Quebec Trip Reports

MONTREAL: HOLIDAY INN SELECT CENTRE-VILLE
January 2007
Rene & Family (baby 5mos)

My wife and I along with are 5-month-old boy went to this hotel and it was very good. The people were very helpful with finding things to do. Everyone spoke perfect English so if you can’t speak French it’s ok.

The only time we ate at the hotel was one morning we had the all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast. It was excellent – lots of fruit and eggs, bacon – they even had apple with cream cheese crepes. They were awesome! The waiter was so friendly had gave us ideas of where to go and what to see while in Montreal.

The hotel is located right beside downtown with subway (Metro) access right across the street, so if you want to travel around the city with out using your car this is a perfect location. Also, one street West is Chinatown – I’ll admit, at first I wasn’t so crazy about staying beside Chinatown but it ended up being an excellent turn of events as we had one of our best meals there and at a very reasonable price. You are also located beside Old Montreal, which we found to be very beautiful part of the city. If you’re looking to buy beer or wine, there are places close by. We also ate at St. Hubert – their specialty is rotisserie chicken and it was awesome. Also, I suggest eating there if you’re on a budget because the prices are very good.

The only bad part of our trip was that it was very cold and we ended up travelling on foot in the underground city that Montreal is famous for. I’m going back in the summer to walk and see some more of this beautiful city.

Overall, this was a last minute decision to go to Montreal and it ended up to be more than I expected.

The hotel has some interesting history abut it. There also is a pool with jacuzzi or hot tub and weight room if you want to do a workout.

The room was large and the view of the city was spectacular – try to get a room on the eighth floor as we did and it’s non-smoking.

The decor is Chinese with lots of plants and streams with goldfish in it surrounding the restaurant and lobby.

I will be coming back to this hotel again for sure in the summer, just for the location alone.

MONTREAL: INTERCONTINENTAL MONTREAL
September 2007
Rene & Family (baby 1yr)

I stayed here with my wife and 1-year-old son. The hotel is located right beside Old Montreal – like 200 meters away – and also right by downtown for shopping and the best restaurants. We walked the whole weekend. The lobby is very nice but located on the second floor with an escalator – this could be a problem with a baby stroller or people with disabilities. We asked for another way down and they gave us a special key and a guided tour of how to use it. I was very impressed with the service we received.

I would recommend using the valet parking, there’s something about just dropping your car off at the front door and taking your belongings and that’s it. When you need your car, you call and it’s there. It’s $26 per day – no limits – in or out – no hidden costs. I’ve heard about the hidden cost of self-parking which is $19 and you can’t leave or you’ll be charged another fee. The hotel doesn’t run the parking lot.

The porter that helped us with our bags was very helpful and pleasant – the front desk staff was also good. To sum it all up, it’s a highly recommend hotel. If you want cheap, go to a cheap hotel. This is a high-end establishment for high-class people (I’m not, I just pretend on my holidays!).

MONTREAL: RESIDENCE INN MONTREAL DOWNTOWN
August 2007
MK & Family (baby 1yr)

We just returned from Montreal, where we stayed at the Residence Inn. We had a studio suite equipped with a kitchen, King size bed and pullout sofa. The location of the hotel is excellent. Everything is right outside your door…restaurants, shopping, etc… The hotel itself is in good condition and was renovated 2 years ago (as the front desk agent stated).

The room was clean and comfortable. The bathroom was very small, though, but clean and with enough counter space to fit all your toiletries. There are plenty of channels on the TV to entertain kids (we had our 1 year old son with us). Should you need a baby crib, the hotel provides Graco Pack n’ Plays (we had our own though). The hotel also provides complimentary buffet breakfast each morning, which was great, however, be ready to wait a few minutes for a table to clear, as the breakfast room was packed daily. The assortment of food included scrambled eggs, crepes, waffles, potatoes, cereals, yogurts, fruits, bagels, toast, croissants, coffee, juices, and more. There are also some complimentary PCs in the breakfast room with internet access as well as a large flat panel TV.

The only negative feedback about our stay and the hotel in general are the elevators. There are only 3 elevators for the 24 floors, and one was out of order most of our stay. Many times we had to take the stairs in lieu of having to wait several minutes for the elevator to arrive, and most of the time when it did arrive, there was not enough room to fit. Thankfully we were only on the 7th floor.

One last note on parking should you have a car… The parking lot is right around the corner and cost approximately 17CAD per day. Overall, our stay was great and we would most likely stay here again.

QUEBEC CITY: AUBERGE ST. ANTOINE
June 2007
Robin & Family

Stayed at the Auberge St. Antoine, was a fantastic hotel and we had an amazing room with separate living area (with sofa bed for kids), huge bathroom and separate master bedroom – plasma TV, balcony, it was really something.

