New Year’s at the Fairmont Le Chateau in Quebec City
We had such a fabulous time at the Four Seasons Hotel in Whistler that we wanted to keep the streak going and find another Canadian city to visit that has snow, snowtubing, nice accommodations and a fabulous family New Year’s Eve event. I don’t think our checklist is long but it’s precise.
We visited Quebec City years ago when the boys were really little. So they didn’t remember a thing about it and we had enjoyed the trip then as well. The snowtubing is top notch and I would recommend anyone to go there with their kids. Truly fun for all the family to enjoy together at Valcartier. So we decided to head back. We remembered walking through the Fairmont and it was decorated so lovely with different themed Christmas trees adorned in the lobby. We remembered it to be very enchanting. We called to ask if they have NYE festivities for the family and they actually have a WHOLE department setup for their events on NYE. They really hyped it up and said it’s fun for the whole family. So we decided to go back and stay there this time and partake in their NYE event!!
My overall review with Fairmont Le Chateau is “meh.” Not at all what I had envisioned it from our previous walk-through experience from the past. The hotel still had the adorable Christmas trees in the lobby just as I had remembered. We checked in on New Year’s Eve day so it was really busy and bustling. We used our AMEX points to book a room because it was crazy expensive for that evening and using points just made sense for the value. The room was VERY small. It’s honestly fine, as that doesn’t bother us. We don’t spend a whole lot of time in the room anyway. I know some like SPACE though and this isn’t the place to give you the extra legroom.
At check-in, I had asked who I needed to speak with about the New Year’s Eve Ball and the front desk said to go speak to Concierge. I went to go speak to Concierge and she seemed bothered that I was asking her. She asked which event I was registered for. I was confused, I said for the New Year’s Eve Gala and she said there are multiple events going on and I don’t see your name. She then sent me downstairs to the event desk. I went to the location and found the desk and no one was there. There was a sign that had their hours which read “2:00 to 10:00 PM” and it was 2:30 PM. So I waited around for a good 15 to 20 minutes and still nothing. So I had to go back upstairs to the lovely concierge who didn’t want to deal with me prior, lol. I digress. The Concierge made a few phone calls and told me they they would be down in another 15 minutes. So I went back downstairs to wait. I ran into another lady waiting downstairs who seemed frustrated and said she hadn’t received any information and just needed help on the who, when and where. All valid questions when making a booking for a NYE party at the hotel. And here, I had even more questions since I thought there was only one event based off my conversations back in October with the hotel.
A lady finally arrived and apologized for her tardiness. She found my name and said I was registered with the Black Tie Gala. I asked about all the others and some were casual, some were just a cocktail hour…..many different things going on and I only knew and was advised about one. So a little off-putting even though “I think” we picked the best option.
We had plenty of time so we did a really cute scavenger hunt that the hotel setup for the kids. Took about 30 minutes. We then walked around Old Town and saw some really cute stores. We wanted the kids to survive to midnight so we went and took a little nap to get ready for the evening.
We got ready and all dressed up and headed to the ballroom around 8 pm. There were two ballrooms next to each other and one side was the “casual” side and the other was the “glamorous” side. The room was decorated festively and we were sat at a table with noisemakers and hats. There was a band playing and lights flashing around. We were then told there would be a 7 course meal. Fancy schmancy. Yeah……it was very small bites and nothing remotely suitable for kids, lol. And I will add that my kids eat pretty decent not just kids menu stuff and they had no other options for the kids. I don’t think they really thought out the family event thing thoroughly through. Most of it was cold by the time it got to our table. I took the boys across the way to the “casual” side as it was a buffet and had them fix themselves a plate. Luckily we had that as an option as I told the staff that the kids need to eat too.
The servers didn’t have many beverage options so we asked for some mixed drinks from the bar but they then advised they couldn’t order for us. So we went downstairs to the bar. We would have to put our name on the bar to get a “seat” to then place a drink order. We technically weren’t supposed to leave the “bar” with the drinks but we snuck them out so we could enjoy them at our table. We did this 2x and each time was a 20-30 minute process. It was quite boring for the kids. There was nothing for them to do as they’re kids! They don’t want to sit at a table for 4 hours. I looked around and saw several other kids just playing on tablets and phones. Really unsettling that they proclaimed an “awesome family event” and absolutely nothing for the kids. It really takes very little, just have a little something for them. But adults get more annoyed if they are acting like kids and being rowdy and loud. Don’t mind the obnoxious drunks, that’s ok since it’s in the spirit of the holiday but loud kids aren’t allowed. The band was really just playing dinner music until later in the evening.
We felt bad for them so we setup a movie in the room for them. We would get them down once it was closer to the countdown. Not what we had hoped for but made the most of it.
So 11:00 PM came around and we got the boys to do some dancing as they were finally playing some more upbeat music. Perfect for those in their 60’s and 70’s, lol! We danced, we smiled, we laughed and we made it to the countdown of midnight. We then went to the room as the boys were ready to go to sleep.
The cost was $1000 for all of us and the food was cold, kids had to go across the way to get food. Service was not good. We asked for waters and other stuff multiple times before giving up. We had to go get our own drinks which was not included in the ticket which we had to sneak out of the bar. The band was ok, the whole atmosphere was mediocre. We didn’t even get a standard Michael Jackson song, lol. The count down was hilarious. The band said, “I don’t have a clock but know it’s almost midnight so let’s just do our own countdown!” Maybe we had such high expectations after celebrating in Whistler the year prior. But I think we enjoyed the Great Wolf Lodge NYE celebrations more than at the Fairmont. It was bad communication, bad execution and just a salty taste coming away from it for what we paid. Definitely not worth the value. Really unfortunate because they could make it really great but that’s what life is about, we live and learn from our experiences. Their all not going to be picture perfect and we made the most of it.
