2.  Superb culinary experience at the 3 restaurants and in-room dining

3. Friendly local staff and comfortable accommodation in historic 1929, fully restored, property

4.  Affordable rates for your meetings or family getaway

5.  The hotel gives back to the local community with La Tablée des Chefs

Enjoy the video showcasing our beautiful region and Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu!  See you in Charlevoix this winter!

On a domestic side with the top 25 Canadian destinations, Quebec City made it as #6, Montreal #14, Tremblant #19 and Tadoussac #24. The Rockies and West Coast are all over the map!

Be involved on Tripadvisor and comment about our lovely & authentic province of Quebec, we need the business on this side of the country!

Charlevoix has welcomed travellers since the 18th century. The first Manoir opened in 1899 and was made of wood. Unfortunately the 250-room hotel burned down in 1928 and was reconstructed as a Normandy-style castle in 1929.

In 1998, over 140 million dollars were injected by the 3 owners for a grand restoration. A 10,000 sq ft ballroom and new pools were added, guestrooms were totally redesigned, etc. The hotel was closed for 9 months and every single corner of the property was modified or improved. Everybody talked about it in the media as it was, and still is, the most ambitious restoration project in the province. The re-opening of the Majestic Manoir Richelieu in June 1999 was a huge success and I was part of it! The project was completed by Construction Manager Pomerleau and Interior Design Firm Alexandra Champalimaud & Associates.

In 2005 the golf product was also improved and redesigned: 9 holes were added making it a world-class 27 hole golf course, a new Club House and a tee off departure experience from the main hotel (golf-in, golf-out concept).

In winter, there are so many things to do onsite and in the area such as skating, dogsledding, relaxing at the spa and enjoying the outdoor heated pools. Le Manoir Richelieu is proud to be the largest and the most luxurious snowmobiling relais in the world with indoor heated parking for snowmobiles! There are also two fabulous alpine skiing centres not too far from the hotel: Mont Grand Fonds and Le Massif… Ready to crash?

Back in the 80s, avid skiers were going down the virgin mountain on fresh tracks and were going back up with a school bus. 25 years later and 3 high-speed quad chairs, Le Massif welcomes 170 000 visitors per year and is looking to increase its business. Le Massif was bought for 9,2 million dollars in 2002 by former Cirque du Soleil President, Daniel Gauthier, who’s injecting huge amount of money for his new endeavors. A series of projects have been announced including a train service from Quebec to La Malbaie, train stations, 400 new accommodation units (200 units at the base, 50 mid-mountain and 150 in Baie St-Paul), etc. The first phase of the project will be completed in 2013. I look forward to learning more about the housing projects. Currently on the mountain, there is no ski-in ski-out accommodation.

Another great highlight of my day on the mountain was meeting our 1994 Freestyle Olympic Gold medalist, Jean-Luc Brassard, spokesman for Le Massif since 2005. Jean-Luc is actually doing a great PR job and it at ease with his ambassador duties. It was an honor to ski with him after I skied with Nancy Green in Sun Peaks a few years ago.

I look forward to seeing the development of Le Massif and its area as Charlevoix will largely benefit from this investment. In the meantime, I strongly recommend to all of you skiers out there to escape to Le Massif this winter, it’s a true paradise…

I’ve stayed at all the 8 Canadian Faimont hotels mentioned on the list and agree they are top choices. I hope that a member of the Travel + Leisure‘s global team will make it to the beautiful area of Charlevoix in Quebec next time.

Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island, ranked 5th in Canada, has a special place in our heart and I would like to thank the owners, Frederique and Sinclair Philip, for a lovely stay. We had the Harbour Seal Room and very much enjoyed our culinary experience.

As for the best hotel in the world, The Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, India, it certainly looks fabulous and reminds me of the forts and palaces I have seen in Rajasthan… When are we going back?