Nobody from around here parks in the garage. Levels P1, P2 and P3 are paid, while lots P4 through P10 are not, and that is where you find the plates from La Malbaie, Clermont and Saint-Irénée. Visitors pull into the garage because it is the first building they see coming up the hill.
I live a few minutes from rue Richelieu and I go two or three times a year, never on a Saturday. That Thursday I left the house around 6:15 p.m., a drive of under ten minutes, and left the car in an outdoor lot that was close to empty.
Here is how the evening went, with the actual hours, what I ate, what I spent and the one thing that bugs me every single time.
Where the casino is and how I got there
The address is 183 rue Richelieu, in La Malbaie, in the Pointe-au-Pic sector, on the headland the Manoir Richelieu has occupied since 1899. The casino itself opened on June 24, 1994, and belongs to Loto-Québec through the Société des casinos du Québec.
For anyone coming from farther away, the landmark is easy: 150 km east of Québec City, under 90 minutes of driving from Jean-Lesage International Airport. The Aéroport de Charlevoix, in Saint-Irénée, sits 8.1 km south-southwest of La Malbaie, but it runs from May to November depending on the snow.
Two shuttles also serve the site from the Québec City area:
1) The shuttle reserved for Casino Privilèges members, leaving from the Salon de jeux de Québec on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. You have to book a seat by phone or at the Customer Experience counter starting the Monday before departure, first come, first served.
2) The La Québécoise shuttle, every Friday and Saturday, with pickup points in Québec City and Lévis.
Hours and when to show up
Since the schedule change announced in 2021, doors open at 11 a.m. Monday to Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Closing is 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, with adjustments for holidays and seasonal changes.
| Days | Opening | Closing |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 11 a.m. | 11 p.m. |
| Friday | 11 a.m. | 2 a.m. |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. | 2 a.m. |
| Sunday | 9 a.m. | 11 p.m. |
That is my gripe, and I have had it for years: on a Thursday, the place shuts at 11 p.m. You eat, you play for an hour, you go up for the view, and the staff are already making the rounds of the machines. Mornings are just as strict: doors open at 11 a.m., not a minute earlier, even when a busload of retirees is waiting outside. Saturday has a completely different feel, but it comes with the crowd I was trying to dodge in the first place.
What is inside
The building has three floors and you cover it quickly. There are more than 700 slot machines, 9 gaming tables, electronic gaming devices and sports betting terminals. Daily Texas Hold’em tournaments run on the electronic gaming tables.
The view is still the main argument. The windows near the tables look out on the river, and at dusk you see the water better than the screen in front of you. A zone with lower minimum bets is set aside for loyalty program members, which explains why some regulars spend the whole evening in the same spot.
Bar 21, inside the casino, holds DJ nights every Saturday starting at 9 p.m., with special programming on long weekends. In summer, Loto-Québec sets up Le Hangar, a temporary performance space built in one of the casino parking lots and able to hold close to 400 people; that is where the complex puts on its comedy nights.
An underground passage links the casino to the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu, a five-star, smoke-free hotel with 405 rooms. In January, that tunnel beats any marketing pitch you care to name.
Where I ate that night
I had supper at St-Hubert Signé Casino, inside the gaming area, so 18 and over only. Rotisserie chicken, BBQ sauce, all-you-can-eat coleslaw; the counter also does takeout orders, which plenty of local employees grab before heading home.
The restaurants in the hotel complex are open to everyone: Le Saint-Laurent, Le Bellerive, the Bellerive café and Le Point cardinal. Le Bellerive serves breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with hours that shift by season, and sometimes the evening service is not offered at all. Le Point cardinal, with its terrace overlooking the course and the river, operates during golf season.
My advice as a neighbour: if you eat at the hotel, save the Saint-Laurent for a proper night out and keep the Bellerive café for a quick dessert before heading back down.
Age, rules and parking
Access to the gaming area, the hotel bars and St-Hubert Signé Casino is limited to those 18 and over, ID in hand. Oversight falls to the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux. A facial recognition system operates at the entrance as part of the self-exclusion program, for people who have agreed to have their features registered.
On parking: free outdoor spots are limited, garage levels P1, P2 and P3 are paid, lots P4 through P10 are free, charging stations for electric vehicles are available and taxi service runs at all hours. Valet parking at the Fairmont costs $39 per night, with unlimited in and out.
One point that comes up often in conversation around here: the casino’s pages live inside the Loto-Québec portal, and several sites reuse the establishment’s name online. An independent review, Casino Charlevoix online, catalogues what circulates under that name and separates the pages genuinely tied to Loto-Québec from the imitations.
What the night cost me and whether it is worth the trip
I had set aside $40 for the machines, plus supper and a coffee. Nothing for parking, nothing for gas since I live ten minutes away. The budget went in one hour and twenty minutes on the machines, which is what I expected, and I did not top it up.
For those who collect points, the Casino Privilèges program covers all Loto-Québec casinos and has four tiers. Points build up at the games and in the complex’s restaurants, 300 points convert to $1 in free play, and the top tier, Prestige Plus, requires 400,000 points over twelve months. In other words, it is built for regulars, not for the once-a-year visit.
I left at 10:40 p.m., twenty minutes before closing, with the lot already three-quarters empty. On a weeknight the place is quiet and clean, and the view of the river alone justifies the climb up the hill. For noise and crowds, aim for Friday, Saturday, or the summer weekends when Le Hangar is up in the parking lot.
Entry is 18 and over, and gambling stays a pastime you plan for with an amount decided in advance.
