At Heaven's Door in Auberge Saint-Antoine

I'm knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door. And I'm glad Saint-Antoine opened the gates to this delightful little hotel in Vieux Quebec!

This Relais and Chateaux auberge is definitely beyond charming and is just overflowing with attention to detail.

The suites are dressed in black, white, and red - more devilish than angelic, in my opinion.

By the door of each room, there is a tray on the floor piled with alabaster river rocks. My husband and I debated as to what purpose they served. Were they for throwing into glasshouses? No. We concluded that it was a stowage for wet snowboots, given that winter is a huge event in Quebec City.

And the beverage of choice at turndown service? Holy water of Auberge Saint-Antoine! You would have thought they gathered it from a pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Oh, how we loved the details: the faux-leather bathroom tiles with matching accessories; bathrobes for each guest including the wee ones; a rack full of current magazines; fluffy cloud-like pillows and duvet that keep bodies warm. And those little uplighters on the floor...

When it comes to the lobby, nothing is cozier than an intimate lounge area with soft couches, blankets, reindeer-patterned pillows, and a blazing fire.

Yes, even heaven loves fire.

The sofas at the lobby bar are swathed in velvet and suede-like microfibre with touches of silk and sateen. Acrylic Louis XIV ghost chairs are thrown in for a bit of verve. Along its wall, some precious paraphernalia that were found during the excavation of the building site are displayed.

Here's another nook with a bunch of books and board games, and of course, a gas fireplace once again.

The auberge's restaurant, Panache, is a wood-and-stone 19th century warehouse space, painstakingly restored and decorated in the lines of the hotel's flashes-of-red motif. The food prepared by Executive Chef Francois Blais is decidedly French-Canadian, with a focus on local produce.

There are fantastic views of the St. Lawrence river from the restaurant that one can enjoy while sampling the flavours of Canada. Such are the highlights of the menu: Saint-Apollinaire duck foie-gras, Saint-Lambert-de-Lauzon lamb, Cap-Saint-Ignace quail, Mingan Island scallops, Nova Scotia lobster, Lac-Saint-Pierre perch, and more.

Glass chandeliers from local La Mailloche artisans ooze from the ceiling like icicle angels, making it a truly sensual and heavenly experience, not just for taste, but also for sight.

Conclusion: Auberge Saint-Antoine is worthy of its title as one of "America's Top 10 Small City Hotels" in Travel & Leisure's World's Best List. I would stay here again next time I'm in the area!