Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello Amenities & Activities Review

The Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello is first and foremost a resort destination. There isn’t a large city or cultural center nearby that guests are visiting. Therefore, the hotel and the town need to provide enough amenities and activities to make the destination desirable. This post includes a review of the amenities and activities that are available at the Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello. This post is the second part of a four-part review:

• Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello – Room & Resort Review
• Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello – Amenities & Activities
• Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello – Food & Beverage
• Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello – Town Activities

Seasons

It’s important to know that the activities (and subsequently the crowds) at Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello are highly dependent on the seasons. The most activities will be available during the summer and winter. While there are year-round activities and amenities still available in between these seasons, the numbers are greatly diminished. As a result, you can save a lot of money on a stay in the spring and fall, but you may run out of activities to do. Take this into consideration when booking a stay at the Fairmont Montebello.

Having been at the Fairmont during a shoulder season (April 2023), I can personally say it was disappointing to not have all the amenities and activities available. While there was still enough to fill a weekend between the resort and exploring the town of Montebello, a longer stay would have gotten boring in my opinion. If you are looking for quiet time with an opportunity to read and relax, the shoulder seasons won’t be a problem for you. However, if you are looking for a lot of activities during your stay, you should visit in the summer or the winter.

Year-Round Activities/Amenities

The Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello offers several activities and amenities year-round. Some of these are typical for any nice hotel while others lend themselves more to a resort environment.

Fitness Center

First, there is a nice-sized fitness center at the resort. While the fitness equipment is a little on the older side, it serves its purpose well. On the cardio side, the fitness center has four treadmills (unfortunately there weren’t any other cardio machines in the gym). The gym definitely has a lot more weight and resistance training equipment. There are approximately 13 different targeted weight machines such as ab crunch, hip adductors, rowing machines, and chest press. In addition to the specialized machines, the fitness center also has a dumbbell rack of free weights and a bench. Sadly, the dumbbells max out at 40 lbs. Overall, the fitness center is well-equipped. You’re likely to find something here or there that is missing, but it does well for a vacation gym.

Attached to the gym are three indoor playing counts for racquetball, tennis, and basketball. The balls and racquets for all sports are available for guests to use so you don’t have to bring your own. Please note that indoor tennis and basketball court are temporarily closed at the time of writing for maintenance and renovation.

Spa

In the same building as the fitness center is the Fairmont Montebello Spa. While I am not a spa connoisseur, the offerings appear to be fairly typical for what would be available at any other resort spa. The available offerings include facials, body scrubs, massages, waxing, and salon services. As with most activities at the Fairmont, advance reservations for the spa are required. The prices for the spa services are fairly expensive, but the spa facilities do seem to be very nice.

Pool

The last but largest piece of the aquatics and fitness center is obviously the pool. The indoor pool at the Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello is massive. The nearly Olympic sized 7 lane pool can hold a ton of people. The depth of the pool ranges from 3.5 feet at the shallowest point to approximately 12 feet at the deepest point. In addition to the main pool, there are two large hot tubs in the aquatics center.

Finally, the structure in and of itself is very impressive. Continuing the log cabin theme of the hotel, the aquatics and fitness center is a wood and stone structure. The ceiling is quite elaborate, containing a massive built-in skylight and ornate paintings. While the aquatics and fitness center is a separate building from the main hotel, they are connected via an underground tunnel. This makes it much easier to move between these buildings when its snowing, raining, or cold.

Historic Tour

Finally, the Fairmont offers a historical tour of the hotel. A Fairmont employee who has a lot of historical knowledge of the property and the surrounding community takes guests on a tour of the central areas of the hotel including the lobby, meeting rooms, and dining room. The tour is informative and provides an opportunity to talk to someone local to the area. The tours are only offered on Saturdays at 11:30 AM and 4:30 PM with a prior reservation. Reservations can be made at least 24 hours in advance with the hotel front desk or the concierge.

