Originally Posted by
songsc
Pretty much all major and even small Canadian cities/towns have varying degrees of homeless/drug issues right now. Montreal is one of the better ones among the larger cities IMO but things are deteriorating fast unfortunately. I personally avoid the area around Metro Berri-UQAM and the area east of it. Though be prepared to experience people smoking who knows what in indoor spaces and even on the metro!
Sounding more and more that downtown is the go to place for a Montreal winter hotel. UQAM is seedy, Old Town is dead in winter, so a downtown hotel attached to an underground city is the way to go. I've narrowed it down to Fairmont as I'm an Accor member and it seems a nice hotel directly attached to underground city or Le Sheraton not attached or close to transport or underground but is excellent value and in heart of downtown and a few min walk away from most things.