How to summarize our five nights at Club Med Charlevoix?
I eventually landed on too much, and not enough.
The indulgences are the height of indulgence – rich food, bottomless beverages, and over-the-top entertainment available from sunrise to sunset. Upgrading to a suite simply turned it up to 11.
But the lack of certain activities left a sour taste – no mountain biking and sporadic Passworld in particular. These were core elements that we had expected to find during our stay here, and – if they couldn’t have included them – they could have at least informed us of their expected absence.
And the verdict – would we go back?
Yes. Sigh. Of course we would. We’re already shopping for deals for next summer.
It’s hard to ignore the value proposition being offered here – no need to board a flight, all the hiking we can handle, and the kids genuinely love the childcare. All this at a cost of roughly 1/2 to 1/4 of that of a Silversea expedition cruise.
Anyway – that brings us to this morning, when no one really wanted to wake up and no one wanted to leave. We eventually managed to get moving, and pack up as much as possible before heading off to breakfast.
I decided to switch it up with an egg-and-turkey bagel sandwich this morning:
But otherwise it was the same old hits – pain au chocolate, nutella crepes, french toast and bacon. Good thing we hiked as much as we did.
Back to the room to finish packing, which we managed in record time. I had to scavenge outside for a baggage cart, but we still had the car loaded by 9:40 am – well in advance of our 10 am checkout time.
I planned to finish charging our EV before we left, and was disappointed to find that the lone no-cost charger had a vehicle in front of it. But then I breathed a sigh off relief because I realized the charger was being ICEd – so called when someone with an Internal Combustion Engine takes an EV parking space. Not a problem, as I could park on either side of them and still access the charger.
Though, thankfully, the driver soon hopped back into their vehicle and I was able to grab the space – and the free power – without incident.
Upstairs to check out via the Exclusive Collection concierge. We are Silver members, so $75 was written off our bill. We also weren’t charged for laundry tokens or indoor parking, which we appreciated. The indoor parking was negotiated when did our Exclusive upgrade, but it’s unclear whether the laundry tokens are a Silver perk, an Exclusive Collection perk, or if they simply forgot.
I met up with my wife to gather yet another armload of various odds and sundry, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Passworld had resumed today. I’d wondered after I’d seen the wringer through which the G.O had been put yesterday, but he was back again and ready to make some magic.
With the children dispatched, my wife and I once more returned to the Lounge to write, drink various hot beverages, and admire the clouds as they went past.
I managed to get the post out early for once, and then it was time to head to lunch. My wife had a pressed panini with potato chips that I forgot to photograph, and there was a man behind us who grunted the entire time he ate. Maybe we shouldn’t have tried the adult-only restaurant section after all. I also passed on my usual bière petite as I needed to drive to Quebec City that afternoon.
We eventually collected our children, who had spent the past two hours swimming and taking part in splash battles. They thoroughly enjoyed their last lunch – and final lunchtime desserts – and were genuinely sad to be leaving.
But leave we must, and so we drove through heavy fog from Charlevoix to Hotel Manoir Victoria in Quebec City. This took around 1 hour and 20 minutes – barely any time at all compared to our recent roadtrips.
The road to the south of the hotel is closed for the St. Jean Baptiste weekend, but thankfully the hotel sent over detailed parking instructions. We approached from the north and were able to arrange valet parking without incident. At $35 per night, it was well worth the added cost – and they even offered to charge the car for us.
The rooms are spacious and well appointed, and Manoir Victoria is steps from Old Quebec. It’s not super-stylish, but well worth the CAD$350 per room we paid.
And better still, the shower is hot and has some real pressure behind it. Club Med in particular lacked high-pressure showers.
Off to the Plains of Abraham Museum, snapping photos of Old Quebec along the way:
And the historic fortifications:
Then on to the museum itself. For those unfamiliar, the Plains of Abraham is the site of one of the defining battles of Canadian history in which the British defeated the French to claim Quebec City. This defeat and the battles that followed would eventually be formalized in the Treaty of Paris, which would cede New France – and their Canadian territory – to the British.
We were just in time for one of the historical videos, which combined artistic renderings and animations with voiceovers of journals from those who participated in the war. It was really well done, but potentially distressing for those sensitive to the horrors of battle. The city was heavily shelled by the British during the war – buildings were destroyed, and civilians and soldiers alike were killed.
After, we spent some time browsing the exhibits. The kids were particularly fascinated by the various types of cannonballs, and all the equipment carried by soldiers of that era – including the musket, cartridge bag, bags, jackets, swords, and so on. Combined, the kit weighed well more than 70 pounds!
There was also a display entitled Quebec 1775 which explored the American attempt to invade Quebec City in the winter of 1775. Specifically, six different artists interpreted the events of this war in their own particular ways, adding their unique perspective through a series of videos. My son really enjoyed this exhibit – we had to pry him away from it.
It’s a fascinating period in history, and one which I know sadly little about. We’ll have to come back and take more time during our next visit.
Off to the Plains of Abraham itself, which is being set up for a concert for the St. Jean Baptiste celebrations – the national holiday of Quebec.
The first time my wife and I came to Quebec City, we accidentally booked for the St. Jean Baptiste weekend, and it was quite the party in the same way that Niagara Falls is quite the waterfall. Honestly, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is perhaps the only other party I’ve ever been to which operated at a similar scale. Highly recommended!
No big celebrations for us this weekend, though – just a quick visit to give the kids a taste of Quebec City before we head off to Montreal. We did enjoy the view of the St. Lawrence:
You have some small sense of how steep the cliffs are that lead up to this point – these are the cliffs that the British forces scaled in order to catch the Frency by surprise. (No convenient wooden walkways back then, and they were hauling cannons with them.)
We enjoy some of the art installations along the way, including a large-scale statue entitled “Remembering Through Beads”:
There was also a bit of street art in the form of some footprints, and a cryptic warning:
And a riddle – can you decipher this text?
Any luck puzzling it out? No worries if not – I’ll share the answer at the end of the post.
Then off to revisit a playground that we passed along the way. The rain had poured during our drive, but thankfully there’d only been a few drops since we set out from the hotel:
We attempted to book ourselves into Le Bistro Sam at the Chateau Frontenac, but couldn’t get an early reservation. Instead we elected to wander back down Rue St. Jean in the hopes of finding a suitable restaurant.
And we found one! We were passing Shaker Kitchen & Mixology when we saw some of their burgers coming out. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The restaurant has a stylish interior…
Photo Credit: Shaker Kitchen & Mixology (website)
… But sadly we weren’t able to take the kids inside as it’s only 18+. We sat out on the patio instead, and enjoyed a delicious meal.
I had the spicy chicken burger:
My daughter had a rare flank steak:
My son had the hamburger:
And my wife had the lobster roll, which she claimed was one of the best she’s ever had:
It was just what we wanted after a long, busy day.
Then it was time to head back to the hotel and crash out. Another jam-packed day tomorrow – we’re planning one last wander through Old Quebec before we’re off to Montreal. There we’ll be visiting the Biodome, the Science Centre, and Cirque du Soleil.
Ah, and the riddle. Remember the text I showed you earlier?
It took some time, but we eventually deciphered it as: “Will you make it to the end without awakening them?” (Seems like it refers to the sleeping cracks that gobble up feet. Hope someone repaints these letters sometime soon…)