I came tripping down the steps, through the seating area, and up to the front desk.  My friend at the front desk had recommended a breakfast place, and I couldn’t remember the name of it, and wanted to be pointed in the right direction.  He took my map and circled the location and wrote Cafe Buade off to the side.  Ahh… that’s right.  Then he asked what I was up to today, giving advice on things that were good choices, and adding a few ideas to my list for the week.

That same scenario was repeated several times during my time at Hotel Manoir de la Terrasse.  I was very thankful that the staff was always kind and helpful, and at times pretty funny:  “Promenade des Gouverneurs!  You don’t want to go there!  There are so many steps, really.  Tourists go up in the morning, and by lunch the rescue helicopters are circling!”  (To read my reaction when I found myself climbing the Promenade, check out <<This Post>>!)

When planning this, my first solo trip, I wrestled with wanting to take a long enough trip to really feel like I got away, but balancing that with the reality that I cannot leave two teens at home with dad, who is working full time, for very long.  And there’s the fact that I had to keep things affordable.  This is an unplanned add-on to life, so more than usual, I have to watch the budget.

I had to decide where my line was when considering where to stay.  For me, a private bath is a must for my life.  And clean and safe are a given.  Plus, I’m not going to have a car, so I want a good location, easily walkable to most of the things I’m going to want to do (Uber is fine sometimes).

So I started watching my usual sites:  Travelocity.com, hotels.com, etc.  Fairly quickly, I found Manoir de la Terrasse.  The Manoir and Hotels.com were running a promotion that made the room very affordable during my travel dates.  All told, a week was going to cause me just over $600 USD, so that’s an average of $86.77 per night.  That’s pretty darn good for a hotel right beside the Chateau Frontenac (where the cheapest room at the same time was $400+/night) and with only a small park between the front door and the Terrasse Dufferin.  Excellent location!

When I arrived, I found the converted rowhomes turned hotel to be right across from the Parc des Gouveneurs as expected.  The staff were friendly and helpful, and had me quickly checked in.  As I described above, they remained so throughout my visit.  I even had one mishap with the window in my room (more on this in a moment) which I mentioned as I left in the morning, and it was fixed by the time I returned.

One thing some may find a negative, is that there is no elevator.  I had a top floor room, so this meant going up two flights of steps to my room any time I went in and out.  I walk a lot, and that was fine with me, though getting the bags up initially is not for the delicate flowers among us who bring their whole wardrobe traveling!

My room had a queen bed, dresser with television (only a few channels and mostly french-speaking – but who’s here to watch TV?), chair, and a small fold-down bar for hanging clothes on the wall (not a built in closet).

 

The room itself was a little funky with the pitch of the roof slanting in to the ceiling in such a way that I had to duck a little to walk fully around the bed.  Again, not a problem for me at all.  There were also two built in shelves beside the bed that functioned as night stands, each having an electrical outlet – love this!  I could have my laptop, phone, and battery charger all plugged in at the same time and within easy reach.

I did have a next door neighbor during my stay, but either they were extremely quiet people, or the rooms are well-insulated, because I never heard anything from them except occasional a door open or close.

The bathroom had a full-size tub/shower combination, the toilet, sink, and two shelves for towels, the provided hair dryer, and my toiletries.  Even better?  The water quickly heated up when turned on, and the water pressure was excellent.  Given my top floor location, I wasn’t sure how that would be, and was very pleased.

I use wi-fi a lot, so probably the main down-side for me was that the wi-fi on the 3rd floor got weak at times.  When this happened and I really needed to use it, I went down to the sitting area on the first floor, and was able to get my online stuff done from there just fine.

I mentioned before that I had an issue with a window:  At some point one night, my window, while still locked, slid down from the top just a crack.  Since it was pretty chilly at night, this was noticeable by morning!  However, I stopped by the front desk on my way out that morning, and let them know what had happened.  By the time I returned mid-afternoon, the windows was all fixed and fine.  No other issues the whole week.

One other difference at the Manoir, was that I was given a key to the front door of the row house where my room was located (all the row houses connected through inside).  After 9pm, the front doors are locked, so guests use this key to get in and out after that time.  There is also an emergency phone number in case you lock yourself out, but I never had to try it. 🙂

Overall, my stay at the Manoir de la Terrasse was lovely.  It was “no-frills”, which at my price point was expected and just fine with me.  The room was comfortable and clean, and the bath was clean, well-stocked, and provided me nice, hot showers.  And all members of staff that I interacted with were quick to smile, kind, and helpful.  I would definitely return.

 

 

Pros for Manoir de la Terrasse:

• Location: beside Chateau Frontenac & steps from the Terrasse Dufferin
• Pricing:  $607.35 USD for a week averages to $86.77/night in June 2017, with a Hotels.com promotion
• Private room/bath
• Daily housekeeping
• Kind/helpful staff
• Free Wi-fi
• Old world charm (notice the flipside under cons, it’s a matter of opinion)
• Plenty of electrical outlets, not always the case in older hotels
• Excellent hot water and water pressure, even top floor

Cons for Manoir de la Terrasse:

• No elevator, you will climb 1-2 flights of steps with your bags if you don’t get one of the few ground floor rooms
• No extras… no restaurant, no room service
• Wi-fi could be weak on the top floor
• Somewhat dated (given the price point & old style touches, this didn’t bother me, but it may bother some)

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<<Click here to visit Manoir de la Terrasse website>>

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If you like unique and not-mass-produced souvenirs when you travel, check out my <<Shopping Guide for Quebec City>>.

Or if you want to see Ile d’Orleans and taste some ice wine and chocolate, <<Check out This Post>>.

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