Our vacation in Laval

You know me, I like simple things at a good price! When Tourisme Laval suggested that we get to know his region with low cost activities, I thought it was a great idea! I realized that we don't need to go to the other side of the world to live magical moments and create beautiful and good memories with our family. The cost of living has gone up and not everyone can afford a trip overseas. But we all need a vacation and it feels great to be in the middle of a family activity and to get away from our daily lives.

I was totally surprised and charmed by our getaway to Laval. As someone who now lives in the remote forest of the city, I was happy to take a trip to a beautiful, bright and active city. During the holiday season, many families also took advantage of the attraction passports that offer 40% off! There are plenty of times to take advantage of this, on weekends and also during Spring Break.

Day 1

The team of Tourisme Laval has created a course with a schedule of activities for us.

We started our stay in Zone 15 !

We started with a game of indoor mini golf on a fluorescent course. The music 🎶 kept us dancing. The atmosphere was great and even my 3 year old Eleanor did the whole course with her adaptive mini stick offered on site. It was great!

Then, at 2:00 pm 🕒, the first game of laser tag began. The goal of laser tag is to disable the jackets of the opposing team members using Laser targets. In this game suitable for kids 6 years and older, you should have seen me go 😂👌🏻. I didn't think I was that competitive!!! My score was 22 on a board of 39 🙌🏻; the little mom was in her brooding role 😂. I honestly loved our experience. We will definitely be going back for one of our kids' birthdays or my birthday, because it's great with adults too! It's also a great experience to give as a gift.

3:00 pm 🕒, it was time to check in at our first hotel, the Holiday Inn Laval

The hotel is close to everything and was mostly occupied by families during our stay. The welcome is quick and warm and the place is clean and cozy as I like. A beautiful pool is accessible and beautiful rays of sunshine come in. Bring your bathing suit, gougounes and beach towels; you'll love having a dip here for sure. It's very relaxing.

5pm 🕔, the kids are hungry. I'm glad to hear that the kids eat FREE when they are hotel guests. Three less kids' meals on the bill, I can confirm that it shows on the final cost! Juice, lunch and a hearty dessert; they were spoiled and devoured everything at Chez Lionel restaurant (which is downstairs from the hotel). We can also eat there, even if we don't sleep at the hotel as it is an open restaurant. To be honest with you guys, this is the most beautiful and classy restaurant I've been to in my life. I fell to the ground when I realized that the prices are comparable to the prices you would find in local rotisseries! Christian and I had the braised beef (you absolutely must try it!). It's simple, this is my new favorite restaurant and we promised each other we would come back with our family or lovers.

Yes, it's fancy, but it's also family friendly. I didn't feel bad about being there with my restless kids at times. They made me feel comfortable and at ease. It was very much appreciated. The service is perfect seriously, you have to go there to try the homemade creme brulee; it is just perfect!

7:30 pm 🕒 evening in Illumi. We chose the drive up option as mom had forgotten the snow pants 🌨 and the kids were getting tired. I thought about skipping this activity since we had been there last fall in the Halloween time, but nope, no way! The kids saw the lights near the hotel and recognized the place. They absolutely wanted to go there. It is a must in Laval. It's magical and enchanting and fills the heart with beautiful memories. In spite of our frequent visits, each time, we live a beautiful experience and we come back with bright eyes.

Credit Marie-Ève Lanthier

9:30 pm 🕒 back to the room, shower and cuddle with family before a nice sleep.

Day 2

8:40 am 🕒, the kids never get up at this time! The beds at the Holiday Inn, they are magical! Hihi!

We had a snack in the room and then headed to the pool! The brunch at Chez Lionel (restaurant attached to the hotel) opens at 10 am.

Credit Sarah Charron

The pool is beautiful and the children are playful and happy. I am enjoying this perfect moment, it feels good. The pool is also perfect for them to expend energy!

11:30 am 🕒 room is picked up, hair is dried, time to go eat at Lionel's. It was absolutely delicious again and it was free again for the kids with the hotel reservation 🙌🏻. Seriously, free makes all the difference. I'm freaking out!

Photo Credit Sarah Charron

2:00 pm 🕒 we have an appointment at the Bowling alley 🎳 BG Laval 2000

I didn't expect to have so much fun! This is a perfect activity for all ages. Popular music, neon lights, popcorn, animated screen, the kids really enjoyed it. You have to take a picture of yourself with a happy, sad and excited face and when you play, you have an animation that goes by your score! As usual, Dad won the game! Let's just say he's good at ball games and he's very competitive, haha! It's really suitable for everyone. We had a lot of FUN!!!

3:30 p.m. 🕒, check-in at our new hotel, the Hilton Laval

I come back and I am breathless! It's breathtaking, families are in front of me, children laughing; they too are happy to be from here. I pinch myself, I don't realize that I am here right now! The place is grandiose. The butler welcomes me. He is very nice. He offers me the magnetic cards that give access to a VIP area... you have to have a room card to enter this section of the hotel. It flatters the ego, I love it! I ask the price of such a room for the night. For a suite with kitchen, it's the price of a room in Quebec City! I expected much more honestly. I love it!

