ecliftoncha

hey flyertalk folks. did a search but didn't really find the best answers, so posting anew here--

heading to montreal in september and was curious:

1) what's the best starwood property in montreal?

was planning to use 2 of the free wknd nights i have, and have 3 options -- meridien versailles, w montreal, and le centre sheraton. i am looking for a place that is (a) near a metro, (b) near the hustle and bustle, and (c) generous to elites [currently gold, potentially plat in a few weeks]. i read that the meridien is far west, not near much. thoughts?

2) will i need a rental car?

coming in via amtrak and have heard mixed things on whether it's best to rent a car. the reviews here say no, a friend says yes. i only plan to spend a weekend so a car may not be worth the hassle, but would welcome your thoughts!

3) should i use my free wknd nights, or cash + points, or just points?

not clear what the best "value" is here, considering the rates for the dates i'm looking at hover around 150 CAD. i would imagine using a free wknd night cert for a $250+ cat 4 (or whatever cost they are) would be a better deal. but hey, it's still a free night.

thanks so much! really appreciate any wisdom...

jacknyoc

can't speak to benefits, but the "W" location is great...across form metro stop, next to Old Montreal and close enough to walk to "downtown" Montreal. I've not stayed there, but walked by it several times recently and it looked great. Enjoy Montreal...it's a great mix of old and new.

NBSPGMEMBER

1. The Sheraton is nice if you have a good price, this means a rate under 200$. At 100$ for the 4Points or 150$ for the Meridien would also be a fair deal.
2. You definitely don't need a car in Montreal, unless you are planning to go visit the suburbs and I'm sure you're not.
3. Le Centre Sheraton Montréal or Le Méridien is not worth 7000 Starpoints, to me anyway. However, the cash and points combination is a good value and it's usually available most of the time at Le Centre Sheraton.

sbtinme

If you plan to use free weekend nights, I'd say most folks would agree that the snappy new W in Montreal really is an exceptional hotel. The Sheraton is a very well run hotel and in the middle of everything, like the W. The Meridien is somewhat different -- well run, but more boutique-like and older.

Unless you have an aversion to the W hotel concept, that would be your best bet, IMO.

choptliva

The W is a wonderful hotel. Stayed there twice this summer, once with two kids. Very nice. Great location, within walking of Old Montreal and many other things downtown.
We spent a total of three nights there, and never once took our car out of parking. Walked everywhere, in fact. ^
I used points for one of the stays, and used $ for the other. Service was great both times. I highly recommend using a bit more points and getting a "mega" room. It's something like 480 sq. ft., and is it ever so nice!!!! Well worth the extra 1500 points, IMO.
For dinner, there's Boris Bistro within 2 minutes walk. And, there's also a place called Bonaparte, maybe a 10 minute walk at most. Try them. ^ ^
Enjoy Montreal!

ABG

The Meridien and Centre Sheraton are both very close to Metro Stations...... Le Centre is more "central" as in it is closer to the main shopping area. The Meridien stradels downtown and a more upscale area called Westmount

dibby

Define "best". What specifically are you looking for?

I stayed at both Le Centre and the W last month.

Le Centre: Great business/shopping district location. However, I could also walk down to the congress centre/old Montreal in less than 20-30 min (or take the metro even faster). Large, comfortable Club Lounge - food offerings are average, but sufficient, computers with internet access, and a great view. I was upgraded (as Plat) to a large Club Floor room, a little frumpy but with Sweet Sleeper bed. Funky (but fun) "roman" pool and hot tub and adequate fitness room. Service helpful, parking a maze and expensive.

The W: Great W style hotel. Dark, sleek, hip. Right next to the Congress Centre and old Montreal, but more of a trek back to Ste. Catherine. The bouncers/bellmen were helpful and friendly. Free WiFi in the lobby. Upgraded to a Mega room - very comfortable. Parking in an office complex nearby - also expensive. Room service breakfast good, but even a little more that ususally expensive. Small workout room, no pool/hot tub.

If you're staying in downtown Montreal, don't bother with a car. It's an interesting city to walk, and the Metro is quite easy to use (even if you don't speak French).

vivrant

Try doing cash+points at the W. It's been a great value for me the last few times I did it.

ecliftoncha

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INPUT.

decided on the W montreal, using a mix of cash + points and free wknd nights. really looking forward to it!

LukeSky

I am going for four nights to montreal this month...glad i read this post!

I was going to:
1-10k points
2-$200 bucks.
3-free weekend
4-free weekend

Now I am going to:
1-4k points +$60
2-4k points +$60
3-free weekend
4-free weekend

The cash and points option saves me $80 and 2k in points...

The only drawback is that I don't get a credit for the stay...right?

toomanywords

I see you've already made plans, so this may be too late, but if your main criteria is generosity toward elites, I'd recommend the Four Points near the Plateau neighborhood -- it was a few blocks from a Metro, right near a ton of bars/restaurants (and walking distance to Schwartz's Deli), and they upgraded my girlfriend and I to an enormous suite last summer when we stayed there for points (2,000 per night) for a weekend. Great value, I was quite happy with the property and the stay.

sbtinme

Can you comment a little more? This property is often maligned by most ... yours is among the first glowing report I've read. Most reports might give this place a C+. Even those with the suites (many of them 2 levels, from what I'm told) only graded the place marginal.

Just curious if you could share a little more.

mtparadis

Just like to also throw my weight behind the W. Had two different stays here this weekend, first was upgraded to an Extreme Wow Suite (as a Gold, no less) and second only got a Wonderful room. Considering I rarely get upgraded as a Gold, I can easily say that the Extreme Wow Suite was the nicest room I've ever gotten at a Starwood.

This hotel definitely knows how to make their customers happy.

On a side note, valet parking is something like $30 or $35 (Canadian) per day. You can just park on the street on Sundays and every night (until 9 am) and save yourself a lot of money.

MilesTalk

Sounds lucky We loved the W last summer, but as Gold we had reserved the smallest room type (akin to a large closet) and were not upgraded. They were very pleasant about apologizing for not being able to upgrade us though It is certainly a beautiful hotel in a convenient part of town.

Super Larry

I always put suppliers and customers in that hotel when in town and they all are happy with their stay, thanks to me making the reservations with my plat status and them staying in Suites as a result of it!!

I actually visited the room several times and found them to be quite ok. The only problem I see is that the hotel caters to groups and sometime you might end up having to wait several minutes for the elevators..