September 2 -5, 2011
We like to travel somewhere to say goodbye to the summer right before school starts. Since using Delta Skymiles for award tickets is notoriously difficult…we usually wait until the very last minute to book trips using miles..when, magically, Delta gives up efforts to sell these seats and opens up the award seats open wide! In 2010 we booked 4 tickets to Honolulu the day before we flew! This year we wanted to go somewhere where we can stay at a Fairmont hotel (more on that later). We tried Calgary but no go. So we then saw availability to Quebec wide open and bingo 100k miles and out of pocket cash cost of only about $35 dollars! Booked on Wednesday night we flew out on Friday to spend Labor Day weekend in Quebec City. Que magnifique:-)
It was weird flying internationally on a small CRJet plane out of the small terminal of Detroit. Walking through the tunnel is always a treat for the kids:-)
Took some time to relax in the Delta Skylounge of course:
Approaching Quebec. Lots of green and…surprisingly, LOTS of swimming pools!
Quebec’s airport is very nice. Small, very clean w/ large hallways…impressed.
Taxi rides to the city are a flat fee of $32.50 CAD. On the highway to the city:
Views from the taxi:
We got in to Quebec about 6 pm and we made it to our hotel around 7 pm. We decided to spend 35k Hilton Honor points and stay at the very nice Hilton just outside the walls of the Old City. As Hilton Gold, we got upgraded to a nice room with a nice view, access to the magnificent lounge on the 23rd floor, and 4 certs for breakfast the next morning!
This is the view from the Hilton lounge on the 23rd floor:
This is the view from our room, the Parliament Building:
In our room in the Hilton:
Of course we had to try the outdoor swimming pool:
Took a short walk at night, here is our high school freshman planking…apparently is the new craze of people taking pics standing face down….What can I say, whoever thought of that must be brilliant:-)
The breakfast was fantastic!
View from our room again, this time during the day:
Visited the lounge once more:
Checking out of the Hilton:
Dad taking care of the bill…it was almost $10 CAD only:-)
We all had carry on bags of course and we rolled them to our next hotel. We passed by the Fontaine du Tourny:
About to enter the Old City:
Porte Saint-Louis:
Walking down Rue Saint Louis:
Just outside the spectacular Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac
Why here when the smallest rooms cost $250 and up per night and suites over $500 per night? Are we that loaded? Of course not…We stayed here on complimentary nights Dad had as a Fairmont Lifetime Platinum member of Fairmont’s President Club. There was a promo earlier this year that about 100 of us “miles addicts” got in that offered lifetime status…it even made national news before it was pulled! So, we are truly looking forward to a lifetime of experiences in these hotels!!
We got upgraded to a nice junior suite that regularly goes for $549 per night and up! This is our living room:
and this is our bedroom:
and this is the view from our room!
We always try the swimming pools in the hotel, this is the first thing that kids ask for!
A benefit to the guests is the free use of BMW bikes. We loved taking a bike ride with my son!
on the boardwalk, our hotel in the background:
Biking up Terrase Dufferin:
Son asked for a BMW bike. “Son, you need to wait for our next Fairmont stay”
The preserved architecture is just beautiful:
Biking around La Citadelle:
Still biking….we ran into this funky looking car:
Parliament building again:
The hotel was built almost 120 years ago by the local railroad company that kept expanding it and now has 600 rooms! They are working on restoring the roof presently. Lots of history in this castle!!
Planking…again….shaking my head
After parking our bikes, we had to take a pic in front of this Mercedes:
Fairmont hallway:
The elevators are old and kind of slow…it adds to the “feel” of the space!
Walking around Quebec…Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate at all as it kept raining all weekend long, except on Friday the day we arrived!
Artist street:
Can’t remember which church is this as we kept walking:
We went to the last Cirque de Soleil (sp?) performance of the summer held in an open space parking lot. I did not know they are originally from Quebec and these free shows is a way of giving back to the city we were told. It was UNFORGETTABLE…BREATHTAKING…especially the finale was something we will always remember! One of those priceless moments in life!
We took a tour of the hotel as the kids stayed in the room. Here is a tour guide dressed..in character:
Our group had guests from China, Australia, Toronto, Germany and New Jersey:
Showing us how the hotel is separated into different wings, its size is massive:
Yep, they do have lots of weddings in this castle, 4 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday!
And now this is the most important room of the hotel. In this room Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met to plan the Normandy invasion. It was a top secret meeting; all guests were told to leave and I am guessing they were walked to other hotels nearby. We were all in awe and looking up and around the room and all the frescoes and art was quite something:
Lobby areas:
Front entrance of the hotel:
I just love this pic of the hotel in all its glory and the Canadian flag flowing in the wind:
We did a lot of walking the next day in the rain:
To the Citadel again on foot this time:
Somebody smack this kid!
OMG, what is this thing??
What a view!
Can’t remember who but he is French too!
The oldest US Consulate:
Walking at night, very beautiful streets!
Our kids specialize in domestic terrorism, here is proof:
Oh…puulease, for God’s sake, can we move on now?
Cozying up to mommy, I wonder what they are up to:-)
I think this is a hospital?
Wine definitely goes well when you walk these narrow streets…uphill!
Too much rain…so back to the swimming pool:
2nd buffet lunch at the restaurant, Platinums are treated very very well:-)
Aren’t they cute?
Dad always manages to screw up the picture, he never saw a camera he got along with!!!
Thanks Dad for letting us see the world with your miles and staying at the best hotels with your points, we love you!
The bill at checkout was again only $10 CAD…Science or Art, how does he do it? Actually, the two taxi rides cost more out of pocket cash than the 4 plane tickets and 3 hotel nights!!
Wow!!!!
I really like this airport:
We could enter the VIP lounge and we did…small but elegant!
Very nice food and wine selection:
Hanging out by our gate, great views of the planes:
Sometimes when you fly you take some amazing pics of the sun setting…
and the cloud formations:
We landed safely on Monday night. And on Tuesday morning off to the first day of school.
I wish we had more time to do more things in Quebec but the weather did not help at all. Oh well, we really enjoyed our hotel stay and we are very impressed with Fairmont and are looking forward to more stays over the years!
If you read this far, thank you and we hope you enjoyed reading about another travel adventure. My favorite quote of all time is:
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”-Mark Twain
