Claude, the owner and caretaker reflects his pride and love of Quebec traditions and heritage in his careful design, furnishing, and running of this truly wonderful place to stay. The building and rooms reflect and 1890 character but lacked nothing in terms of amenities to make our stay comfortable. In actuality, Claude has completely refurbished the entire residence and was extremely careful in tending to every detail to convey the character of the site’s lineage – including adorning the walls with hats since it was once used by a local hat maker. That said, we also enjoyed the expresso maker and the hot tub on the roof.
We thought the location was unbeatable since it is within easy walking access to the east to old Quebec City. Twice we walked from there across the Governor’s Promenade, going down a long stairway west of the residence to complete a walking loop back “home” (you need to be in pretty good shape for this loop).
Another day we did a 20-mile biking loop along a trail that crosses a bridge 5 or 6 miles to the west, heads 9 miles or so along the opposite riverbank, and finishes after a river crossing on the Levis-Quebec ferry. It’s great to have this kind of access without getting in a car (the bike trail 100 yards or so to the south along the river).
The residence has a wide variety of brochures for getting a sense of what to do, but Claude’s notes on a map and answers to things that concerned us were the best help of all.
All in all we had a great stay and are talking about coming back for the winter carnival. We will have fond memories of our enjoyable time at 404 Champlain and of our adventures around Quebec.