It's big, spacious, the kids have room to move. I put stuff in the fridge. Life is good. It feels good to leave our responsibilities behind and live in the moment with my man and the kids.

Credit Lasting Motion

5 pm 🕒, it's time for dinner. We head straight to the hotel, because tonight is the Laval Rocket game. The kids are excited and so am I! We love field hockey. The room of the restaurant Le Quartz affiliated to the hotel is beautiful and the waiters are nice. There is a children's menu for $15, I love it! The adult menu is also affordable with homemade pizza, seafood pasta, tender and tasty meats. There is something for everyone. They make great cocktails and the alcoholic coffees are 👌🏻. The kids devoured their plate; the portions are generous and the meals are really kid-friendly (not too spicy). I really recommend the shrimp appetizer and the seafood pasta 🦞! My lover also loved the onion soup as an appetizer; it was scrumptious.

7pm 🕒 it's time for the Rocket game at Place Bell. My son tells me, "Mom, this is the best night of my life!". My daughters are singing at the top of their lungs and my husband is bright-eyed (former junior AA field hockey player here). I feel like a good mom and wife. I don't have the finances to take my three kids to a Montreal Canadiens game, but I think it's a great experience to offer our families to come and cheer on the next generation and come to Laval to see the Rocket play! It's about $15 to $50 a ticket. I swear that the atmosphere is extraordinary in this 10,000 seat amphitheatre! The Rocket won 6-3. It was an emotional game! There is plenty of parking, both indoor and outdoor, and it was easy to find. Our seats were next to the grandfather of one of the players. How proud he was to see his grandson score a goal. It reminded me of my brother when he played field hockey. I was so proud of him. The DJ on site is great too and the host was awesome. There is a lot of interaction with the crowd, it was truly an E-X-T-R-A experience!

21:45 🕒 back to the room, snack and sleep in our wonderful soft beds at the Hilton, to be up for our last day tomorrow. The kids slept well, we were so good. The suite was perfect for our family.

Day 3

7:00 AM 🕒, troop up. We had breakfast in the room. I ordered two adult breakfasts which we shared. Dad was happy to drink a nice coffee ☕️ in bed. The kids listened to goodies on TV while I picked up the bags. It was with sadness that we left the comfortable Hilton Hotel. This hotel has a nice pool as well, but we didn't have time to take a dip. We will definitely be back one day!

9 am 🕒, we have an appointment at Clip 'n climbthe dream place for young and old climbers 🧗‍♂️. The kids were ecstatic to discover an indoor climbing center. It was our first experience. It's the perfect place where you push your limits and use your brains 🧠 and muscles 💪🏻 as much as possible to climb a section of climbing wall. There are several levels and different heights. Even Eleanor participated! The kids were so proud! I really recommend this place. The experienced instructors are very friendly and encourage the kids to push themselves. I really liked the energy there.

10:45 a.m. 🕒, direction Escaparium - Bernie Bloc

This is an escape game suitable for families. In a LEGO block style setting, you have to work as a team to solve the puzzles. We loved it! Doors that open when you succeed, hidden treasures, clues everywhere to discover, it was fantastic! The hour passed too quickly. We would have liked it to go on and on, so much we were in our role to help Bernie! There are also adult levels with other themes where you can go as a group. It's great for birthday parties, school groups. Plus, it's great for bonding, for sports teams or co-workers, for example. You have no choice but to work as a team and communicate. I felt a bit like Big Brother finding clues. I got A-D-O-R-E.

We ended the getaway at the Centre d'interprétation de l'eau 💦 de Laval (C.I.EAU). You know me, I love to play and have fun, but I also love to teach my kids where things come from. Through this activity, they discovered that water was not at will and that in some places on Earth, it was not as abundant as it is here. It was very interesting to understand ♻️ how the City of Laval provides water to its citizens. I learned a lot myself as an adult during this educational activity. I really recommend it.

Before concluding the summary of this incredible adventure and our little vacation which was extraordinary, I have a special mention to make concerning the restaurant Chez Lionel. It is definitely my new favorite restaurant! Soon, we will celebrate our ^10th anniversary as a couple Christian and I want to go back there together. I want to go there for my anniversary in July as well to introduce our whole family to this wonderful restaurant. It is a wonderful restaurant with a varied menu of meals at affordable costs. The kids are welcome and they loved the meal. The fish and French fries as well as the ravioli on the children's menu were delicious! We ate at the restaurant in Laval, but there is also a restaurant Chez Lionel in Boucherville and also in Sainte-Thérèse, if it is closer to your residence. It's worth the detour!

The experiences were received and donated by all the generous partners we mentioned. My experience and comments are my own. No one has forced me to say or express an opinion that is not my own. I recommend all the destinations I have mentioned. We had sincere and honest experiences in all the places. If it weren't for that, I simply wouldn't have mentioned the place. Take time out as a family to have great experiences. There are still accessible activities to do nearby. I wanted to show you that it was possible to do it in Laval and give you a bank of ideas to do it!

Have a good trip!

Sarah