The best part of the hotel was using their private screening room, which is like a mini movie theater to watch an DVDs they had at the front desk. We watched Wallace and Gromit – the kids just loved it.

The hotel staff were great with the kids, giving them freshly baked cookies and giving them a page in their hotel scrap book to decorate. The food was very good at the hotel but very expensive. We had one dinner in our room and ate breakfast each morning at the Panache – both meals were incredible. The Auberge St. Antoine is located within walking distance to Subway and other little cafes that are very reasonable and cater towards children.

The Museum de Civilization was another highlight. Make sure to do the basement first, we did it last and found out that we could have spend an entire day playing dress up and pretending to live in the 18th century. The kids just loved Quebec City and we hope to return again soon.

QUEBEC CITY: DELTA QUEBEC
July 2009
Corinne & Family (Baby 10wks)

We visited Quebec City with our 3.5yr-old daughter and 10.5 week-old son. The Delta is a large hotel with rooms big enough to accommodate us all without feeling cramped. Our room had 2 doubles and they brought a crib to our room that was spotless and made up with a snug-fitting sheet. Mini-fridge rental is $10/day (irritating but not uncommon in most hotels) but we were able to make do with squeezing our stuff into the minibar. Had our son not been nursing, we would have had to spring for the fridge.

It’s about a 10min hike to Grand Allee, that has more restaurants than you could possibly eat in (do poutine at Chez Ashton at least once) and you can walk down Grand Allee to the old city in about 10-15min. In behind the Delta (down the hill) you’ll come to Rue Saint Jean, which is a lot less touristy and has a wonderful market on the corner (across from the Pharmaprix pharmacy). At the market we were able to purchase some staples for breakfast, lunch & snacks, so we were able to save some money that way. There are lots of boulangeries on Rue Saint Jean where you can grab some tortiere or a quick sandwich, so you’re not always doing full sit-down restaurants for your whole stay.

The pool at the hotel can be accessed from the inside, so in inclement weather (which we unfortunately experienced) you can jump in sheltered, swim around, and then exit the pool inside as well. Unfortunately the pool is quite deep, so you’ll have to have your hands on your toddler at all times – there’s no place shallow enough for them to just splash. Also, the pool area is not that stroller (or wheelchair for that matter) accessible. To get to the pool deck, there’s an exit from the 3rd floor (past the main desk) that has less stairs to navigate. The entrance by the health club was a real challenge with a stroller.

The hotel restaurant was quite good – pricey but not crazy – and kids under 6 eat free. We ate there more than we had planned to since the rain kept us close to home most days. The breakfast buffet is $15 (free for under 6) but there are lots of things that I was able to take away for us to eat as snacks – fruit, muffins, bagels, etc. The breakfast staff was so wonderful and friendly that I wanted to make a special mention of them.

I was a bit concerned about how we would get around with the baby in a carriage, but even the most narrow, cobbled streets had a smooth sidewalk to push him on, and we certainly got a workout on some of the hills. You can go on the Funiculaire so long as your stroller folds, and other highlights (especially for my daughter) include the Aquarium, Musee de Civilization, and, of course, the chocolate.

We loved our visit to Quebec City, and staying at the Delta provided us with a good home base with no surprises. They give you a little gift pack of toys when you check in with kids, and the 4 of us with all our gear + stroller did not feel cramped in the room.

QUEBEC CITY: LOEWS DE CONCORDE
July 2008
Corinne & Family

We visited the Loews Hotel when we were staying Quebec City with our family. We had lunch in the restaurant (L’Astrale) and toured the rooms and some of the facilities.

The rooms are a decent size and recently renovated. Cribs and playpens are available and you can ask them to empty the minibar so you don’t have to rent a fridge. Loews has partnered with Fisher Price, and all kids checking in get an age-appropriate toy, and have access to toys that they can borrow for their stay. Even in the health club area, they have little excercise bike/video games next to the adult ones – pretty cute.

The pool is lovely, heated, and has a great view of the Plains of Abraham. Can’t quite remember if there’s a spot shallow enough for toddlers to splash in, but the area is nice nonetheless.

The revolving restaurant offered great food (the turnip soup was delicious – my daughter loved it – don’t tell her what a turnip is) and the lunch buffet is a good deal at $15. Food is very fresh and the service is attentive – we were able to park our sleeping son in his buggy right beside our table without feeling like we were cramping the whole restaurant. It was cloudy when we were up there, but it did clear enough for us to enjoy the lovely view and count the metal rooftops that seem so unique to us boring old asphalt-topped dwellers.

The Loews has a great location right on Grand Allee – it’s a 10-15 min walk to the old town and lots of family-friendly restaurants at your doorstep.