Maison McKenzie House

I stayed one night on my way to Gaspe. The owner was friendly, though he asked me to pay again even though I'd booked through Expedia and provided my credit card number. I called Expedia, they confirmed my card hadn't been charged, so I paid cash. It's an old Victorian-style B&B, not a hotel, and the building doesn't have amenities. One night works fine for a solo traveler or a couple, but I wouldn't choose it with kids. If you're looking for an unusual stay, give it a try.

Mr. McKenzie has clearly put a lot into this place. He bought it in 1995 to save it from planned demolition and made it newer and much safer. He was there when we arrived at 4, still up at 11, and awake before 7. He let us use his fridge overnight and told us stories at breakfast. The house feels like a museum, with small, colorful rooms on the first and second floors, crowded with hangings and picture frames. The 1910s architecture is striking. It's a short walk downtown, and we ate at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant before taking a riverside trail walk until sunset. There are two staircases, one narrow and hidden between floors, the other open and wide from the second floor toward the yard. The floorboards squeak, and doors won't stay put unless you stop them. Some practical details were tricky. One bathroom sink has separate taps for steaming hot and freezing cold water, so you need a container to mix some warm water for washing your hands. Bring your own shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. The house supplies new soap and towels. We couldn't get the shower temperature right, and it needed some professional adjustment. We couldn't find heaters, and the window AC units either only ran as fans or blew cool air. The blackout curtain was awkward to open when I wanted to let sunlight in. Breakfast for me was ployes, a healthier pancake, with syrup and jams. There was also cereal and bread, with a bread warmer. It's a memorable cultural stay, but I'd avoid it for a business trip.

The homemade jam was amazing. Mike was a great host, and I loved how cool and old the house is.

The house felt lonely and sad to me, with its old 1910s decorations, and when I first got out of the car I was thinking, “No! L’hôtel! Noooo...” Is this really a home? It didn't feel like a hotel at all. Still, it was relatively clean, and the older man who came out to speak English with us was kind and funny. That's why I gave Service four stars, taking one off because the bathroom had no shampoo, conditioner, or body wash. The location gets four stars from me because it's close to restaurants and the river. The room only gets three: it was so narrow and small that I could barely walk around, the floor squeaked underfoot, and the sheets were a little dirty. My mom's hands also burned because the shower head was hard to control. There were lots of lovely photos in the hallways, but breakfast was cereal, bread, and pancakes. What kind of breakfast is that? It was even worse than Auberge Presbytère Mont Lac-vert, just appetizer after appetizer. Who said breakfast was good? Eh? Two stars overall. I won't stay in this type of hotel again.