Auberge Quebec
June 2023
The Auberge Quebec is a property of the Jaro hotelier group who owns many other hotels in Quebec City. I stayed at the Auberge Quebec for a night before a train trip. This establishment is in a very commercial neighborhood where many shopping centers and restaurants can be found. It is next to the bridges leading to the St. Lawrence River south shore and a couple of minutes drive from the Via Rail Ste. Foy train station.
The property
The hotel has a hall in which a Budget car rental desk is located. Chairs, coaches, and coffee tables are available. Next to this hall there is a large room with many tables and chairs. This place was probably used for a breakfast room, in another era, since breakfast is currently not served anymore.
The room
What struck me, when getting in the room, was a strong odor of humidity. The floor is covered with an old carpet worn out and dirty. The room is not clean and there many stains and dust accumulations, even dead insects, in many places. I also found garbage behind the nightstand while searching for a power outlet. The furniture is worn out, stained and damaged. My room has an exterior door leading to a balcony overlooking a small street, which view is not interesting. Two plastic chairs have been placed on this balcony.
My room has two queen size beds and is quite small. A nightstand is placed between the two beds, but no power outlet is accessible there. In the room there is a desk with a chair with casters and a small round table with an armchair, with a broken seat. No power outlets are accessible from the desk. There is no place planned in the room to place a suitcase, no luggage support or shelf. The bed is limp and uncomfortable. Hopefully, the bed sheets are clean. A very small closet cabinet with a door is available. An iron with its ironing board, a mini fridge, and a coffee maker working with poaches are also available. Clearly the coffee machine hasn’t been cleaned since a long time, because there was a lot of coffee residues in the pouch holder (filters).
Soundproofing is bad, we can hear a lot of car circulation noises coming from the street. This lack of soundproofing seems to be coming from the outside door leading to the balcony which is badly isolated.
The television is rather small. HDMI and USB sockets are accessible from the back of the TV. A basic television service is offered, without any American channels.
I didn’t want to use the ventilation system because it was too dusty. So I cannot say if it is noisy or not.
The bathroom
The bathroom is small. There is little space available on the counter around the sink. A bench is available, on which towels are placed, probably to add to this lack of storage space. The sink counter, the wall and the floor tiles are damaged. The shower is in a bath. A plastic shell covers the wall around the bath. These surfaces and the wall are stained.
The towels pole is not installed well and is unstable.
Services
The staff at the reception desk is not friendly and is jaded. Obviously, the person who was on duty when I checked in and out was not happy to be there.
There are no indoor pool or gym in this establishment. There is no restaurant and breakfast is not included in the room cost and is not available. There is a McDonald’s restaurant across the street, in case.
Exterior parking is free.
Internet (wi-fi) is free but, in my room, the signal was week with frequent interruptions.
Free coffee is available in the hall.
Design
The general design of this hotel dates to the 90s and is very shabby. Clearly this place has been let go from the maintenance and the cleaning standpoint. The room is generally in a classic style, but some furniture that don’t match that style have been added which ends up in a mismatch decor, not interesting.
My two cents
This establishment is miserable, and it is surprising to see that the Jaro chain is associated with this hotel. There is clearly a house keeping issue. It is obvious that a complete cleanup of my room hasn’t been made for a while. I chose this hotel for its price, but the minimum quality that I was expecting wasn’t there. Even at this low price, many other higher quality options are available in the city of Quebec. I don’t recommend this establishment, for any kind of stay.
The devil is in the details:
- Dirty room and bathroom.
- Damaged wall, tiles, and counter in the bathroom.
- Damaged furniture.
- Uncomfortable and flabby bed.
- Dirty coffee machine.
- Towel rack badly installed in the bathroom.
Pros
- Location.
Cons
- No luggage rack in the room.
- Bad soundproofing with exterior of the building.
- Small bathroom.
- Mediocre Wi-Fi.
- Staff unfriendly at the reception.