Fairmont Le Château Frontenac

The most striking building of the Quebec skyline, towering over Vieux-Québec, is the Château Frontenac, currently branded under the Fairmont banner.  Opened in 1893, the hotel design is in the style of French châteaus, targeting wealthy clients.

Immediately to the northwest of the hotel is the start of a boardwalk with a panoramic view of the St Lawrence River below.  A funicular is located here to take you straight down into old town.

Here's a view of the St Lawrence, reminds me a little of Boston...

The temperature was -3 to -12 C so understandably, I dashed inside the hotel at the first opportunity =P.  The interior of the hotel has a number of quaint shops lined up on both sides, and if you head to the end of the corridor, and you'll need to take the staircase up to get to the hotel lobby.  The lobby was actually a little underwhelming given the spectacular exterior, but the wooden surroundings do give the foyer a warm, old-world charm.

This angle is from the inner courtyard of the hotel where guests are dropped off and picked up.

Another view of the river and the opposite bank from the eastern side of the hotel.

The eastern face of the Château:

Here's a shot of the hotel from the slope down to Vieux-Québec.

Night shots of the hotel are usually quite spectacular and I wanted to see if I could get a good shot in.  But given how cold it was and the minor problem of getting around, hopefully this does do the hotel some justice.