practice. Being treated like this in a 5 star hotel. Hotel Room, Beautiful but Not Comfortable 1- The room in this hotel was designed with a spectacular window wall. This glass wall provides an outstanding view of Old Quebec. Unfortunately it was constructed with non-sound proof double pane glass and not triple pane sound proof glass. You can hear everything that goes on outside even at a distance. Trucks, conversations, wind and rain…traffic. I could not sleep in the room with the episodic noises. Some hotels like the Bostonian( former Millenium Hotel ) in Boston have the same spectacular window wall, but their glass wall is very insulated and no noises are heard, and they are facing Quincy Market. 2- The Room is very beautifully appointed but the mattress in our room was hard as wood. I simply couldn’t sleep on it . It felt like solid wood covered with a comforter. In this type of hotel this was unacceptable. 3- Surprisingly enough the bathroom was quite nice, but had a cracked sink that wasn’t replaced and appeared to be there for some time by virtue of the staining seen in the crack. This should have been dealt with before our stay. I couldn’t wait to leave to go home to get a decent night sleep. Pool & Gym The Pool is on the 9th floor. It isn’t really a pool but a long jacuzzi. You can’t swim in it or do any laps. The temperature is also almost a jacuzzi level heat. If more than 3 people are in it, its becomes simply crowded. The view from the pool is spectacular but the pool has no service, frequently out of towels ( and I visited the pool 3 times). The gym is placed separately in the basement with no view other than a retaining wall. It should be placed next to the pool so you can work out looking out at the amazing view. It is a nicely appointed gym but as all gyms go, small. Restaurant Il Teatro, Beautiful Layout with Disappointing Quality & Management 1-Disappointing communications The surprise was out of the bag regarding my Daughters surprise bday dinner. Thank some restaurant staff who thought to call me an hour before I arrive, while driving to spill the beans. You know that if the restaurant calls you to ask permission to make a $48 cake to serve 2 people, than they already know the answer….NO. At that point the 2 days surprise was busted. It was a petty level of discussion. No attempt was made even at offering anything else. 2- Dinner & Breakfast; Disappointment for a 5 star Hotel Restaurant : Il Teatro The dinner I had the Lobster Bisque Pasta. At a price of $40 you would expect significant lobster considering the rest is just pasta. I was surprised to find only ½ of a claw of lobster( most likely canned as it was rubbery and not fresh) This was a disappointment. It was not acceptable. The pasta was sitting in a lobster broth with some other non-identifiable parts. Unacceptable. The dessert we ordered was Tiramisu . The Tiramisu served was premade( like the type you buy at a grocery store). Very average, pre-chilled in a freezer in a glass jar. THIS IS UNACCPETABLE FOR THIS TYPE OF ITALIAN RESTAURANT. And to put more displeasure to this phase of the dinner, no attempt was made by the chef to provide any type of celebratory dessert or finishings to my daughter. Choosing this restaurant was a mistake on multiple levels. They knew the purpose of this dinner and no attempt to rectify the bad communications was done. The dinner was unacceptable and the treatment was even worse. My original request was slept under the carpet. Fortunately we ate at another Italian restaurant the night before that served an amazing Tiramisu, fresh and amazing. The restaurant went out of their way to celebrate my daughter’s bday with great quality food and celebratory finishings. The breakfast at Il Teatro was equally disappointing. I had the French Toast. It was a simple stale cinnamon brioche covered with custard sauce with additional sauteed fruits. The following day I switched plates with my daughter who ordered from the child’s menu, a series of pancakes. We do this frequently in restaurants so I can taste what my daughter is eating. I was shocked to find that they had served old pancakes to my daughter. Hard as leather. I almost chocked on it. I immediately called the waitress and said ” This was terrible” The manager came by and apologized and said “we will make fresh ones for her now”………Really! Your pancakes in a 5 star restaurant are not always fresh? The French toast and the pancakes were not fresh. Pancakes are supposed to be made on the spot and to assume a child will not notice such poor quality with a parent was a miscalculation and sloppiness by the kitchen. At this point I had realized this was not a good restaurant and I would have had a better and fresher breakfast at Tim Horton. Conclusion: Il Teatro sits in a spectacular architectural location and serves average food not worthy of its location or billing. Please note that on the previous night I had a great meal at another Italian restaurant in the city. It was fantastic. Thank you Il Teatro for compromising my daughter “ Italian weekend bday celebration” with 3 star food in a 5 star restaurant. 4- Porter-Front Door Service Upon leaving the hotel, I had left my daughter with 2 large suitcases and a large duffle bag at the porter’s desk just at the door, so I can get my car. Upon returning at the car I was surprised the porter did nothing to help my daughter move the suitcases and duffle bag to the car. It was about 40 feet to the car through snow. I had to go into the hotel and retrieve the bags my self. I already had a tip ready for the porter but since the porter did nothing to help my daughter other than push a button to open the door, he didn’t get any tip. Advice to porter: help clients with their bags if you want to be given gratuities. That’s why you are at the front door. Sebastian In conclusion, bad communications, bad food, poor sleeping environment, so so pool ( really a large jacuzzi). It's a 5 star facade around a 3 star hotel. The glitz of this architectural jewel blinds you from seeing the truth.

Very disappointed as we booked a QUEEN room and our bed was a full size. Additionally, the bed was very firm and uncomfortable. Also- the TV did not have access to stream Netflix/hulu etc which dates this hotel experience as being behind and for the price of the hotel- not having a queen bed and not having a modern tv was disappointing. Location was good. Hotel was overpriced for what we experienced

The concierge was fantastic. She was so sweet and offered so many tips for our family’s visit to beautiful Quebec City. The hotel offers amazing value given its great location. The staff is very attentive and pleasant. The housekeeping was top notch. The room was cleaned every day and they had our pull out sofa already made up before we even got to the room which is often not the case when you go to a hotel even when it’s noted that the reservation is for four people and there is only one bed. Great attention to detail by the staff. The EV charging was an added bonus! The pool is very nice but a little small but I understand the constraints and my kids still loved it! Overall, 5 stars!

I would like to say the staff and employees make this a warm and welcoming place. With Check in with William who had a such an easy attitude and quick with some recommendations. With Louise who assisted with the winter carnival activities and was just incredible along with Isreal thank you for all the recommendations. The bar staff at Clubby who wiped up some amazing drinks. And not to be excluded the bellhops who got you in an out with ease. Thank you all for such a great stay.

Great room, great view, great location, great service, and great food at the restaurants. The food at BO Cuisine of Asia was wonderful. Breakfast at Il Teatro was really good. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Thought it was a great value.