Fairmont Le Château Frontenac

Fairmont Le Château Frontenac Review

The most photographed landmark in Québec City, this imposing turreted castle with a copper roof owes its name to the Comte de Frontenac, Governor of the French colony between 1672 and 1698. The site itself is significant; it once held the St-Louis châteaux and forts, residence and seat of power for most governors. Samuel de Champlain was responsible for Château St-Louis, the first structure to appear on the site of the Frontenac; it was built between 1620 and 1624 as a residence for colonial governors. In 1784 Château Haldimand was constructed here, but it was demolished in 1892 to make way for Château Frontenac, built as a hotel a year later. The Frontenac was remarkably luxurious at that time: guest rooms contained fireplaces, bathrooms, and marble fixtures, and a special commissioner purchased antiques for the establishment. The hotel was designed by New York architect Bruce Price, who also worked on Québec City's Gare du Palais (rail station). It is one in a series of château-style hotels built across Canada to attract wealthy railway travelers and promote luxury tourism. The addition of a 20-story central tower in 1925 completed the hotel. It has accumulated a star-studded guest roster, including Queen Elizabeth, Princess Grace, Alfred Hitchcock, and Ronald Reagan, as well as Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, who met here in 1943 and 1944 for two wartime conferences.

Guides dressed in 19th-century-style costumes conduct tours of the luxurious interior, and the new Canine Ambassador, Santol, a former guide dog in the Mira Foundation for the blind, can often be found in the lobby helping children and adults alike feel more at home. For more info on tours, visit www.tourschateau.ca.