Auberge la Caravelle

My boyfriend and I booked a room for two nights in August and were horrified at the condition of the room we were given. We booked on line and were impressed with the pictures shown and were looking forward to our visit to Quebec City. When we arrived at the hotel, we drove to the back of the building where all the garbage was kept. My boyfriend went inside to check in and because the parking lot was so small and we were blocking in other cars, I decided to wait in the car for him. When he returned, the owner came with him to get the keys to the car so he could move it to a parking spot and directed us to a back door where we would access our room which was in the back of the building on the main floor. We entered through a long dark hallway and the smell of urine was unbearable. Our room was at the very end of the hall and by the time we got there, I could barely breath, the smell was so strong. We opened the door to the room and my heart sank. The room was very tiny and old and the bathroom wasn't big enough for two people to go into at once. But for $99.00, I could have settled for that. Unfortunately the smell from the hallway was just as bad in the room and the carpet was so dirty, it was hard to distinguish what color it might have been. I would not have been able to take my shoes off to walk on the carpet. To say the least, the room was deplorable. My boyfriend went directly to the front desk and complained about the room and said it certainly wasn't like any pictures that were posted on-line. We was told that they tried to show a pictures of different rooms they had available but that room rate we had booked wasn't shown. He asked was there a room that was cleaner and didn't smell and she took him to one that looked like the pictures on-line and was told that he could have that one for $174.00 a night. He told her that wasn't acceptable and that we would be leaving. She they became very rude and said that some people liked the room and some didn't (I can't imageine anyone liking the smell of urine or filthy carpets) and that if we left we would be charged 100% for the first night and 50% for the second night. There was no way we could stay there is under those bad conditions and left to find other accommodations. When we arrived home from our vacation, we discovered we had been charged for the two nights just as she had said and wrote an e-mail to the hotel. We did receive a reply back but unfortunately have not read it becasue it is in french. We replied back saying we do not speak or read french and two weeks later we have not heard anything back from them. Very very rude and unprofessional in my opinion. If you are willing to pay $174 for a room, they have nice rooms but if you are looking for something more economical, please look elsewhere or be totally prepared to not breath fresh air for the entire stay and have to wear footware at all times. This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor

Although I have backpacked through third world countries, I have never had such a terrible accomodation experience as I did at La Caravelle. Having viewed the stone walls in the brochure, I was dissapointed that my room had plaster like walls, more disspointed when its tiny size and the room's dampness sunk in (the room was in the basement with a view of the parking lot from tire level), more disspointed when I saw the toilet was covered with drips of air conditioning fluid, and I had thought I had hit my most dissapointed when I awoke the next morning at 6:00 am to the sound of gushing water streaming into the shower from the shower above (it was a prolonged stream of water as opposed to a few drips). Sadly I was wrong. When I went to check out, having only booked one night, I was accused of having booked two nights. Despite my protestations to the contrary, and experience from the night before, the staff was adamant that I pay for two nights. The staff basically accused me of lying, and it took about a half hour of debate to avoid getting billed for two nights. I never write reviews of anything, but I had such a bad experience, I felt compelled to write this review to maybe save someone else from the experience I had.

Great location in the heart of Old Quebec. Thought the negative reviews were exaggerated. Small but quaint. Towels were changed daily; beds were made up. The staff was welcoming and friendly. They were willing to struggle with English since our French was so poor. However, since we stayed there for 6 days we began to notice things. Accidentally dropping a cookie, I picked it up and it had hair all over it. ILK! I don't think that the apartment had a thorough cleaning in ages. Requested a new remote control but nothing came of it (minor). When we arrived I noticed one hair on the shelf in the bathroom. There it stayed all week. There were even dust bunnies clinging to the walls! I was quite judgmental of my fellow travelers' reviews but the room was dirty.

booked this hotel before I read all the negative reviews on this site then couldnt change it because just about every room in the city was taken..so alas i went expecting the worse, when I arrived the girl on duty was very accomodating and helpful, its in a great location walking distance to just about everything, I have to agree that the carpet is terribly dusty, old and dirty in need of replacing, a cloud of dust would go in the air when i stomped my foot down, there was a musty smell in the air no doubt due to the old carpet, rooms are small but cozy, other than these issues it was a pleasant stay and i would go back ...on the condition they get a new carpet and new cleaning staff of course..