QUEBEC — After a day of whale watching and driving around Quebec's soggy Tadoussac, my wife, Betsy, and I crash-landed in Hotel Dominion's cozy modern lobby in Quebec City's Old Port region. Finding the place wasn't easy. The thin and winding European-style streets are all named after saints, and it's tough navigating multiple one-way streets.

The lobby itself is typical boutique: neutral colors, high ceilings and dark wood with overstuffed, cream-colored sofa chairs so comfy that twice during our stay, we saw patrons dozing in them. Rooms do not have individual fireplaces, though there is one in the lobby breakfast area.

CHECKING IN: Checking in was easy, as our bilingual hosts gave us a key (an actual brass key, not an impersonal plastic electronic key) and area maps. After showing a bellman to our car, he took care of parking it in the hotel lot (roughly $12.50 a day, plus taxes) and brought our luggage up lickety-split. (All rates in this story are in U.S. dollars, based on the current exchange rate.)

By the time we got to our room, a maid — decked out in full French-maid costume — was tuning our stereo to a local jazz station. She brought us ice and fruit, dimmed the lights, laid out the TV guide to the proper page, turned down the bed — then disappeared before we could tip her.

ROOMS: Of the 60 rooms at Hotel Dominion, half feature king-size beds that you could get lost in. As Betsy swooned over the high-thread-count linens, I ordered dinner via room service — pesto shrimp ($15.30) for me, pork tenderloin with mustard sauce ($14.20) for Betsy. Service was lightning fast, and the food was delicious.

As in most boutique hotels, the furnishings were modern but sturdy and very comfortable. A desk next to the entertainment center held a box of stationery, postcards and a guide to hotel services — much nicer than the typical binder you get in other hotels.

Betsy particularly loved the all-white linens and army of pillows for back, side and stomach sleepers. There also was a swinging table attached to the bed, which I used for writing postcards until our dinner came.

Dim lights and soft music made for great atmosphere, if you can see in the dark. Elegant lighting is impossible to see in (good luck finding anything in your suitcase). But the mini-spotlights over the bed and desk were awfully convenient.

BATHROOM: Cleanliness and high water pressure is really all that's required to rocket a bathroom to 4-star status for me, but Hotel Dominion bathrooms are miniature art installations. The beautiful green glass sink also serves as a nightlight, illuminated from below. Aveda toiletries are readily replenished, but we were knocked out by this small detail: water glasses etched with our room number.

ROOM SERVICE: A limited menu (three appetizers, four main courses) is offered nightly from 5 to 10:30.

KID/FAMILIES: Kids seemed welcome and spent a lot of time on the lobby's computer.

PERKS & PEEVES: Hotel Dominion has a reputation for being one of the best hotels in Canada, and we weren't disappointed. The staff is well-dressed, polite and helpful beyond belief — even printing out e-mails at 3 a.m. for me.

The tart Granny Smith apples left in your room are more aesthetically pleasing than tasty, and they don't often give you enough towels (because, according to the eco-fliers, they want to save the St. Lawrence River from too much laundry detergent runoff). But this hotel scores high on so many other details (comfy robes, an umbrella in the closet, free English-language newspapers).

Internet access and printing is free — but only at a single computer in the lobby.

BOTTOM LINE: Low season (Nov. 1 to April 30) rates range from $148 to $209. High season (May 1 to Oct. 31): from $179 to $266. Taxes (federal and provincial) total 13.5 percent, and there is a $2 per day city tax. Continental breakfast (included in the rate) is offered buffet-style in the lobby.

Check-in, 3 p.m.; check-out, noon. Two handicapped-accessible rooms are available.

In the high season, reservations can be canceled without penalty 48 hours before arrival. Less than 48 hours, the cancellation fee equals one night's room rate plus tax. The rest of the year, cancellations can be made before 4 p.m. on the day of arrival without penalty.