The decor is black and dreary, reminiscent of a crypt for post-modern vampires. The walls in the hallways are literally a dark grey color. There is no pool or business center yet. The location is very inconvenient for Quebec City. It is not anywhere near the best tourist attractions. Go somewhere else, closer to downtown.

Just came back tonight from Hotel PUR and felt this one needed a review as there hasn't been one since the start of the peak summer season! This was a birthday trip with friends and Quebec city being what it is this summer, celebrating it's 400th anniversary, it meant trying out an "independent" hotel rather than the often bland chain hotels as those were requesting insane amounts of money per night. Booked the PUR at a decent rate for downtown Quebec and off we went, not so sure of what to expect given the bad reviews during renos and good ones more recently.

We arrived pretty late a little past 9 p.m on a Friday and gave the vehicle to the Valet. It's the only option available for 16$ per night with in and out privileges. I remember this hotel in it's previous life as a Holiday Inn Select and they did have self parking in that same garage. I like having the option and being able to store suitcases in the car on check-out without having to call the valet up or just go to my car by myself If I have forgotten something. The elevators also go down directly to the garage from the lobby so obviously, the management at PUR wants it's guest to use Valet Parking for some reason. Not good in my book. They lost points on that one.

Check-in was slow, with only one clerk manning both the desk and answering phone calls from both guests in the rooms and outside calls. The other girl was on break at that time so they are two. We discovered during our stay that all calls are directed to the front desk (housekeeping, valet request for the car, etc) which seemed a bit surprising if not unprofessional for a 200+room hotel in 2008. First time I've stayed somewhere this large where they didn't have an operator at the back from such requests or a reservation agent. Our check-in clerk therefore barely said "bonsoir" to us and was busy with a guest on the phone the rest of the time. Good for multitasking, unprofessional for the guest though. I had to ask if the room he was assigning us was the requested 2 double bedded room we had booked... Good thing I asked, we had a king bed assigned! It was obviously not a question of availability as he changed it right away. High floor request not hounoured at first, he had to be reminded. Bottom line, some of the front desk staff were quite nice and helpful (compliments to Bernard), others were ok and could use some more people's skills. None of them were "rude", just not very proactive.

Now the room itself... very nicely renovated in black, grey and white, with a tiny orange cushion. Very minimalist, "clean" design and all new from floor to ceiling. Hallways are dark, depressing and with their big orange numbers at the bottom of the doors, it looks like a jail hallway. All in our party agreed on that one. Noisy wall A/C unit that did not maintain the room temperature well. Very clean overall and towels smelled wonderful! Aveda bath products as pointed out in previous reviews. Also, I totally agree with the previous reviewer about the shower and water problems! Ours also turned from boiling hot to chilly in seconds throughout our stay. Doesn't make for a relaxing experience. We did report the problem, not expecting it to be solved since obviously it's a plumbing problem and nothing much can be done on a week-end especially and was told it was perhaps because the hotel was so full, the pressure varied?!? No apologies, no offer to change rooms, just a "it's been reported by others too". Obviously, if it's common, why not look into it? Housekeeping was also a hit or miss. Hit as they were quick to do our room after we left but forget to pick up the ice bucket from the night before and took away our glasses but did not replace them with new ones! To note about that, they are no ice machines, you need to request it. Maybe they were busy but that took on both nights a good 15 minutes. Other than that, comfortable yet slightly firm beds with all feather duvets and pillows. I've had both better and much worse in hotel bedding.They seemed to have cheaped out on the thread count for their pillows at least, they were very "flat". No coffee maker in the rooms (but yet, they have a mini-bar?)and the oranges/apples and coffee machine noted by another guest were nowhere to be seen this time around. No instructions on the phone on how to use the voicemail, in fact, there are no instructions period on that, just dial 0 and talk to the front desk. Certainly odd for such a large hotel again to have such basic phones.

Finally, we did not use the hotel's facilities and most of them are still closed. The pool which was suppose to re-open at the end of April, was up to June 15th 2008, still closed for renovations. We had been told upon booking in late May it would most likely be completed... Restaurant/bar and business center still closed as well. Fitness room, decently equipped, is now re-opened. We understood the concept of minimalism they were aiming for but many parts of the hotel still look unfinished and very bland. Too much "white" in public areas. A little granite or some kind of stone is always nice to add a warm touch. The lobby floor here is painted concrete. Not for everyone!

Overall, it felt like a very average stay for it's price range (200$ give or take, per night) with a good location (very walkable to Old Quebec and Parliament Hill) in the revitalized St-Roch neighborhood (lower town), decent but not extraordinary rooms and lacking service in many areas. If they want to live up to the expectations they give you on the website, service needs to be more consistent overall.

[Skip to REVIEW section if you don't want to read the intro]

I booked this at almost the last minute on the Internet for about 90+tax per night, which was the main reason. Seeing we had already stayed at other locations in this city, we wanted to experience something new. Overall, it was not bad but some further ajustments would have improved it somewhat.

First, it is important to note that this used to be another Hotel before that they are completely revamping. That said, we were told by the director at the front desk that the hotel is not actually "open" per se, which is why we were able to get a four-star hotel at such a low price. I think it's going to be officially launched sometime in the spring.

REVIEW:
We stayed in the King room, 14th floor, from a Friday to Sunday.

GOOD:
-Interesting design of the room
-Bed and pillows very comfortable
-Aveda bath products
-iPod clock radio actually proved to be very useful
-Nice view of the city as not many tall buildings in the area
-Room service, while expensive, was actually quite tasty (breakfast)
-Easy location to find and fairly efficient valet parking
-Staff very friendly, esp. the main front desk director. Was very helpful and gave nice restaurant recommendations
-We were allowed a late check out with no difficulty
-Clean
-Coffee, Latte, Etc machine in lobby, along with oranges

BAD:
-Mini bar and snacks, even if interesting feature, are EXPENSIVE! (ex: almonds 6$, water 5$)
-Some of the things feel quite cheap... some examples: the showerhead feels like a weightless plastic, the little table next to the lounge chair was wobbly and felt it could not hold anything, walls in bathroom have a hollow "resonance"
-Lighting in bathroom AWEFUL!! They are very pretty looking lights, but if you are a woman trying to apply makeup it's another story. I had to use the mirror outside in the room!
-Water temperature variable. The water in the shower burned us a few times even if we did not touch the knob at all.

EXTRAS: (Neutral remarks)
-No bathrobes, but were brought when asked.
-Every floor looks the same same same... grey with huge orange numbers on the doors
-Did not use pool or fitness facilities so cannot comment on them
-Many things not open yet: Business centre, restaurant and bar

OVERALL:
Apologies for the length, but I am doing this because I often read reviews to help me when I go on trips, so I want people to know what to expect. Hopefully all the little things will be fixed by the time the hotel officially opens. The room itself and staff were fine, most of our difficulties were with the bathroom, so not 'such' a big deal. I would not return if it was more expensive. For the price I payed, it was a fun stay with a comfortable bed and nice view!

Great Hotel if you want something different from the ordinary.

Hotel is still under construction but every thing looks mostly done. Location is great, staff wonderful. Previous review explain every thing about rooms and facilities Big plus they have aveda products in the bathroom which was great and something that really surprised my wife and I was the present the receptionist gave to my son as a welcome from the hotel. Details are important and that one make us feel really welcomed. Will stay there many times.

Bernard the guy at the reception was very attentive and helpful every time we needed some thing, big plus for a very modern place in a very old historic city.


John
toronto