Summer Activities/Amenities

The summer and winter at Fairmont Montebello both heavily feature outdoor activities. During the summer, these activities center around sports, hiking, and boating.

Outdoor Sports

The hotel has several outdoor courts and sporting facilities. These include two outdoor hard surface tennis courts, a volleyball court, and two half basketball courts. Free reservations with the concierge are needed for all sports requiring a court. In the same area of the hotel grounds, guests will find a setup for horseshoes, a playground, and a 9-hole mini-golf course. An activities hut is located in this area of the hotel and provides guests with all the equipment that they need to participate in these sports.

The hotel also has several lawn games that employees will set up when requested by guests unless there is an event on the lawn that day (such as a barbeque or wedding ceremony). These include croquet and badminton.

Golf

The Fairmont Montebello also has a golf course across the street from the entrance of the main property. The course is known for being a tight, imaginative course. The design is in opposition to some of the traditional open course designs that are more popular around Scotland and England. The course consists of 18 holes and is 6,308 yards. The greens fee is between $65 – $90 depending on the time of year, time of day, and day of the week. Most greens fees include a cart rental.

Hiking

During the summer season, there are several trails on the hotel property that guests can hike or walk. These are fairly flat and simple trails. If guests are interested in more adventurous hiking, there is also access to the Kenauk Nature Preserve.

Biking

Guests are able to rent bikes from the ski shop for use during their summer stay. Additionally, there is an outfitter located on the Fairmont property that offers several types of bike rentals. These include mountain bikes appropriate for some of the trails around Montebello as well as electric fat bikes that make biking the town and surrounding areas easy. The bike rentals are about $40 CAD for 3 hours and include the bike and a helmet. If you want access to the mountain bike trails, those are privately maintained and therefore a $13.50 pass is required for admission. Advance reservations are required if participating in this activity.

Outdoor Water Activities

The final summer activities are aquatic utilizing the Ottawa River or the outdoor pool. The hotel is located on the river and has a marina; therefore, guests have access to canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddle boards. Guests should check the water temperature before embarking on these activities since it can be cold. If the temperature is bearable, the river is very pretty. Getting out on the water can be a great way to relax and unwind. All water equipment rentals include the issue of a life jacket. An outdoor pool is also located on the property. The indoor pool still remains open in the summer, but the outdoor pool expands the available space.

Winter

The winter season brings a completely new slate of activities. Obviously, the outdoor activities on the river and outdoor courts are closed as this area is covered in snow for the vast majority of the season. However, the snow and frozen ice bring new opportunities.

First, the local trails at the resort turn from hiking trails into opportunities for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. The local ski shop on site will rent equipment to guests for use on the trails. Additionally, there is a nice sized hill near the river which is turned into a tube slide. This can be great fun for the family.

Second, the Fairmont has a large ice rink during the winter. This rink is open to guests for ice skating and hockey. As with most other activities, all equipment like skates, pucks, and hockey sticks are available to guests. Additionally, the ice rink reserves some of its space for curling. This is an unusual sport to find (especially for those from the United States). There are scheduled curling clinics that provide introductory tips and instruction on the sport. This is a neat opportunity to experience a sport that many have never tried before.

For those wanting to spend some time outdoors enjoying the cool brisk air and snow, the Fairmont has a couple fire rings that they will set up for guests. The property also has horses on-site. In the winter, the Fairmont offers horse drawn sleigh rides. These sleigh rides aren’t included in the hotel cost, but traveling the trails of the resort in an open sleigh is a great winter activity. Just make sure to bundle up and bring a hot beverage for the most enjoyable experience.

Wrap-Up

The Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello does a good job of providing a lot of activities for its guests. The activities are understandably targeted to the season, so make sure you aren’t visiting during an in-between period if you want to use these to the fullest. Furthermore, many of the activities require a reservation, and some have additional fees. Be sure to research the activities that you are interested in partaking in ahead of time. Booking ahead of time is particularly important when guests are visiting during one of the two high seasons.