Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac: Canada’s Castle on the Hill

Photos courtesy Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac:

Contributor and travel expert Maureen Littlejohn shares her love of Canada’s most-photographed luxury hotel: Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City

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Beloved by locals and sought out by visitors from around the globe, Quebec City’s Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac is a Canadian icon. According to TripAdvisor, this National Historic Site is the most photographed hotel in the world.

Flip open a Canadian passport and you’ll see it gracing a page. Buy something with a loonie and you might notice it on the face of the ubiquitous $1 coin. Mailing a letter? The hotel even has its own postage stamp.

Celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2023, Chateau Frontenac is spruced up and ready for another century of celebrities and champagne. An $80 million renovation in 2014 saw a major overhaul of guest rooms, restaurants, banquet areas and ballrooms. Tastefully true to its roots, there are new touches of vibrant colour, gleaming marble and plush upholstery that bring a zingy vitality to the vintage property, and a stellar program of events and exhibitions.

Unique, Quirky, Canadian… That’s the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac

The hotel is named after flamboyant French governor Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac who ruled New France from 1672 to 1698. On the Dufferin Terrace level a number of exhibits display some of the thousands of historic artefacts excavated from an area in front of the hotel where the governors’ residences and Saint-Louis Forts once stood, first built by famed French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1620.

Throughout its life, the Chateau has undergone a variety of expansions including the Citadelle construction in 1899, Mont-Carmel construction in 1908, and the Saint-Louis and Tour Centrale in 1920 and 1924. In 1993 the Claude-Pratte Wing with indoor pool, gym, and outdoor terrace was completed. Originally, the rooms at the top of the hotel were reserved for female staff. The dormer ceilings are still there, but most rooms have been enlarged.

Due to the numerous expansions, few of the 611 guest rooms are identical, amping up the property’s quirky charm. Recent unique additions include eight executive suites honouring a host of personalities with significant ties to the hotel:

• William Van Horne, the railroad tycoon who built the Chateau
• Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stayed here on one of their royal tours
• Sir Winston Churchill attended the secret Conferences of Quebec in 1943-44 to plan the invasion of Normandy (President Franklin D. Roosevelt also attended these conferences)
• Charles de Gaulle stayed on his infamous visit in 1967
• Alfred Hitchcock’s 1953 film I Confess was shot on location
• Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and son Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stayed here numerous times; and
• Celine Dion was signed to her first contract here after performing for a gathering of music company executives

The list of celebrities who have laid their heads under the Chateau’s magnificent roof also includes Princess Grace of Monaco, Montgomery Clift, Chiang-Kai-Shek, Steven Spielberg, and Paul McCartney.

Fine Dining at Chateau Frontenac

Along with the glorious décor, this remarkable Quebec luxury hotel is known for its sumptuous dining. Salon Dufferinoffers an elegant buffet and al la carte breakfast to diners who can nosh and sip coffee as they overlook the mighty St Lawrence River. Le Sam Bistro serves up lunch, creative cocktails, and tantalizing canapés including delicious cheese boards featuring artisanal Quebec products.

In the Champlain restaurant, Chef Stephane Modat delivers creative, modern cuisine, paying homage to local Quebecois producers. Other highlights include a sparkling indoor pool and Moments Spa, with a full menu of body and esthetic treatments.

Known fondly as the ‘Castle on the Hill’, the majestic Chateau Frontenac indeed makes all who stay there feel like royalty.

Riley Recommends: For further information about one of the top luxury hotels in Canada, including the latest reviews, rates, and to make reservations, visit Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac.

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Maureen Littlejohn has been writing about entertainment, lifestyle and travel for longer than she’d care to disclose. Currently, she is executive director of Culture Magazin (no e!).