As families begin to plan travel "for later", we wanted to get this review up for your consideration when the time is right to visit.
Travel Advisory: at the time of writing this article, non-essential travel is still highly discouraged and changes to destination health & safety protocols can happen daily. Please follow the advice of your local/regional/provincial health & travel advisories, and always consult your destination's website for current protocols and latest updates before you depart. Under no circumstance are we encouraging bookings of this resort if doing so goes against your regional advisory.
Families looking for a fabulous destination to embrace our Canadian Winter, immerse in unique experiences & have endless options for all-ages fun, an oasis awaits you at Village Vacances Valcartier Resort!
LOCATION
Village Vacances Valcartier Resort is located in the rural area of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Quebec – just a 30-minute jaunt from the culturally-rich Quebec City area. You can stay and play, or do a day trip visit from wherever you are lodging in the vicinity.
How to get there:
Road Trip – The resort is approximately an 8-hour drive from the Greater Toronto Area with lots of rest/fuel stops along the way.This was our preferred option given the Valcartier resort is a bit isolated from the other parts of Quebec we wanted to explore & would need a car for.
Train: There are 3 VIA Rail Canada stations in & around Quebec City. It would be another 30 min. transfer from the VIA stations to Village Valcartier.
Plane: Both Porter Airlines & Air Canada offer direct flights to the closest airport to Valcartier in Quebec City. Flight time is about 1.5 hours. You'll need to arrange a transfer or car rental to get to Valcartier resort.
FAMILY ACCOMMODATIONS AT HOTEL VALCARTIER
Hotel Valcartier offers modern suites that can accommodate families both small and large. The 2 Bedroom Family Suite with 1 King Bed and 2 Queens, open concept lounge/dining area and clean, spacious bathroom suited our family of six well. Waking up to panoramic mountain views of the resort was a beautiful way to start each morning with a cup of coffee. Some suites come with an outdoor balcony.
Rooms are fully accessible and come equipped with all the standard amenities you'd expect of a North American resort – A/C, toiletries, hair dryer, Flat-screen TV, tech-connectivity docks, Wi-Fi, stocked coffee/tea station, and a mini fridge in the lounge area. For families who may need them, complimentary cribs/infant beds and rollaway beds are available.
UNIQUE FUN FOR ALL AGES
Hotel de Glace
Just steps from the main building, at the end of a torch-lit path stands Hotel de Glace – North America's ONLY ice hotel. Every Winter, a new theme inspires the design, making it a truly unique experience.
Wander around this Wintery wonder made of thousands of tons of ice & snow through the Grand Hall, Wedding Chapel or pause to soak in the stunning architectural elements – ice chandelier, animal sculptures and more. There are themed suites those daring enough to brave the cool climate to book with the peace of mind of a warm room waiting inside the main lodge if they change their mind. Don't leave without taking a slippery family spin down the big ice slide or having a cocktail/mocktail from the Ice Bar in an ice glass. The resort offers tour packages to bundle with other family fun experiences.
Outdoor/Indoor Playground
Say "Bonjour" to the largest winter playground in North America! Valcartier's outdoor playground offers 35 snowtubing runs at all levels of difficulty, including extreme sledding on chutes like "Everest" our tweens braved and the Snow Rafting and the Tornado runs the whole family can enjoy together.
There was never more than a few minutes' wait to get our slid on and getting back up the hill was no problem with the "elevators" - tubes attached to a rope tow that allow you to plop into a tethered tube and ride back to the top.
Although closed for maintenance during our stay, the resort also has a skating path with music for another fam-venture option, including on-site skate rentals (one less thing to pack!).
If the outdoor fun wasn't enough, there's a whole other level of family excitement indoors starting with Bora Parc – an indoor water park oasis with 14 water slides, a wave pool, Flo-rider surfing simulator and lazy river. Bora Parc is open year-round, and kids under 39" are free. There are family locker rentals on-site for about CAD $10 to store your belongings.
For gamers, there's Espace Jeux on the second level with a tween-approved selection of interactive virtual experiences, traditional arcade-style games and such.
For adults 14 years +, there's opportunity to unwind at Hotel Valcartier's Nordic "Aroma Spa". There's a full-service menu of services to pamper & induce-relaxation, as well as hot and cold baths, saunas and an indoor pool connected to an outdoor pool.
FAMILY FOOD OPTIONS
There are 5 restaurants – Resto Safari, O'Grill, Café Etcetera, Resto Polynesia & Le Chalet Sportif (*at the time of writing this article, sources indicate this resto-bar is now permanently closed*), as well as the Tahiti Bar overlooking the pool at Bora Parc. While the dining at Hotel Valcartier isn't 5-star calibre, the 2 breakfasts and dinners we at Resto Safari had lots of family focused fare – eggs/omelettes, pancakes/waffles, burgers, pastas, etc., plus Quebec specialties like crepes, poutine, bison and game meats. Although we didn't use it, room service from on-premise eateries is available.
For a sweet pick-me-up and quintessential Canadian treat, there's an outdoor Maple Sugar Shack – Cabane a Sucre – with an array of goodies made from pure maple syrup (Maple Taffy Sticks, Lollipops and hot beverages). FUN FACT: approximately 85-90% of all maple syrup produced in Canada comes from Quebec, or about 70% of the world's supply [Source: BBC News].
For other snacks & goodies to grab n' go for your room, pop into Boutique Viva on the main level.
TIPS & KNOW BEFORE YOU GOS:
Play n' Save
At the time of our visit, the resort offered all-access family fun packages for CAD $99 + tax, bundling admission to all the indoor/outdoor activities in one scannable ticket + wristband combo.
If doing a quick day trip, you'll save on snowtubing admissions by arriving after 4 p.m.
If you want to experience village fun plus an off-resort attraction, purchase one of their Attractions Passports – a bundling of Winter Playground and Hotel de Glace with a local attraction like Marais du Nord Trail or Mega Parc of the Galeries de la Capitale
Tubing Tip
Bring ski goggles or sunglasses to keep the snow spray and wind out of your eyes.
When to go?
Our 3-night stay at Hotel Valcartier was during the week preceding March Break, which meant less crowds overall. Quebec's Winter Carnival happens the first 2 weeks of February, which would be a great time to visit to benefit from city fun & resort life, but you'd definitely need to book early, especially if looking to secure a multi-bedroom suite for a larger family.
Valcartier Village is an all-season resort, but the best seasons to visit, in our opinion, would be Winter or Summer. If discovering the joys of cold weather is your focus, the winter season operates from December to March.
In the summer, the outdoor playground becomes a waterpark - the second largest in Canada after the company's Calypso Waterpark in Ottawa, Ontario - offering 35 water slides, a huge wave pool, 100 water games and two thematic rivers outdoors. There is also a high-end, 600-site campground for families to reserve at reasonable rates.
Reservations
Perhaps because of the time we visited, we did not require dining reservations & were always seated promptly. For spa services, the resort does recommend pre-booking before your visit.
Ultimately, with fantastic year-round attractions, family-friendly accommodations, the only ice hotel in North America, family restaurants and a rejuvenating spa, a getaway to Village Vacances Valcartier is a fantastic, amenity-rich option for families of all ages.
Useful links
Family Travel - https://houseofkerrs.com/category/travel/
Village Vacances Valcartier - All Season Family Fun!