HI Quebec City Hostel (Auberge Internationale) Review

I recently spent a short vacation in Quebec City, exploring the charming walled city and surrounding areas. Below is a review of my choice of accommodations: Hosteling International's (HI) Quebec City hostel, located right in the heart of famous Old Quebec.

HI Quebec City Hostel Review: Location

Housed inside a historical building on a quiet street (St. Ursule), the HI Quebec City Hostel's location couldn't be more perfect. The hostel is a few minutes walk from the main streets (St. Louis, St. Anne, and St. Jean), bars, restaurants, and shops, and walking to the Chateau de Frontenac takes less than ten minutes.

If you feel like venturing outside the city walls to experience the nightlife on the Grand Allee, or catch a show at Place D'Youville, those attractions are a short distance away.

HI Quebec City Hostel Review: Reception Staff

Each front desk staff member I interacted with at the HI-Quebec City hostel was friendly and accommodating, and most importantly, spoke good English! (They didn't seem to mind my poor tourist French). The staff are competent in suggesting activities and places in Quebec City, and performing services such as calling for a taxi, exchanging currency bills to coins, assisting guests in storing luggage, etc.

Moreover, the HI Quebec City hostel staff lead the many organized activities that are offered, and from my experience, they exhibit the proper level of enthusiasm and expertise in doing so. No complaints here.

HI Quebec City Hostel Review: Facilities

The HI Quebec City hostel offers many amenities that cater to the budget traveler's every need. In the basement, a small cafe serves a daily buffet breakfast from 730-10am. Beside the cafe is the hostel bar serving alcoholic drinks from 7pm onwards. Try your hand at billiards or at the foosball table against your fellow backpackers for some fun, free entertainment.

If you're the sedate type, there is a TV room on the ground floor where movie DVDs are available for viewing, though most are in French. For checking emails and updating social network status ("I'm in Quebec City!"), the Internet room has six terminals (fee applies) including one capable of Skype.

Rooms? Oh yes, the rooms. I stayed in a four-bed dormitory on the 3rd floor, which I found spacious (by hostel standards). This probably sounds crazy, but I liked the small touches: the abundance of hooks for hanging coats, the tray for wet shoes, and the bright reading light above each bed.

For more practical matters, each floor of the HI Quebec City hostel has four shower rooms (two for each gender). Each shower room contains two individual shower stalls, two toilet stalls, and numerous sinks for freshening up. I was extremely pleased with how clean and spotless the toilets and showers were, not surprising since I see the cleaning staff going about their duties everyday.

HI Quebec City Hostel Review: Safety

Although the hostel is open 24 hours a day, after 11pm the main entrance doors are locked, and guests are required to press the buzzer to be let in. Moreover, the door leading up the stairs to the rooms is accessible only by swiping your room key. Inside the rooms, mini-lockers are available (provide your own lock) for storing your valuables and important documents.

The HI Quebec City hostel is also committed to keeping travelers safe by providing hand sanitizer dispensers on each floor. This was a nice touch that I found quite impressive.

HI Quebec City Hostel Review: Fun & Activities

To foster camaraderie among its guests, the HI Quebec City hostel organizes numerous activities ranging from a walking tour of walled Old Quebec, a hiking excursion to Montmorency Falls, and taking the ferry across the river to Levis for a breath-taking view of Chateau de Frontenac. Amazingly, all these activities are free, except for transportation costs incurred.

On the "Musical Discovery Night", our guide led us to Les Voutes Napoleon, an underground music venue frequented by local Quebecois. The singers sang mostly in French, with the odd English hit thrown in. The friendly, fun loving crowd sang along enthusiastically, even to the English songs. Pretty soon we were chatting and clinking beer glasses with a group of Quebecois people sitting beside our table, and this went on all night long.

It was quite a memorable experience. The following night's activity, a pub crawl, also seemed appealing, but I had to skip that one due to exhaustion from the day's sightseeing.

HI Quebec City Hostel Review: Room for Improvement

Sounds like a glowing review so far of the HI Quebec City hostel, doesn't it? Hostels are not perfect though, and
I had some minor quibbles during my stay.

Wi-Fi signal. Everyone loves free Wi-Fi! However, the signal was extremely weak from my third-floor room, so the connection was unusable. The wireless connection worked quite well from the common areas on the ground floor and basement cafe though.

Shower stalls. Although spotlessly clean, the individual shower stalls barely provide enough room to maneuver. Basically, you're standing in place with the water from the shower head coming down straight at you.

HI Quebec City Hostel Review: Summary

For clean, cheap, and spacious accommodations in Quebec City, plus helpful staff and a wide range of activities, the HI Quebec City hostel offers an attractive proposition to the budget traveler. This was by far the best hostel I have ever stayed at, and would have no second thoughts staying there again on my next trip, nor recommending the hostel to friends and family.