Last year when our parents turned 60, my sister and I were thinking about what we should give them as a present. As my mother dropped several times how she would love it to visit Canada one day to visit our cousin living there, we decided to gift them the plane tickets to Canada and invite ourselves along for the trip. In about one and a half week we made a trip around the cities in central-eastern Canada, visiting Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa and Toronto.

When it came to deciding on where to stay while in Quebec City it was pretty obvious that the city’s most famous landmark the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac would be the best pick. As my parents already turned 61 this year, my sister and I decided to give them an extra surprise and we booked a suite on the Fairmont Gold floor, to give our parents an extra magical experience.

As the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac is the world’s most photographed hotel it is no wonder you can see it from the entire town, towering above like a true castle. It’s located on top of the hill that forms the centre of old town Quebec and all major touristic places of interest can be reached on foot.

The slope up from the station is quite steep however and I would recommend to take a taxi to take you and your luggage up instead of climbing it on foot like we did.

When entering the hotel we were immediately greeted by the doorman and entered the lobby where you can find the famous golden postal box. As we had booked a room on the Gold Floor we headed for the 14^th floor in the main tower where the Gold Lounge and private check-in was located. When arriving at the Gold Lounge desk we were immediately greeted by two very warm, friendly and knowledgeable ladies ‘manning’ the desk. They swiftly checked us in and took us to our suite on the 15^th floor.

Our Suite ‘Robert Lepage‘, had a wonderful view over the river and the city below. It consisted of a main bedroom with a king-size bed and a sitting room with a sofa that could transformed into a sofa bed. Both rooms also had their own bathroom.

In the sitting room was besides the sofa of course a coffee table and an extra chair, as well as a desk in the little ‘tower’ corner. There was a main built-in closet opposite the bathroom where you could find the bathrobes and slippers, and a further closet within the room containing the minibar and coffee and tea making facilities.

The bedroom had the large king-size bed centrally located in the room, with two bed-side tables on the sides. The built-in wardrobe was located in between the bed and the bathroom, while it also had an extra closet where you could also find a minibar and hot drinks equipment. The desk was located on the side wall while the space in the ‘tower’ was taken by a chaise-longue. Both rooms came equipped with a Bose alarm-clock/docking station and of course a big wall mounted TV.

Both Bathrooms where equally small in size and offered a very pleasant rain shower, with a screen door that kept the water inside the shower cubicle. The rest of the bathroom was filled by the toilet and the sink. While they sport a very nice design, they were really small and not really offered a lot of space to store any stuff.

The toiletries on offer where the “Le Labo Rose 31”, designed specifically for Fairmont.

After settling in we went to take a look at the Fairmont Gold Lounge located one floor down. It is a very inviting and tastefully decorated space, offering a view over the river and the Citadel.

The space is divided into three main parts: an area with mostly tables to be used as a dining area, a central buffet area where food and drinks are offered and a bigger main space at the opposite side where you could also find some sofas to relax and read a book or play a game that was on offer in the extensive library. At the far end there was also a unisex toilet, which even offered shoe mitten and mouth wash as amenities.

In the morning breakfast was served, the hot dishes changed every day. On the first morning we had some kind of breakfast burgers and a vegetarian roll next to the usual eggs, bacon and hash browns.

Of course there was also a big bakery offering, cold cuts, some typical Quebec pates, plenty of fruit, cereal and yoghurt on offer. In the morning besides the different kinds of juices they also offered a very delicious smoothie. Hot drinks like coffee and tea where brought to your table during the morning service.

Throughout the whole day water, soft drinks, coffee and tea along with some nibbles where complimentary. If you wished to consume some alcohol you had to fill in a paper of the honesty bar and the drink was charged to your account as Canadian laws do not allow the hotel to serve free alcohol to their customers.

In the evening a buffet with cold and hot bites is offered. Every night they have a different offering and as you can get as much as you want you could get a full meal out of this. All food is prepared fresh and uses top quality ingredients. There are also plaques explaining what is on offer and what the ingredients are in case you need to avoid things because of allergies.

After 20:00 they come around offering some plates with slices of delicious cake, so make sure to wait for that before you retire for the night!

A luxury hotel would not be complete without a fitness and spa facility, so of course the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac has it on offer. It is located in the newest wing of the hotel, so it is quite a walk from the central areas.

The pool itself is very stylish and rather big. In the main pool there is a lane set aside for people that want to swim, beside it is also a small children pool. At the far end you can find a hot tub with some soft water jets. The pool has some nice loungers near the outside windows overlooking the outside terrace which I’m sure will be used to sunbathe when outside temperatures are allowing it.

I was very pleased with my stay at the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac, the stay and service exceeded my expectations and made for a care-free stay. Service was impeccable throughout and no single error or mistake was made.

As you can see the hotel clearly had great and well-trained staff and it can position itself as the prime hotel of the city. My experience here had made me want to try out more Fairmont properties in the future and hopefully they too can provided an equally outstanding stay.

If you get the chance to stay in the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac make sure you do, and try to go for a Gold Floor room as they are more than worth the higher price.

Have you ever stayed at a Fairmont hotel before and where you equally blown away? Let us now in the comments below!