The Best Eco-Friendly Hotels in Québec City
If you want to make your stay in Québec City greener, check out our selection of the best eco-friendly hotels in the area. There’s something for everyone—and every budget!
Looking for eco-friendly accommodation in Québec City? With more and more hotels making the shift to sustainability, visiting Québec City without busting your carbon budget has never been so easy. Here are 5 eco-friendly hotels that have earned Green Key environmental certification from the Hotel Association of Canada.
Le Monastère des Augustines
1Monastère des Augustines
5 Green Keys
Founded in 1639, Monastère des Augustines was the first hospital in the Americas north of Mexico and is now a National Historic Site of Canada. The monastery is dedicated to preserving the tangible and intangible heritage of the Augustinian nuns and has long promoted wholesome, healthy living and sustainable development. Eco-friendly measures such as the monastery’s new geothermal heating system and the elimination of excess packaging are concrete examples of its commitment to meet the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility in all areas of operations.
- Hôtel du Vieux-Québec
2Hôtel du Vieux-Québec
5 Green Keys
Hôtel du Vieux-Québec is the gold standard in eco-friendly accommodation. The hotel has taken a number of steps to reduce its environmental impact. These include green roofs that produce organic vegetables and honey for the hotel’s Bistro Hortus, as well as green technologies like solar panels that reduce the hotel’s energy and water consumption. Hôtel du Vieux-Québec is also the first and only hotel in Canada to use renewable natural gas. Thanks to these and many other eco-friendly initiatives, the hotel has earned several awards and is also proudly certified as carbon neutral.
- Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
- Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
3Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
4 Green Keys
Known around the world for its stunning architecture, this iconic Old Québec hotel is also a local leader in eco-friendly hospitality. This sustainable luxury hotel became the first historic hotel in Canada to achieve carbon neutrality in 2020. Fairmont Le Château Frontenac also holds a Platinum Planet 21 rating from the Accor Group, despite the challenges of being located in a historic building. The Château has championed a number of sustainability initiatives, including the Château Boréal program whereby a tree is planted for every client who declines room service for stays of 2 or more nights. There are also 70,000 bees in the hotel’s rooftop hives that produce honey used in the kitchens.
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Hôtel Château Laurier
4 Green Keys
This hotel is clearly mindful of its environmental impact, having implemented numerous measures to reduce its environmental footprint, including adopting a sustainable development policy, forming a green committee, installing recycling bins, ensuring rigorous water and energy management, switching to biodegradable hygiene and housekeeping products, creating a rooftop garden with beehives, buying local, and donating to local organizations. Hôtel Château Laurier is also the world’s first “Franco-responsible” hotel, which means it promotes the French language and Francophone culture as part of its approach to sustainable development.
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Hôtel Château Bellevue
4 Green Keys
Hôtel Château Bellevue has made a commitment to sustainable development across all its hotel operations. The hotel began a process to achieve zero waste in 2021 and is now a member of Québec’s zero waste association, Association québécoise Zéro déchet. Measures adopted include using 100% recycled paper, sourcing from local suppliers for shower products and soaps, installing an EV charging station, and limiting the use of single-serve breakfast items.
More Environmentally Friendly and Responsible Hotels
Along with the city’s Green Key hotels, a number of local establishments have adopted various sustainable development practices as part of their commitment to reducing their environmental footprint:
In Old Québec:
- Hôtel Nomad : this hotel has been certified carbon neutral since 2021 and is aiming to achieve zero emissions by 2027. It is the first hotel in Québec City to have obtained the prestigious Biosphere certification, an international recognition of their commitment to eco-responsible tourism.
- Auberge Saint-Antoine : the inn has reduced its consumption of energy and single-use plastics, grows its own vegetables for the hotel restaurant, Chez Muffy, buys local and organic products, and fights water waste.
Downtown and nearby:
- Hôtels Jaro (Palace Royal, Plaza Québec, Québec Inn, Hôtel Québec, Auberge Québec, Must and Lindbergh) : this hotel group has rolled out a number of environmental initiatives across its seven hotels, such as installing low-flow toilets and recycling bins, reducing the use of paper, and switching to energy-efficient light bulbs.
- Germain Hôtels (Hôtel Le Germain Québec et ALT Hôtel Québec) : both hotels have geothermal heating and cooling, a heat recovery system, energy efficient lighting, and a buy-local policy for products and services in order to give back to the community.
- Le Bonne Entente : this hotel features low-flow toilets that save more than 500,000 litres of water per year, 100% postconsumer recycled fibre paper for in-house photocopying, organic coffee, and certified Fair Trade wine.
- Littoral - Hôtel & Spa : this facility has implemented a plastic reduction policy with the aim of eliminating single-use plastics and becoming carbon neutral.
- Hôtel-Musée Premières-Nations : a high percentage of employees are Indigenous. The hotel’s furniture and décor are the work of local talent while the hotel restaurant, La Traite, showcases the Indigenous terroir. The museum is a great place to learn about Huron-Wendat culture and features the creations of local artists.
- Auberge Triangle d’été : the inn buys local as much as possible and limits waste. Fruit, vegetables, and cleaning products are organic and purchased from local producers and suppliers, and most of what you find at the inn is second-hand.
How Do You Choose an Eco-Friendly Hotel?
When looking for an eco-friendly hotel, check what they’re doing to reduce their environmental footprint and achieve carbon neutrality. Eco-friendly hotels usually have a page on their website dedicated to their sustainability initiatives and the actions they’re taking. Hotels that are further along in the process are often certified and sometimes receive awards for their efforts. In Québec, the Hotel Association of Canada’s Green Key classification system makes it easy to spot eco-friendly hotels. These types of certifications and awards can be good indicators when you’re looking to choose hotels that are committed to the environment.
What Makes a Hotel Eco-Friendly?
Eco-friendly hotels implement various measures to reduce the environmental impact of their operations and move towards carbon neutrality. This is most often achieved through concrete actions such as banning single-use plastics or creating less paper waste. Some hotels go even further and adopt a sustainable development policy outlining the establishment’s guiding principles in its quest for carbon neutrality.
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