MikeFromTokyo

All this time I was thinking it was the St. Lawrence River

Are there any acceptable options in Quebec City?

What about Montreal? The renovated Ritz-Carlton looks promising. Along with R-C Chicago (Four Seasons), the Montreal property is another that to my knowledge is not actually managed by the Ritz-Carlton hotel company. It is now listed on R-C's website as a "partner hotel" however - presumably this is just for marketing purposes.

grumbler

One can go there for a drink, enjoy the experience of being in the Frontenac and Quebec City without paying top dollar for poly/cotton sheets and indifferent service. The analysis suggested above is the same nonsense cited by overpriced tourist traps in dozens of places around the world. Quebec City is a wonderful place, but there are different places to enjoy it from.

bhrubin

I agree completely with your assessment. The previous contributor is welcome to his/her opinion, but not everyone needs to stay at a historic or beautiful property if the trappings don't match the needs/wants (or value proposition) of the guest. We can bring our mothers there for a drink to appreciate the view and "majesty" of the property...while not needing to stay there or pay top dollar for a suite in an otherwise less stellar property. I've enjoyed drinks at the FSGV bar in Paris, but I wouldn't ever want to stay there. To each, their own.

OliverB

That's fine until you start offering false information like suggesting that Fairmont uses polyester sheets, which is just absurd.

quitecontrary

Bhrubin - have you considered the opinion of the mothers in question - if it's a surprise visit I suggest that you try to find out their thoughts on the hotels in question sureptisiosly. I'm a mother and I just hope my children never take me to a W - no matter how WOW or Wonderful it might be in some people's opinions. I generally though prefer historic properties even if they are crumbling piles but I accept not all mothers think the same way!

bhrubin

Our mothers will appreciate the trip we take them on and likely will not be concerning themselves with the details. We stay where we think we can get the best accommodations as per our style and the best service as per our preferences--and in this case, with the best value proposition since we are paying for extra rooms. The W in Montreal is likely our best bet, as it fits our style quite well and my SPG Plat status will get us upgraded (and likely, but not guaranteed, our mothers' rooms upgraded a bit, too). We are 44 and 57 but gay men who very much enjoy the W style when we travel. Our mothers have enjoyed such properties in the past, as well.

In cities, the specifics of the hotel and even the accommodation type (room vs suite, etc) are less critical to us as we don't spend as much time in the hotel as compared to when we are in more rural locales. We therefore tend to try to find the best value proposition in cities. In rural locales, we often find ourselves spending/splurging more since we tend to hang around the hotel property and/or our own accommodations more often.

grumbler

It's not, and they do (they are not polyester - but some sort of synthetic blend). It is something I have only seen in Canadian Fairmonts, including the Laurier, Frontenac, and Montebello.

robyng

Too bad there's no "hotel collection". I've given up looking for cotton/poly blend sheets because they're pretty much extinct (I liked the better quality ones because they felt good and really were "wrinkle free").

And to bhrubin - if you haven't traveled with your mothers before - I would just ask if there's anything special they might need in a hotel room. They're probably older than me and my husband (perhaps a lot older - I'm 67) - and they might need things you don't know about. Ranging from a walk-in shower with grab rails to a handicap toilet (the kinds of things you find in a handicap accessible room). There can be other problematic things one might find in a hotel room/B&B - like one of those super high beds where you need a step stool to get on it (but I doubt you'd find anything like that at a W anywhere ).

FWIW - different people can have different issues regardless of age. But - the older people get - the more likely they are to have issues. And - unless your mothers are like my father (last living parent of ours) - they don't spend all their time with you talking about any medical/mobility issues they might have. So it's always good to ask if you're making plans on behalf of other people.

We don't need any special accommodations - yet. But - when we hit our 60's - we started to travel with a couple of those plug in the wall "night lights" you can buy for peanuts at Home Depot and a couple of flashlights to put on nightstands. Just because we find ourselves waking up more often in the middle of the night when it's dark and we don't want to trip and fall in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar stuff when we're hunting for a light switch. We liked the night lights so much we put them in the main hallway in our house - so neither of us has to turn on lights and bother the other in the middle of the night. Now that I think about - I doubt older people are the only people who stay in hotels who wind up stumbling around in the dark trying to find light switches. It's just that the older you get - the more likely you are to bust a hip or similar if you fall down.

Has anyone stayed at the RC in Montreal post-renovation? We stayed there pre-renovation and - to put it kindly - it was less than impressive. I don't remember bad service - just super tired well past their prime rooms. I think part of the problem then was the general economic malaise in Quebec province. And - compared to other Canadian provinces - Quebec still seems somewhat depressed these days (although I'm too far removed from the situation to understand everything that's going on):

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/quebec-economy/

Robyn

ABG

Then why are you posting?

ABG

Up thread I mentioned my opinion MikeFromTokyo. Afraid I don't remember why Ritz Montreal isn't a full Ritz. Something to do with their original deal from 100 years ago I guess.

robyng

To give my personal thoughts about why the RC was at the time a pretty bad property.

In any event - what was then was then. What is now is now. The property was renovated in 2008. Has anyone stayed there post-renovation? Robyn

robyng

It goes back more than 100 years. Basically - Cesar Ritz allowed the property to use the Ritz name when it opened in the late 1890's. But the property has always been independently owned. This and other history is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritz-Carlton_Montreal

Robyn

vuittonsofstyle

Ritz-Carlton Montreal is owned by the Torriani family (Marco Torriani was, for many years, the celebrated GM of MO Geneva). They use R-C for marketing purposes, but essentially, this is a family-owned and run hotel and is, IMHO, by far the best option in Montreal. Outstanding food in Maison Boulud and really lovely rooms and suites. Spa is yet to come but is scheduled for opening within the next 12 months (probably more, I suspect).

ABG

Posting about bad rooms in a hotel prior to a 200 million dollar renovation is about as OT as I can think of.

OliverB

I have stayed at The Chateau Frontenac at least a dozen times over the past 10 years and I've only ever had high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and very comfortable king beds. I also stay in Gold Floor suites. If you're concerned, then it doesn't take much to request the kind of bedding and linens that you'd like. The hotel is extremely accommodating from my experience.