Perched at the peak of Quebec City’s hilltop and overlooking the breathtaking Saint Lawrence River, The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel provides visitors with breathtaking views as they survey the landscape of Old Quebec from every magnificently appointed corner of this hotel. Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac’s amazingly centralized location at the top of Old Quebec puts guest within walking distance to Quebec City’s most spectacular dining, shopping, site seeing and historical landmarks that the city has to offer.
Quebec is North America’s oldest city and Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac is an actual castle that was designed by architect Bruce Price in the late 19th century, opening its doors to tourists in 1893. Le Chateau was named in honor of Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, and has since provided accommodations to many heads of state and members of royalty. Two notable guests of Le Chateau Frontenac were Sir Winston Churchill and President Franklyn D. Roosevelt who stayed at the hotel while meeting to discuss strategy for World War II. In fact, the hotel was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site. Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac also served as the filming location for the classic Alfred Hitchcock drama, Confess, with Montgomery Clift and Ann Baxter in 1953.
Dignitaries and movie stars aside, Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac is one of Canada’s most beloved and world famous hotels. Le Chateau is not simply another hotel in Quebec, but rather the centerpiece of this entire multi-level, historically-rich city. Quebec City and Old Quebec are a slice of France nestled in an alcove of North America. The city was referred to as “New France” by its original settlers who fled Europe for a new world. The authenticity of French culture, food, language, art and mannerisms holds up in the 21st century and can be experienced at every turn, both inside Le Chateau Frontenac hotel and through exploration of Old Quebec. Surrounding the hotel is the work of many French Canadian artists which line museum walls and art galleries. Both French and Canadian dining are offered around every corner, streets are narrow and paved with cobblestone and eccentric outdoor festivals abound. The city itself is pristinely clean and filled with lush green parks, landmark statues, old castles, sparkling bodies of water and abandoned canons from wars gone by. There is North American history to be soaked in at every turn.
In addition to taking in Old Quebec, one cannot help but make frequent trips back up the hill of this sloped city to Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel: the staff offers impeccable service, the décor of the hotel’s interior brings you right back to eighteenth century France and the hotel’s view of The Saint Lawrence River, alone, is worth the trip. The hotel’s staff is gracious, accommodating and full of knowledge regarding Quebec’s most interesting sites and attractions. One consultation with the hotel’s concierge will fill any visitor’s itinerary for a stretch of twenty-four hours.
This year Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac has good reason to celebrate. May of 2008 ushered in Quebec City’s four hundredth birthday, complete with a spectacular outdoor festival and fireworks display. November 2008 marks Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac Hotel’s one hundred and fifteenth birthday. In commemoration of this event, Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac’s Le Champlain restaurant offers a 115th anniversary menu complete with special promotions. Select guest rooms in the hotel are offered at the rate of $115.00 per night during November 2008. Along with standard guestrooms, suites and specialty rooms are also available upon request. Rooms offer views of the castle’s courtyard and grounds, as well as rooms overlooking The Saint Lawrence River.
The hotel features a spa, indoor swimming pool, two restaurants and a gift shop, along with high-end boutique shopping on the hotel’s lower level. Seasonably warm and sunny in the late spring and summer months, the hotel and its surrounding area boasts remarkable foliage in autumn and transforms into a surreal winter wonderland during the winter months.
Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac offers specialty packages for overnight stays.
The Bed and Breakfast Package offers an overnight stay at the hotel plus a buffet breakfast at Le Chateau’s Le Café de la Terrasse starting at $249.00 CAD (Canadian dollars).
The Museum Package offers a one night stay plus admission to either Le Musee de la Civilisation or Le Musee National des Beaux-Arts de Quebec, also starting at $249.00 CAD per night.
The Family Package includes a one night stay in a Fairmont category room, welcome gifts including shirts and nightgowns for kids, a horse-drawn carriage ride through the streets of Old Quebec and dinner at the hotels Le Champlain restaurant for three. Rates for this package start at $579.00 CAD per night.
Other special packages include The Food and Wine Package for those particularly interested in sampling lots of local cuisine and The Marine Life Package for aquarium lovers. Special discount rates are also available via Internet reservations at www.fairmont.com/Frontenac.
Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac is located at 1 Rue des Carrieres, Quebec City, Quebec G1R 4P5, Canada in the heart of Old Quebec.