The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac (), is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d'Armes. The Château Frontenac was designed by New York architect Bruce Price in the Château style. It was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway company. The hotel is managed by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. It is considered the most photographed hotel in the world. It was one of the first of Canada's grand railway hotels, and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981. The hotel was expanded on three occasions, with the last major expansion taking place in 1993.

Location

The Château Frontenac is situated on 1, rue des Carrières, at the eastern edge of Old Quebec's Upper Town, built on the promontory of Quebec, a raised mass of land that projects into the Saint Lawrence River. The hotel property is bounded by rue Saint Louis to the north, and rue Mont Carmel to the south. Terrasse Dufferin is a terrace that wraps around the hotel from the northeast to the southeast, overlooking the Saint Lawrence River. Two public roads run through the hotel, rue du Trésor, and rue des Carrières. The hotel building was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada, known as the Château Frontenac National Historic Site of Canada. The area was designated as a National Historic Site in January 1981. The Châteauesque architectural style used throughout the hotel would later serve as a template for other Canadian grand railway hotels erected in the late-19th to early-20th century. Price's plan called for a horseshoe-shaped hotel, made up of four wings of unequal length, connected at obtuse angles. Public rooms made up the majority of the first two floors of Price's designs. The original proposal called for a square structure, however the completion of the Terrasse Dufferin led to the development for a more picturesque building. Since its completion, the hotel has undergone several major expansions and renovations led by several different architects and architectural firms. William Sutherland Maxwell led two major expansions to the hotel, one in 1908–09, and another in 1920–24 (co-led with his brother, Edward Maxwell). Renovations in the 1990s were led by one of Canada's most successful firms, Arcop, an architectural firm based in Montreal.

thumb|Several [[porte-cochères provide access to the hotel's central courtyard.]]

Access to the hotel's main entrance is marked by several porte-cochères with large dormers and a cupola. The porte-cochère leads guests into the hotel's central courtyard, as well as the entrance to the hotel's main lobby. The building stands , containing 18 floors primarily made up of guest rooms and other hotel amenities. After the addition of the tallest tower in 1924, the hotel became the tallest building in Quebec City. It remained the city's tallest building until 1930, when the Édifice Price was completed just northwest of the hotel. Although several buildings in Quebec City are taller, the hotel continues to hold a prominent position in the city's skyline, as it is perched atop a tall cape overlooking the Saint Lawrence River.

Facilities

The Château Frontenac includes 610 guest rooms and suites spread throughout the hotel building. Eight executive suites were renovated into specialty "themed rooms". Most of the suites are themed to the heads of state and government that have visited the hotel, such as the Trudeau-Trudeau Suite, named after two Canadian Prime Ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and Justin Trudeau. The Churchill Suite and Roosevelt Suite are two suites named after attendees of the First and Second Quebec Conferences, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, respectively.

A number of rooms at the Château Frontenac are also occupied by restaurants and other food-based services. As of 2018, three restaurants operate within the hotel: 1608 Wine and Cheese Bar, Bistro Le Sam, and Champlain. As a part of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts' larger "Bee Sustainable" program, the Château Frontenac hosts four queen honey bees in hives on the hotel's rooftop garden. The honey is harvested three times a year and is used by the hotel's restaurants. The hotel has nearly 70,000 honey bees producing of honey per year. The hotel's rooftop apiary also operates a pollinator hotel.

The Château was the recipient of the 2022 Global Hotel of the Year Award.

History

Background

thumb|Portrait of [[Louis de Buade de Frontenac at the hotel lobby. The hotel was named after the former Governor General of New France.]]

In the 1870s, a restoration project began in Quebec under the British governor general of Canada aimed at restoring the capital to its former 17th century look. One of the contributors to this project was Lord Dufferin, who supervised the construction of the old city wall and many public buildings that followed the theme of old, medieval, European Quebec. Dufferin also made a plan to reconstruct the Château Saint-Louis which was located on the cape where the Château Frontenac currently stands and served as the home of the French governors from 1620 to 1834. Dufferin's plan did not take off until the City Council and the Board of Trade adopted the idea and planned to instead construct a grand hotel on the site to attract upper-class tourism to the area, but after failing to finance its construction, businessmen from Toronto and Montreal with connections to the Canadian Pacific Railway took control of the project. The hotel was a part of a series of Châteauesque-styled hotels built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The hotel was expanded in 1924 to designs by William Sutherland Maxwell. The 1924 expansion saw the addition of the hotel's central tower, which was built by Anglin-Norcross of Montreal.

In 2001, the hotel was sold to Legacy REIT, which is partially owned by Fairmont, for $185 million. The hotel was renamed the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in November 2001, shortly after Canadian Pacific Hotels reformed itself as Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, taking the name of an American company it acquired in 2001.

thumb|An image of the hotel's roof imposed on safety netting and hung from scaffolding to hide refurbishment work on the hotel in July 2011.

In 2011, the hotel was sold to Ivanhoé Cambridge. Shortly after acquiring the hotel, Ivanhoé Cambridge announced an investment of $9 million for the restoration of the building's masonry work, and the replacement of the building's copper roofs. The company further announced another $66 million investment for general improvements and renovations throughout the hotel. When the roof was being replaced, an image of the roof was printed on polypropylene safety netting and hung from scaffolding to hide the refurbishing project from view. The extensive renovation saw conference rooms expanded, restaurants remodeled, modernization of the lobby, and the gutting and rebuilding of three-fifths of the hotel's rooms.

See also

  • Architecture of Quebec City
  • Governors' Garden
  • List of hotels in Canada
  • Wolfe–Montcalm Monument

Notes

References

Works cited

  • Official website
  • Château Frontenac National Historic Site of Canada