Fairmont President's Club - Looking for Advice: Fairmonts from Toronto to Quebec

Signed up for Chase promo and have 2 complimentary nights in my account.
I am trying to get the best use out of this and fortunately our first trip to Canada as a family is coming up in couple of weeks. We will be driving from Toronto to Quebec City/Charlevoix and back.

After reading a lot of threads here (many thanks FT), I am thinking of redeeming my nights at:

Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, QC and
Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu/Charlevoix, Quebec

Looks like we should be able to get upgraded to the Jr suite @ the Frotenac.

I am just wondering if this will be the best use of my certs. or if there are better properties I should be looking at. We will have 2 children 7 and 11 and I am looking for something we can enjoy together as a family.

Any thoughts/advice is sincerely appreciated.

Signed up for Chase promo and have 2 complimentary nights in my account.
I am trying to get the best use out of this and fortunately our first trip to Canada as a family is coming up in couple of weeks. We will be driving from Toronto to Quebec City/Charlevoix and back.

After reading a lot of threads here (many thanks FT), I am thinking of redeeming my nights at:

Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, QC and
Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu/Charlevoix, Quebec

Looks like we should be able to get upgraded to the Jr suite @ the Frotenac.

I am just wondering if this will be the best use of my certs. or if there are better properties I should be looking at. We will have 2 children 7 and 11 and I am looking for something we can enjoy together as a family.

Any thoughts/advice is sincerely appreciated.

Avoid Frontenac...There is no charm about it. Take something in Old Quebec, specifically Auberge St Antoine which is one of the best hotel experiences in Canada. Good for you to go up to Charlevoix. Its an amazing area if you ask me. Le Manoir is the hotel large scale resort in the area, except for the new Le Massif project, but that is really new and I would suppose a nightmare open opening.

You can burn additional fairmont nights in Ottawa, Montreal or Mont Tremblant area no problem.

Thx for the quick reply, I will check if they can give us a comparable room in Ottawa.

Just curious, reading reviews here Frontenac is considered one of the best Fairmonts in Quebec area, did you have an experience otherwise?

Thanks again for your insights!!

I would beg to differ. Chateau Frontenac has a fantastic location in Old Quebec, and would likely have appeal for the kids as it really seems you are staying in a castle on the river. (I seem to recall reading it was the most photographed hotel in North America, but that's always something open to interpretation.) Stayed there in May and loved it. Check their website first though, there can be great deals and perhaps it's worth hanging on to the free night for somewhere else.

I would say skip the Queen Elizabeth in Montreal, the location (above the train station) can be beneficial, but I would say there are lots of other decent choices for reasonable rates there. I stayed there last December and it's nice, but nothing extraordinary.

As for the Chateau Laurier ... beautiful, yes ... historic, definitely ... location, great ... bang for your buck, awesome if you can get a free night (horribly expensive normally) ... not sure about kid friendly though.

Thank you nomadic. For the dates we are interested in (08/20 or 08/21), both Chateau Frontenac and Chateau Laurier are quoting about the same price (~$300 + base rate). The Jr. king Suite I was able to upgrade to using my Visa vouchers @ Frontenac, is quoting close to ~$600 base rate, so I might hang on to it.

Le Manoir Richelieu seems to be the cheaper of the lot at around ~$200 a night, but this seems to be the less contentious so far.

If I can score a reward room @ the Chateau Laurier, I guess I can use my certificates for that and pay for the Manoir Richeliu out of pocket.

Thanks a lot ABG and nomadic for helping me make a decision.

Just a quick update, Chateau Laurier is sold out for even direct booking, so I guess it will not be a choice after all, which makes the decision a lot easier.

There's also the Fairmont Montebello, about an hour east of Ottawa en route to Montreal. You could spend the day in Ottawa and then head there in the evening.

The Laurier is fine for kids - location between Parliament, the mall and the market is pretty much perfect.

Signed up for Chase promo and have 2 complimentary nights in my account.
I am trying to get the best use out of this and fortunately our first trip to Canada as a family is coming up in couple of weeks. We will be driving from Toronto to Quebec City/Charlevoix and back....

...Any thoughts/advice is sincerely appreciated.

If you're visiting Old Quebec and limiting your stays to a Fairmont hotel, then the Chateau Frontenac can't be beat in terms of location. I stayed there last summer and would definitely return. You can just park the car and walk around. Did you check out the packages offered such as the "Family" package?
(Don't forget to check about parking rates as this would be an additional cost to consider.)

Personally I always find good rates at Le Manoir Richelieu (not above 200$) and they generally upgrade me in a St Lawrence view without pulling the certificate.
That's said a room for 4 may be a bit more expensive. But I am not sure I would use a free night certificate for it.
And that's one of my favorite Fairmont properties (situation is really beautiful... the only better one I saw was Le Montreux Palace).
Le Château Frontenac is a fine property if you can be upgrade in a good room or suite, with view.

Let me add my praise for the Chateau Frontenac. I stayed there last summer on the gold floor for 3 nights and we really enjoyed it. The location is great, offering wonderful views, and it's really an easy walk (if you don't mind hills) to everything.

As znke252 mentioned, parking can be an issue. Not just the expensive price, but if you have a large truck or SUV, you probably won't be able to park in the old garage at the Chateau and will need to search other places in the area. There's some tight turns and very low clearance in that garage which made me rather nervous. As I recall I had to remove my GPS antenna to get in, and once I got parked I had under 2" between my roof and the steam pipes below the ceiling, and I only have a CUV (Buick Enclave)--a bigger truck probably won't make it in. But I guess that's to be expected at old properties like this.

Too bad about the Chateau Laurier being sold out. I stay there whenever I'm in Ottawa. While I find that many rooms are in need of some updating, and the bathrooms in particular look a little dated and worn, it's a charming old hotel and it's really difficult to beat that location.

Thx again for the time you folks spend on writing these.

At max we will have a full size car and with all the love Faitrmont is giving us, dont mind paying a bit extra for parking.

I will check the Montebello, thanks for the suggestion.

Not sure if we will go on a vacation like this again within the next 12months, so I am planning to take advantage of the certificates now.

Thx again for the time you folks spend on writing these.

At max we will have a full size car and with all the love Faitrmont is giving us, dont mind paying a bit extra for parking.

I will check the Montebello, thanks for the suggestion.

Not sure if we will go on a vacation like this again within the next 12months, so I am planning to take advantage of the certificates now.

We love the Montebello...lots for the family to do, great grounds. Some of the activities cost extra (eg. horseback riding) but the pools are amazing and there are daily actvities for the kids (scavenger hunts, etc). I would highly recommend.

Montebello is really nice -- just keep in mind that it would be described as rustic. No complaints from me, just set your expectations appropriately. It's not a cookie-cutter hotel, and that's part of the charm.

The Château Frontenac was the first Fairmont I'd stayed at. Short write-up from a few years ago: http://lizprocrastinates.blogspot.ca/2010/06/quebec-city-and-chateau-frontenac.html .