The View from "Ici"

With 571 guestrooms, the Hilton Quebec is the second-largest hotel in Quebec City - and oh, by-the-way - all of those recently-renovated rooms boast oversized picture windows taking full advantage of amazing views:

The Plains of Abraham, Old Quebec, the St. Lawrence River and the Laurentian Mountains in the distance...

The popular Plaines room on hotel's top, 23rd floor, offers a total of 2,772 square feet - again with a spectacular view.  The Executive Club floor is also located on the 23rd floor - great for VIP upgrades!

Hilton Quebec's 7,623 square foot ballroom is the largest in the city. With 23,000 square feet of dedicated hotel meeting space, and an enviable location adjacent to the Centre des Congres du Quebec (the city's newly-expanded full-service convention centre), the Hilton has always been the go-to choice for larger meetings and conventions.  A multi-million dollar renovation project, though, has added 73,000 square feet of flexible function space beneath the hotel's lobby; albeit technically part of the convention centre, it would be contracted separately.

Banking on Luxury

 

Located in the historic Old Port of Quebec City on Rue Saint-Pierre, the "Wall Street" of its time,  Hotel 71 was originally a built as a bank.  Now a Four-Diamond rated luxury boutique hotel, its 50 contemporary rooms and nine suites (and one fab Penthouse Suite) feature primary materials such as natural stone and the occasional bank remnant - like a vault door - as well as hardwood floors, spacious bathrooms, and glorious 15 ft. ceilings.

The hotel has four meeting rooms, all with natural light and DIY espresso machines. The largest, Salon 71 at 1500 square feet can accommodate up to 45 people classroom. (We saw it cunningly set-up with rectangular tables of eight - as an alternative to half-rounds.)

Its sister property - attached, with inside access (guests of both hotels have access to the same Espace Café/lounge offering complimentary coffee) - The Saint-Pierre offers an additional 41 guestrooms in more country-chic style, as well as its own library and lobby where coffee, tea and water are served all day long.  Great for overflow.

Also attached, the stylish but homey (all the dishes are prepared using "Mama's" recipes and patrons are warmly greeted by the owner) Il Matto Italian restaurant can accommodate small groups for dine-arounds or off-sites, that aren't really off-site at all!

Many other restaurants are within walking distance.  The hotel has bicycles for guests who want to explore the city on two wheels.

 

Having a little work done

In the finishing stages of a $70 million dollar facelift, Quebec City's famous "castle", is getting bigger as well as better.

The 120+year old Fairmont Chateau Frontenac is (proudly!) the most-photographed hotel in the world, so she likes to look her best. Guestrooms have been recently renovated in a more contemporary style with an updated lobby, meeting space and some snazzy new Food and Beverage outlets yet to be unveiled. The real focus, however, has been the addition of 15,000 square feet of much-needed meeting space - bringing the rooms-to-space ratio more in line.

The number of Fairmont Gold rooms is also increasing (from 47 to 61) and the Fairmont Gold lounge is being enlarged to allow more guests, and small groups, to enjoy this luxury product.

Now offering 613 guestrooms and 40,000 square feet of function space, the Fairmont Chateau Frontenac will be ready for her close up May 2014.