MONTRÉAL - When word came down last week that Quebec was allowing Ontario residents to once again cross their border, I quickly jumped on Expedia and made:

• flight reservations to Montréal;
• car reservations at Montréal’s P.E.T. Airport;
• Reservations for two nights each at my favourite hotels in Quebec City (Auberge St. Antoine) and Montréal (Hotel William Gray).

After 17 months of lockdown and non travel, boy, did that feel good!

Besides allowing me the chance to break free of my stay-at-home shackles, the short four-day trip also gave me a chance to see how airlines, restaurants and hotels are coping with the new norms surrounding post-COVID travel.
Overall, the trip produced some up and down moments, and I’m not just talking about my flight. But keeping in mind these are early days, I discovered some are coping very well, while others need to step up their game.

Here’s a rundown:

Above: Lovely Quebec City is a great place to begin a short Canadian vacation.

The airports

Stepping into Pearson International was like walking into a ghost town. The only time I saw fewer people on my trip was at Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport.

With so few people, security lineups were non existent. What a breeze! However, body temperatures were taken and my Asian travel companion was singled out at both airports for higher scrutiny while I, the “privileged white man” was not. Coincidence? Or was it racial profiling? Hopefully, it was the former.

The flight

The “flight of the mask people” was delightful. The Air Canada flight crew welcomed us back like long, lost friends. I’ve never seen planes so clean. Everyone wore their masks throughout the flight without complaints - so Canadian! The flight crew did don PPE gowns when serving refreshments in economy, but not in Business Class. Humm! Overall, it was a delight to see the world from 35,000 feet again.

The rental car

The attendant at Dollar Rent A Car was so glad to see a customer that he upgraded me to a larger vehicle that was “brand new - only has 14km on it.” The car was sparkling clean and the driver’s side door was sealed with a sticker indicating it had been “disinfected thoroughly.” We were on the highway heading to Quebec City in less than 20 minutes. Let’s hope this white glove service continues in the future. 

Above: Servers in Quebec City seem to have forgotten how to speak English during the pandemic. 

Quebec City stay

Our first stop was Quebec’s historic Auberge St. Antoine, a Lower Town beauty that sits on sacred ground – part of the property is the original warehouse that Samuel de Champlain built when he first arrived in Canada’s most beautiful city. 

I’ve stayed at this Relais & Châteaux property several times and have recommended it to many friends. Service has always been top notch. However, this time, the receptionist forgot to tell us that you have to ask for your room to be cleaned under the management’s new COVID policy. Very sensible. But even when we did ask for the room to be cleaned, it wasn’t.  We also asked for extra cream for our in-room coffee maker, but never got it. 

The most disappointing part of our Auberge St. Antoine stay, though, was our much anticipated meal at the property’s highly-touted restaurant, Chez Muffy, formerly known as Panache. 

My first meal at Panache a few years ago was Michelin-star worthy. Total yum! On this occasion, however, I quickly realized Chez Muffy, named after the hotel’s distinguished owner Martha Price, now has very little panache. 

“Excuse me, why is there a bug crawling in my partner’s amuse bouche?” I asked the expressionless young server. 

Funny, I didn’t remember asking for extra protein.

No apology. No “we’ll make amens for that sir.” He just grabbed the plate and returned a few minutes later with a new one - sans bug. We declined to eat the overcooked whelk, which had the consistency of a Michelin tire. The rest of the meal was equally disappointing. What a shame.

Exiting Chez Muffy, I looked into the room’s glass walled kitchen and it appeared that a class for culinary students was in session. I now wonder how many restaurants across Canada have lost their experienced chefs thanks to the pandemic?

Oh, one more observation about Quebec City. The people there, especially those in the service industry, have apparently not seen English travellers for so long that they’ve forgotten how to speak the Queen’s language. Or is it they’ve decided to become a unilingual tourist destination? God help the Americans, who make up the bulk of Quebec City visitors.

Above: The William Gray Hotel in Old Montreal is the trendy new spot to stay.

Montréal stay

Hotel William Gray shot to the top of my “favourite Montréal hotel list” after I stayed there in 2019, and it didn’t disappoint on this visit. The Vieux Montréal property, which sits in the heart of the old city, has its COVID protocol down pat. Total opposite to what we experienced at Auberge St. Antoine. The masked William Grey staff even delivered plenty of extra cream when asked.

The hotel’s chic rooftop terrace, which looks out over the cobblestone streets of Vieux Montréal and the nearby St. Lawrence River, is the new “in” place with the city’s young set and there was always plenty of lively chatter going on behind the plexiglass barriers erected at each table. The hotel’s main restaurant, Maggie Oakes, is a meat lover’s paradise, but the shrimp and lobster dishes we ordered were as good as anything I’ve enjoyed close to an ocean.

No language barriers in Montréal - you can cheer for the city’s beloved Canadiens in any language you like.

Overall

No matter the pitfalls, our short trip last weekend was amazing. 

It’s just so good to be travelling again.