Displaced Beachbums

During our stay in Quebec City, we stayed at the historic and beautiful Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac.  The castle-like hotel dominates the Quebec City skyline.

The hotel was completed in 1893 but has had numerous extensions built with the latest one being in 1993.  Le Chateau is such a prevalent part of the city and visitors literally flock to it for a glimpse of history.  Driving the walled city with cobblestone streets made me feel like I was back in Europe and the hotel just added to the ambiance of Old World charm.  Our room was spacious, amenities were wonderful and, best of all, the staff were all very friendly and welcoming.  The prices in the restaurants scared us away so we went next door for breakfast at Le Petite Chateau and had yummy butter-lemon crepes. Hmm…my mouth waters just thinking about it.  

It’s possible to take a 50-minute hotel tour with a period dressed tour-guide but, because we were so limited on time, we decided we would rather walk Santol Canine Ambassador.

Santol is the Canine Ambassador for hotel, hangs out in the lobby next to the concierge and does a great job luring mostly women guests over to scratch his belly. This big teddy bear of a dog was originally trained as a service dog but he was so social and good with lots of people, the trainors decided to keep him as their ambassador. There’s even a nightly package guests can book which the hotel then donates $25.00 to the training of future dogs. Registered guests can also sign up to take him for a walk and, of course, I couldn’t resist.  First I walked him, then Favorite Girl and then Favorite Man. All I have to say is, for being such a tough Army dude, FM has such a soft spot for dogs and they take advantage of him. Both FG and I had no problem keeping Santol within the grassy areas of the park. As soon as FM started walking him, he decided he wanted to go up the stairs and into the more residential area. FG and I laughed long and hard when FM said to Santol “We’re not going that way” and the look FM got from Santol was “Really? You’re gonna stop me?”  Needless to say, we ended up doing a loop around the residential area 😉

There are tons of hotels as well as B&Bs scattered throughout the city and many looked very lovely but I would stay at the Fairmont again next time ~ the atmosphere was so comfortable.