In the true spirit of a Relais & Châteaux property, the Auberge in Quebec City's old port is beautiful. The way they've blended the old with the new, the artifacts embedded in the walls on display, it's definitely the nicest museum I've ever slept at :) Very cozy rooms, all amenities you'd expect from a hotel of this calibre are there, and the staff couldn't be more helpful. Do not hesitate to stay here!
What a great stay. The room was clean, comfortable, we loved the dimming lights and the heated floors. The spa services were great and although it was a bit pricey, it was worth the money. The location is extremely convenient. We walked everywhere and didn't need a car.
This is the second time I've stayed at Auberge St-Antoine, the first about 5 years go. This time, I stayed 5 nights in a "Comfort" room.
On the positive side, the front desk staff and bellhops are very friendly, and the cleaning staff efficient, attentive, and effective (ie, the room was very clean and well-attended throughout my entire stay). The hotel itself is quite pretty, located in the old city of Quebec (yes, this means you'll be hiking it up the mountain if you want to head to the more commercial Haute Ville), has a few fireplaces in the public areas to lounge around in and read, and has really beautiful bathrooms in the rooms. It's also within a stone's throw of a few great restaurants (Il Matto not being one of those, for the record).
On the negative side, the room was cold (it wasn't terribly cold outside) despite turning up the heat, the sheets are VERY noisy - any sort of movement in the bed during the quiet hours was amplified, the bed far too soft, the pillows too high, the cafe staff seemingly oblivious to the idea of service, and, perhaps this is a one-off, but on my final night there, I was woken at 5:42 am by someone evidently dropping bowling balls in the suite above for about 10 minutes, followed a few hours later by earnest sawing and hammering. Who knows... your stay might feature a brand-new bowling alley!
Bottom line: I loved this place the first time I stayed. This time, I was disappointed by what I got for the price I paid (discounted as it was).
Dear Jeremy W.,
Thank you for sharing your experience. We appreciate your input and are glad that you qualified our front desk staff and our bellhops very friendly and our housekeeping team efficient, attentive and the rooms very clean and well attended and that you enjoyed also our bathrooms.
We sincerely apologize for the poor service from one of our members that you encountered in our Café-Bar. We are having an ongoing training program and will sure emphasize on our standards of service.
Your comments about the room temperature are taken very seriously, since the comfort of our rooms is one of our most important goals. Our technical team will follow up on this matter.
The noise that you encountered on the last day of your stay was not because of a construction going on in our hotel, since there is no construction planned. The noise you have experienced must have had another origin.
Our goal is to make every guest feel valued and welcome. We are hoping that you will return to our beautiful city eventually. If this is the case, please contact me directly and I will personally take care of making your reservations.
Sincerely,
We recently stayed at this hotel over the last weekend of Carnival! It has a very nice reception area, with beautiful fireplaces. The location is perfect and within walking distance to many attractions. We are a family of 5 and our room was more than ample. Very spacious, with 2 washrooms and a kitchenette. I believe it was called the Captains Room. The restaurant doesn't have the best selection of food especially for children, but there are plenty of restaurants close by. Overall, I would recommend this hotel and will return again.
This hotel was an Internet find, and what a find! The room was lovely, extremely well appointed and charming. The room numbers each contain an interesting artifact! Just wandering through the hotel on a rainy day is wonderfully entertaining with the artwork and ancient artifacts. Then go an enjoy tea, or a cocktail by the fire! Lovely! The bath in our room ( with heated slate tile floor ) was beautiful - the tub was HUGE! (And two shower heads, one rain - great). The overall design is sketched for a future home renovation! The hotel location was great...almost everything we wanted to do/see was walking distance. The food in the hotel was excellent. ( didn't have a bad meal in Quebec ) The hotel staff was great! I would not hesitate to stay here again! *~my actual stay was in 2006, in March, but that is not an option...weather was fine, light snow on one day. )
Winters in Quebec are harsh and long and I guess that the lobby of this hotel was designed to cope with the tramp of snowy boots. It is spacious and hard under foot and reminiscent of an airport check in. I can't imagine how this place manages to find itself under the Relais&Chateaux umbrella. Unless, of course, it is because of its restaurant 'Panache' which is absolutely excellent. We ate there on 3 occasions and would find it hard to believe that you can eat better in Quebec. Much is made of the artefacts found beneath the buildings and these have been interestingly and charmingly displayed throughout but I'm not sure that this makes up for shortcomings elsewhere in the running of this Auberge.
Interestingly, the atmosphere in 'Panache' is all that should be replicated in the rest of the hotel. Alas, it is not. Our bedroom was small and contained all the necessities but in the way of a Travel Lodge - only slightly more upmarket. One wall was taken up with a very silly, barely flickering, dark gas-log fire which did nothing to enhance anything. The carpet was so grubby that we were forced into those slippers that seem to be de rigeur in hotels now. Laundry was returned damp. Each day items were forgotten from our breakfast order. Our real disappointment though was with the bathroom. It had everything you need but was so designed that you simply did not want to spend any time in it. It felt like being in the sluice room of a hospital - echoing, tiled floor to ceiling, sliding doors that didn't quite fit, a ghastly wet-room/bathroom with a very odd and, frankly, almost dangerous arrangement of taps. We so wanted to love this place but definitely found it wanting. The staff were very pleasant and the concierge found us a very agreeable driver/guide to take us around called Alain, should you feel the need.
The only other pointer we would give is, that at all cost, avoid the furrier in the street behind the hotel. She is possibly the shirtiest woman in Canada! If you can deal with her, good for you!
