Aury H.
Yelp
This hotel provided the perfect week-long stay for us two during our first visit to Quebec. There was a significant price difference between this hotel and those in the heart of Quebec City, so we took a risk and opted to select this hotel. Best Western's proximity to the city and YQB airport reassured us that this was the right choice, and; the level of comfort and service we experienced will make this a staple hotel during future visits.
TL;DR: clean, comfortable, affordable hotel perfectly situated in the city and a great choice for a long stay. Internet could be faster, but not a deal-breaker for stays that consist of sightseeing all day. I will stay here again.
Location: 20-minute walk to the old city, the bus stop is around the corner, and the average Uber rate to Chateau Frontenac was about $7-$10 (or $16 during peak times, i.e. 6pm.) It's within a short walk to excellent places to eat. Uniprix (equivalent of a CVS pharmacy) is right across the street and was perfect for quick trips to get water bottles, ibuprofen, and other toiletries. The hotel is a 20-minute drive to YQB airport, which makes the Uber ride affordable ($22 for me). There are 2 cafes in the lobby area. 1 cafe serves coffee, tea, sandwiches, and pastries. They offer a 10% discount to hotel guests (and 30% discount on pastries from the previous day!) The other cafe is more restaurant style with excellent breakfast options that were greatly priced (i.e. $15 for a well-packed omelet that came with house potatoes, fruit and toast), or a breakfast buffet for $17. Dinner is also served but we didn't try it. As a vegetarian, however, I was happy to see a veggie burger listed on the dinner menu.
Service: everyone from the front staff to housekeeping greeted us at all times. I can't relate to other reviews criticizing poor hospitality. We were always greeted. At a minimum, there was always eye contact with a smile. Our room was cleaned daily, and all toiletries were refilled timely. Towels are changed if left on the bathroom floor, and bed linens are changed by placing the request card on the bed. Bed linens are automatically changed every 3rd day. There's an ATM in the lobby, which made it super easy for us to insert our American bank card and get Canadian dollars ($2.50 fee.) The front staff also helps book tour buses. We had already booked a few on our own so they helped us schedule pickups at the hotel and not at the tour bus's designated pickup locations, which were 2 blocks or so away.
We also want to recognize Leah in this review. She was extremely courteous at all times (we had so many questions!). She was patient, knowledgeable, and gave us tips on what to do, where to visit, and even helped us understand some of the tourism flyers to make sure we always purchased the best value. There were a few days when Leah was working the long shift, and she was consistently courteous whether we asked questions early morning or late at night. Leah was awesome!
Cleanliness/comfort: the beds were comfortable and the pillows were so fluffy yet firm enough to not sink throughout the night. I was worried because I have a bad back and have the Cadillac of beds back home (king size, tempur-pedic mattress, the works). This was a perfect bed to sleep on for a full week. Bathroom linens were also comfortable, I was expecting rough towels due to the affordable price and was pleasantly surprised to notice that they were soft. The AC worked perfectly and was quiet. Our room had a small fridge and a nice TV. We used the in-room safe to store our laptop and iPad during the day. The iron and ironing board came in handy to press our clothes before our fancy dinner at Ciel. The ice and vending machine were nearby, though they're out in the open instead of in a closed room. I would not want to stay in the room right in front of those machines.
Things to improve (but not deal breakers): I'm not sure if vacuuming was supposed to be done daily, but ours was not. Little debris from opening souvenirs stayed on the floor throughout our stay. After 3 days or so, our furniture was dusty and not cleaned. I left a note requesting dusting and it was done then. There was also an instance when we came back at the end of the day to find that our door was left open with only the latch left folded to prevent it from closing. We didn't lose anything, but it was evident that it had been left that way all day. The internet is advertised (at least on Expedia) as 5mbps but that was untrue. I ran speed tests from my room, which yielded 1.5 mbps at most (and 1.8 mbps in the lobby). It was enough to stream video and do basic social media, but I can't imagine it would be helpful to someone needing to get work done or videoconferencing calls.
In the end, the good certainly outweighed the "not-so-bad." We're already planning visiting Quebec for Christmas and I don't see a reason to shop for another hotel. We're so grateful that this hotel contributed to our dream vacation.