Hotels

Staying in one of the small hotels within or below the walls of Vieux-Québec can be one of your trip's most memorable experiences. That isn't a guarantee, however, that it will be comfortable. Standards of amenities and prices fluctuate so wildly from one small hotel to another -- even within a single establishment -- that it is wise to examine any rooms offered before registering. From rooms with private bathrooms, minibars, cable TVs, and wireless Internet connections, to walk-up budget accommodations with linoleum floors and toilets down the hall, Québec City has a wide enough variety of lodgings to suit most tastes and wallets.

If cost is a prime consideration, note that prices drop significantly from November to May, except for such events as the winter Carnaval de Québec in February. As a rule, the prices given in the listings below are rack rates for a double occupancy room. That means that you'll rarely, if ever, have to pay that much, unless it's Carnaval or one of the big days of the city's 400th-anniversary celebrations. Many hotels offer special deals through their websites or AAA discounts. The higher rates given apply during the warmer months, the Christmas season, and Carnaval.

In the budget category, even with an advance reservation, always ask to see two or three rooms before making a choice. Unless otherwise noted, all rooms in the lodgings listed below have private bathrooms -- en suite, as they say in Canada. Note that some properties use the word "spa" to mean an outdoor hot tub; when used in the listings below, it means an indoor facility offering massages and the like. Also, many of the hotels listed here are completely nonsmoking; if you are a smoker, check before booking.

Similar in atmosphere and price range to these small hotels are the more than 40 bed-and-breakfasts in and around Vieux-Québec. With rates mostly in the C$70-to-C$120 (US$61-US$104/£30-£52) range, they don't represent substantial savings over the small hotels, but will give you the opportunity to get to know some of the city dwellers.

When calling to make arrangements at a B&B, be very clear about your needs and requirements. A deposit is often required, and minimum stays of 2 nights are common. Credit cards may not be accepted. A very useful Official Accommodation Guide, put out by Québec City Tourism and revised annually, is available at the tourist offices. It lists every member of the Greater Québec Area Tourism and Convention Bureau, from B&Bs to five-star hotels, providing details about number of rooms, prices, and facilities.

If you prefer the conveniences of large chain hotels and the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac is fully booked, you can go outside the ancient walls to the younger part of town, Parliament Hill. High-rise hotels out there are within walking distance or a quick bus or taxi ride away from the attractions in the old city. In recent years, as well, a clutch of new boutique hotels and small inns in the Lower Town has greatly enhanced the lodging stock.

Québec's Ice Hotel: The Coldest Reception in Town

For C$15 (US$13/£6.45) you can visit, but for C$199 per person (US$173/£86) you can spend the night. Tempted? Québec's Ice Hotel (tel. 877/505-0423; www.icehotel-canada.com) is built each winter at the Station Touristique Duchesnay, a woodsy resort a half-hour outside of Québec City. It's crafted from 500 tons of ice, and everything is clear or white, from the ice chandelier in the 18-foot vaulted main hall to the thick square ice shot glasses in which vodka is served, to the pillars and arches and furniture. That includes the frozen slabs they call beds (deer skins and sleeping bags provide insulation). Nighttime guests get their rooms after visitors leave at 8pm and have to clear out before the next day's arrivals at 10am. Some rooms are themed and vaguely grand: The chess room, for instance, has solid-ice chess pieces the size of small children at each corner of the bed. Other rooms bring the words "monastic" or "cell block" to mind. Bear in mind that except for in the hot tub, temperatures everywhere hover between 23° and 28° Fahrenheit (.5 to .2 Celsius); refrigerators are used not to keep sodas cold but to keep them from freezing. And whoever dreamed up the luxury suite with a real fireplace that somehow emits no heat: There is a special circle in hell for you.

In 2007, the hotel had 36 rooms and suites, a wedding chapel, 2 small art galleries, and a disco where guests could shake the chill from their booties. Open each January, the Hôtel de Glace takes guests until April or the first thaw, whichever comes first -- at that point it's destroyed.

Locals have a bemused reaction to all the fuss. As a waitress down the road told one guest: "I would have charged you half as much and let you sleep in a snowbank behind the pub."

St-Roch

Until about 2000, there were few reasons for locals, let alone travelers, to include Québec's St-Roch neighborhood in their plans. All that is changing. Young restaurateurs, artists, and media techies have settled in and dubbed the area "Le Nouvo St-Roch" (proper spelling would be too traditional).