Guest reviews Fairmont Le Château Montebello

by annef790 Zurich, Switzerland

Rooms and activities were nice, restaurant experience was a disaster

We stayed with our family (4 rooms) three nights at the Fairmont. To begin with, we love Fairmont. We stayed a various Fairmont hotels around the world and always loved it but this trip was a bit of a disaster. The rooms, activities, pool were great. The F&B part was really bad. We were really looking forward to spend some lovely family dinners at the hotel but when we were there we were only able to book one out of three dinners at the hotel and that was a dinner at the outside BBQ restaurant at 8pm. With three small kids not so ideal. The lady at the restaurant actually told us they don’t have enough staff and can’t offer an earlier dinner. Very sad for a 5 star hotel. Next to that the breakfast was not much better. My beloved Fairmont breakfast. First day we did à la carte. Our waitress was very stressed and unfriendly. She forgot one dish completely, no sorry or anything, another one was wrong and then she said that my brother-in-law ordered the wrong thing. Btw he would never order Avocado toast. The next day we wanted to try the buffet. It was much better (also no interaction with the grumpy lady) but very limited selection. We were very disappointed about our Fairmont food experience this time. The last day we skipped breakfast at the hotel. I know this is not the typical Fairmont experience but we still paid a lot of money for this experience and although there were two weddings, the other guests should also be treated the same way and enjoy a lovely dinner!!!

by GMforever Montreal

Looking for an identity

We spend a few nights this summer at Le Chateau Montbello, which is a Fairmont. Compared to Chateau Frontenac, night a day. The location along the river is spectacular. I was OK with the decor: it is a log cabin, even if it is the largest in the world and rustic. However, what I did not expect was that our room was dirty - we found chips under a chair and a pill behind the bathroom door. Ok things may happen ... However, as I was not sure if housekeeping would come or not in our room, I left a tip on the pillow. There were a few cups that could have been picked-up, coffee put back and garbage cans to be empty. The tip was gone but the remaining stayed the same.... Restaurant: dressing code was not respected for supper at the Chatignolles. I dont mind kids coming in shorts but if there is a dress code written ladies and gents, please keep the flip flops, tank tops and shorts for the pool. The food was mediocre and not even what was written on the menu.. With COVID, I know that the whole restauration sector suffers +++ but 16$ for 2 slices of tomatoes, in the middle of summer, that is steep... For children, it is a great place: pool, games, radio controlled cars, bikes etc ... Finally except for the valet guys, who were working really hard and this was very appreciated, I was not impressed by the rest of the staff.

by Timothy D

Great Property, Poorly Managed

Unfortunate that such a grand hotel & resort has sunk so low. Great food, served cold. Great restaurant service. Door staff that stand around talking while you unload your own luggage onto the trolley, and then swarm you once you try actually use it. Run down property that not so long ago hosted world leaders. Kitchen staff in uniform sitting around watching the TV in the main hall. Other staff sitting on the back entrance smoking. Golf course was well maintained and welcoming. 1001 activities to do. Pool staff did a great job.

by PhilippeRoy2013 Ottawa, Canada

Great Destination Resort Hotel, Dining Room, Golf Course

We are a senior couple, retired, and golfers. We like to go to Château Montebello each year for our wedding anniversary. The room was great, recently refurbished with a grand view of the property and Ottawa River. The bartender made a perfect vodka martini with Belvedere Vodka and Noilly Pratt Vermouth, shaken not stirred, with olives. Les Chantignoles Dining Room was unique and we had an excellent meal, rack of lamb and grilled trout respectively, excellent wines, great service. Breakfast buffet was delicious, perfect scrambled eggs, orange juice, rye toast, coffee, great service. The golf course was in perfect condition, the sun was shining and the maples were in brilliant fall colours, great service by all there. We would like to thank the incredible service-oriented General Manager, Geneviève Dumas, MBA, and all of her outstanding staff for their exceptionally kind and polite attention to our every need. These staff include: Director of Food and Beverages, Frédérick Lezeau-Laplante; Maître d'Hôtel, Justin MAara; Bartender, Kevin Laframboise; Bellman, Marc Papasodoro; Dining Room Waitress, Roselyne Émond; Director of Golf, Sebastien Issa; Golf Receptionist, Mary-Li Mailloux. Madame Dumas has very obviously instilled a corporate culture of pride among staff in excellence in service, and they carry out their individual roles beautifully in this first class destination resort. We hope to return again next year. Philippe and Mary Roy, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

by Nancy T

Lovely As Ever!

I really don't understand people who stay here and then post a bad review whining that the decor is "outdated". We don't come to the biggest log cabin on earth to to get a room we could find at any Sheraton on earth. This place is special and its uniqueness is a plus, not a minus. I'm sorry to see that the rooms are gradually being converted to blue and silver Wayfair decor, and very glad we had the chance to revisit the original charming ambiance of an original room. The new ones have even had their original painted room numbers removed in favour of modern brass number plaques. The food is typical Fairmont fare -- just fine -- but the burger is the best we've ever had. The dining room is magnificent, and we could spend days just sitting on front of the lobby fireplace, but the weather was perfect and we enjoyed walking on the lovely trails and enjoying the fall colours. The pool house is worth a visit in itself. The original ceilings with painted seahorses and lobsters and Triliums are quietly spectacular. The tubs are still deep, long soakers, which i miss a lot at the renovated old Fairmont hotels that now have only a shower. The staff go beyond courtesy and really seem to mean it when they tell us they hope we'll have a wonderful evening.