We do not give stars or scores. A number cannot tell you if you will be happy in a 21-square-metre room that looks onto a courtyard when you came for the river, and that is the kind of question a stay at the Manoir turns on. What follows is our reading of the hotel from its own pages and the pages around it, set down as plainly as we can.
In one paragraph
Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu is worth the drive for its position and its history. Built in 1929 on the site of an 1899 hotel, it sits on the cliffs above one of the widest stretches of the St. Lawrence, with a golf course that has been in use since 1925 and a region around it — Charlevoix, a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1988 — that is good in every season. It is not a small hotel, and it does not pretend to be one: 405 rooms, conference halls for up to a thousand people, a casino next door. The guest who books the right category of room, reads the fees, and plans a day or two beyond the property will find it hard to fault. The guest who books the cheapest room expecting the river in the window may feel short-changed.
What the Manoir does well
The view, when you pay for it
Every category above the entry level has a river-view version. The hotel's own room pages call the Deluxe View rooms "the hotel's best views", and the One Bedroom Suite View and La Charlevoix Suite both face the water.
A real resort calendar
Golf from May to October, an outdoor pool and whirlpool open all year, a spa with 13 massage rooms, snowshoeing and skating on the property in winter, Mont Grand-Fonds twenty minutes away for skiing.
History you can stand in
The Grand Hall with its fire, the 1925 course opened by William Howard Taft, the halls named after Saguenay, Tadoussac and the architect John Archibald. The building has a past and lets you feel it.
A base for the whole region
Whale-watching departures less than an hour east, the Parc national des Hautes-Gorges about 35 to 45 minutes inland, the Musée de Charlevoix down the hill. The hotel works best as a home for several days.
Where it asks for patience
Fees on top of the rate
A resort fee — $40 per room per night on the guest-services page, $35 on the suite pages — and $39 plus taxes for indoor valet parking. Outdoor self-parking is free. Ask which fee figure applies to your booking.
Seasons close doors
On 31 October 2026 Loto-Québec listed Le Bellerive restaurant and the poolside Bar Le Zéphyr as closed until next spring, and Le Point Cardinal only opens during the golf season. Late autumn and winter are quieter at table.
Size
With conference space for up to 1,000 guests and 1,150 parking spaces, the hotel can be busy with groups. If you want calm, ask whether a large event overlaps your dates.
Small entry rooms
The Fairmont rooms are 225 sq ft (21 m²). That is a comfortable hotel room, not a château chamber. Families will be happier in the 27 m² Deluxe rooms with a sofa bed.
Who should book it
Couples coming for two or three nights in summer or early autumn, who will spend a morning on the golf course or the trails, an afternoon at the spa and a day driving east to the whales. Families who want an outdoor pool in any season and a babysitting service that the hotel arranges through its Royal Service desk. Golfers, obviously: the course was named the 2025 Club de golf de l'année by the Association des Clubs de golf du Québec, and you do not need to stay to book a tee time. Winter travellers who like the idea of steam rising off a heated pool while the river freezes below.
Who might look elsewhere
Travellers on a tight budget will find the fees add up. People who dislike big hotels, conference crowds or the presence of a casino on the property may prefer one of the inns in Cap-à-l'Aigle or Saint-Fidèle that the tourism office lists. Anyone arriving without a car should think hard about the logistics: the hotel offers no airport shuttle, and the casino's general shuttle is suspended until further notice.
About the casino, briefly
The Casino de Charlevoix is a separate Loto-Québec establishment next door, open to adults 18 and over with photo ID. It does not shape our verdict either way; we describe it neutrally on its own page because it is part of the complex and guests ask about it. If gambling is a problem for you or someone close to you, the free, confidential line Gambling: Help and Referral is 1-800-461-0140.
How we reached this verdict
We read the hotel's own pages for rooms, dining, golf, wellness, meetings, weddings, sustainability, guest services and location; Loto-Québec's pages for the casino; and the regional sources linked throughout the guide, between 31 October and 1 November 2026. We have not been paid by the hotel for this review, and the commission we may earn on a booking request does not depend on what we write. Public ratings are summarised separately on what guests say.
- Is the Manoir worth it outside the golf season?
Yes, if you like winter or quiet shoulder seasons. One outdoor pool and the outdoor whirlpool stay open all year, the spa runs daily, and the hotel lists snowshoeing, skating and ice fishing in winter. Expect some restaurants and the pool bar to close between autumn and spring.
- Which room gives the best value for the view?
The Fairmont View rooms are the smallest rooms that face the river, at 225 sq ft (21 m²). If you want more space with the view, the Deluxe View rooms are 290 sq ft (27 m²) with a sofa bed.