Manoir Hovey

Very nice weekend experience for my husband's birthday in a lovely suite at Manoir Hovey. The suite was very well decorated, comfortable and clean. The service was of a very high level: lots of little touches that were much appreciated, a warm welcome. The spa is one of the most beautiful we have had in Quebec. It's definitely worth going there. The evening meal at the hotel restaurant was also excellent and adaptations were immediately offered to arrange the dishes according to my gluten and lactose tolerances. I will go back without hesitation!

We were a family group of 15 of multiple ages. We stayed in several different rooms because there were many of us. Be aware that each room is different. There are no elevators for the upstairs rooms, but it is only 2 floors total, so the most you walk up and down is one floor of stairs. If you are looking for a "every room is the same" experience, that will not happen here. Some rooms are larger or smaller. We were able to ask for a cot for some of the rooms so the teenagers did not have to share a bed. The lake was 76 degrees F in mid-August. Swimmable but cold for some. There are several hotel docks to swim from, but no beach on the lake. So essentially you are jumping off a dock or climbing into the lake from a ladder. There are "hard board" paddleboards available for use at all times without charge. It's a very casual "grab a board and go" situation. The paddles are heavy for those of us used to a carbon fiber paddle, but not a big deal. There are large paddle-boats with the 'bike pedal' type human propulsion and a few plastic style kayaks. There are 2 pools on the property, one is heated to 86 degrees F and it is quite swimmable. The pools are small. These are not "lap swimming" pools. There is a spa with massages and a "thermal experience" for an additional charge. The thermal experience includes a salt scrub shower, a eucalyptus steam room, a hot tub, dry sauna, and cold plunge pool and relaxation room. After the changing room, the thermal experience is "co-ed" (everyone wears a swimsuit) so all of our older teens were able to do it together and they really liked it. There is a very small town, North Hatley, 1.6 miles away. You can walk there and we did, but some of the walk is along the road with cars whizzing past. Some of the walk has a sidewalk. The walk is easy and flat. The hotel has a courtesy car and they will take you to North Hatley and pick you up free of charge if you request. Be aware that there are exactly 2 restaurants on the property. Both fill up and require advance reservations. If you find yourself without reservations for any meal, be aware there are NO options to eat other than to walk or drive to North Hatley. There is not one scrap of food anywhere but in the restaurant. There is no hotel gift shop. You cannot buy a protein bar or bag of chips anywhere on the property, you will need to walk or drive to North Hatley. Keep in mind that North Hatley is VERY SMALL. It has 2 small cafes and one small BnB that sells chocolate. But it is a pleasant place to have lunch. There are no walking or hiking paths near the hotel. There is a tennis court and small gym. There is a nice network of hiking paths called "Sentier Massawippi" (literally Massawippi trail), but the hotel must drive you to these paths and pick you up. The trails are well maintained and well marked and very pleasant, with a nice mix of easy and difficult trails. The hotel happily drove me there and picked me up. We all had a great time and even the moody teens enjoyed themselves. There are things for more active types to do, paddleboard or kayak from the hotels, request a ride to the trails, or walk into town 1.6 miles each way. We arranged to go jet skiing on the lake in Magog, another town about 30 minutes away. We did need to arrange for transportation there. The staff at Monior Hovey are the nicest people I have ever met. The food is good and they accomodate food allergies. Gluten free options are available.