Hotel Ermitage

The room was clean, though I found there was a bit too much Febreze, perhaps because I’m sensitive to it. It was a tight fit for two, but we were out exploring most of the time. Staff were friendly, and a small microwave would have been handy. We paid a little more because we were there around New Year’s, but the location was hard to beat for the price. Parking is available at both hotels for about CAD 25 a day. Hotel Acadia across the street owns this one, so if anything comes up, you can go there for help.

The worst hotel experience we’ve had, and we won’t be coming back. We were a family of four adults staying over Christmas, and a staff member’s conduct completely overshadowed what should have been a special holiday. He said he was frustrated with Christmas and tourists visiting the city during the season, which was deeply disappointing and inappropriate. He accused us of making noise even though we’d just come back from dinner and had only been in the room a few minutes. We’d heard ongoing noise from the guests above us throughout the stay, but hadn’t complained. He then gave us 15 minutes to be quiet and asleep or he’d call the police and have us removed. The whole thing felt intimidating and demeaning, like we were kids at school camp rather than paying guests. He knocked on our door, used inappropriate language, and threatened that a small Christmas tree in our room would lead to police involvement. It was Christmas Day, and we’d put the tree in the bin before checkout. He also made alarming claims that we could get a criminal record “that would follow us around the world.” Those threats were entirely unwarranted. I can’t recommend staying here.

I had a great stay overall. The property is a comfortable, affordable choice in a quiet and secure setting, and I’d recommend it for its cleanliness and fantastic location. There were a couple of arrival issues: they forgot to email me the passcode, and when I got to my room I saw the window was open and the top window was broken. I let the property know. Another guest helped us get inside when the passcode caused a bit of a hiccup.

The building is very old, and doors slamming outside the room woke me up at night. The Wi-Fi barely worked, and there were several things in the room that needed repair. There’s no receptionist on site, so you have to call, and it was hard to reach anyone by phone. It feels like management is doing the bare minimum and relying on the tourist location to sell rooms. I’d book somewhere else. Quebec is a small city, and you don’t need to be right beside Old Town to enjoy it.