Introduction I stayed a few times at Fairmont Chateau Montebello in the past and I returned this year. I possibly like this hotel more than the average traveler because apparently this property does not get a lot of love on FlyerTalk so I might be in the minority. I liked the hotel before despite aging rooms which was the main weakness of this property, but they have now renovated some rooms. I was happy to see the results of the renovations and I was even more satisfied with my stay than in the past. Location The strong point of this hotel is that it’s a large log cabin with the special feeling that it provides. The reception area with the high ceiling and giant fireplace are lovely, and even more so during Christmas time with decorations. This is far from a cookie-cutter hotel and you can expect an out of the ordinary experience which is what a Fairmont hotel is supposed to provide. The hotel sits on expansive grounds ideal for taking strolls in the forest or snowshoeing / cross-country skiing in the winter. Check In My stay did not start on the right foot however. Normal check-in time at this hotel is 4pm which is quite late compared to most other hotels. I arrived 3:20pm and I was told our room was not ready. It seems like I did not get any kind of priority as Accor Platinum guest despite the fact that early check-in is a standard Platinum benefit, and 3:20pm was not exactly asking for the world. We waited at the reception area and at 4pm I asked again and our room was still not ready. They were apologetic about the situation but we got our room keys shortly after. Room I booked the entry level room and received a one-category upgrade to the equally small (20 sq meters) luxury room; this room type is for the renovated rooms. The last few times I stayed, I could admit that the standard rooms were in great need of renovations so this was overdue and I can say they have done a good job with the new rooms. First off the floor before renovations was giving the feeling that parts of it were about to cave in because they had laid carpet over carpet so it felt spongy. Now the room has new carpet and feels like a normal floor. The biggest difference is the bathroom which is night and day compared to the previous bathroom. The upgrades to the bathroom and even better than the renovated rooms at Fairmont Québec City or Fairmont Ottawa in part due to having a stand-alone shower, although the bathroom remains quite small like the rest of the room which is a negative which cannot be changed easily. The view from our room was nice – we could see the courtyard outside the restaurant and the river in the distance. During the night the room was somewhat warm even after moving heating down but at least we could open the windows for a bit of fresh air to quickly decrease the temperature in the room. The only thing I like less about the renovations is the hallway in our wing which contains renovated rooms now has blue-ish color for the carpet which seems odd for a log/wood hotel and it would have possibly been better to use something light brown or beige. In the past they give me large bottles of bathroom amenities with my name printed on the bottles as a departure gift. Not that I need any more of those bottles, but I would note that it was a nice gesture which seems to have been discontinued because I did not receive anything this time. Dining I booked a rate including breakfast and the buffet is on par with other similar resort-style Fairmonts in the Québec province such as Mont Tremblant and Charlevoix. The choice of fruits was nice with several kinds of berries such as blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries, they even had lychees which is unusual for hotels in Canada. Two mornings out of three they had a freshly prepared salad, once was quinoa salad and the other morning was a kale salad and both were delicious, but one morning they did not have any which was disappointing. The smoked salmon was excellent and better than many other Fairmonts we have stayed in. The one weakness of this breakfast buffet is probably hot food because it did not vary from one day to the other much (if at all) and only included standard items such as scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and potatoes, in addition to the made-to-order egg station. The restaurant itself is beautiful, the main room having a ceiling on two floors plus the room at the far end of the restaurant which has large windows overlooking the river. We received the Accor Platinum drinks vouchers at check-in proactively and they allowed us to take drinks to the room unlike some other properties such as Fairmont Mont Tremblant which is not flexible in that regard. With these vouchers you can order pretty much anything from the menu and for people who want to have their drink at the bar you can enjoy the nice setting close to the central fireplace of the hotel. Activities One other strong point of this hotel is that it offers lots of activities for all ages, for example games in the basement of the hotel that you can use by purchasing tokens from a machine. In my last stay the games were in bad shape but they have been replaced by new ones which are now in working order. Besides trekking and cross-country skiing mentioned above, there are dog sledding tours available, a curling ice rink, skating, a large indoor pool, a squash court, an inflatable dome with two indoors tennis courts, and a gym with plenty of equipment including 10-12 weight machines. All in all I think there are more activities offered than the closest cousin to this hotel which is possibly Fairmont Charlevoix (Manoir Richelieu). Service In other Fairmonts we have visited if you have a rate which includes free breakfast, then free means free, but not in Montebello. Here they get out of their way at check-in to inform guests that tip is not included with the free breakfast. Then in the morning at the buffet our server reminded us of this fact when handing us the bill. At check-out there was originally a mistake on my bill because they charged the entire cost of breakfast for one of our mornings only. After I informed them, they took the charge out but reminded me that they would not take tip out since it’s not included with free breakfast. Since tip on a breakfast buffet is not a very material amount, I think this hotel is not doing itself a favor because by trying to save maybe 10 CAD per night by not paying tip to staff themselves, they leave a nickel & dime kind of feeling to guests not up to par with a luxury hotel by repeatedly bringing up the tip issue.Service other than check-in time was excellent throughout our stay. In particular housekeeping was done well, exactly at the time we requested it, the room was very clean, and refills of amenities were generous. In the restaurant they addressed us by name starting with the second morning, the same cannot be said of other Fairmonts we have visited recently. Wifi Wifi speed was ok but not stellar at about 6-7 Mbps but it worked without outages during our entire stay. Overall Overall I enjoy this property because of the historical nature, the log cabin charming feeling, and the numerous activities available, and now even more so with renovated rooms. There are a few issues which make the property not perfect for example rooms are somewhat small and Platinum room upgrades not the most generous, but given the lack of competition in the area, I am certainly not picky and I can give them some slack. I love the location by the river and I will continue to come back. For guests who were turned off by the aging rooms before, perhaps they could give it another shot, see the renovated rooms and enjoy the rest of what the property has to offer.