I've thought about this review for about a week reflecting on my experience. I've stayed at dozens of AirBnBs with friends in different countries around the world and this experience with the host left a sour taste in my mouth.
My friend and I are two professionals working remotely, in our 30s and stayed for a week. We had a good relationship with the host during the stay as we dealt with some of the issues around the house (poor wi-fi during the stay, tv not working because of the wi-fi, trying to get packages delivered to the house, and a few other minor things). However, when we left the host sent an email asking us to pay additional money for cleaning and "broken" items around the house ($80.36, down to the penny, which I thought was odd, despite listing the charges as "estimated"). When I reached out to the host asking for additional information and clarification, he cut off email communications.
For transparency, the items that he documented were briefly as follows: bed sheets in a pile rather than nearly on the bed, two towels on the floor, a line of coffee grounds on the counter, a bag of trash wrapped by the door, a half dozen clean dishes on the counter, and a bathroom handle knob which we were constantly replacing ourselves during the stay (imagine screwing a screw in with your fingers four rotations). But by his review you would have thought we lit the house on fire. We had already paid in advance for nearly $100 in (what we thought) were professional cleaning fees but were willing to pay extra for any additional charges the professional cleaner charged the host. But when I asked for a breakdown of how the above items were valued at that precise number (because the reason code for damages was "professional cleaning services") communications were cut off.
What sat with me for a week and really concerned me is the level of cleanliness in between stays if a professional is not cleaning the house. All of the above mentioned items: towels and bedsheets, clean counters, empty trash, would have been normal services covered by a professional cleaner as part of creating a covid-safe environment in between stays. It was unsettling to know that the host may cut corners in cleaning the house in between stays in order to collect additional money from cleaning fees, and that a safe and sanitized environment is reliant on the previous tenants to do the cleaning. I would not stay there again knowing that the host cleans the place inbetween stays and does not pay for professional services.
Look, if you're staying for a short stay and don't mind if the place looks clean on arrival book here without major concerns. The location was central between two parts of the city, the drinking water was free of lead, and Quebec City was beautiful in the fall. However, I would consider other options if: you are expecting a professionally cleaned place in between stays, you are working remotely and reliant on wifi or house entertainment, have reservations on sleeping on a murphy bed in a room without curtains, or don't mind a few faucet handles coming off during your stay. Honestly, I'm not sure if it was a language barrier but we were very upset with the way the host approached our post-stay conversation.
I hope this provides some added information to help you determine where to stay. Quebec City is magical and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.