Best hotel in Montreal
 

For 2 female friends coming in to town for 3 nights. Am at a loss, there seem so many options, but I don't have many first hand sources to go on. Several have suggested Old Montreal, but anyone have any thoughts? Would rather be walking distance to things, but 'walking distance' easily includes 20 minutes of so walking time. Advice greatly appreciated!

A few that have been suggested include Hotel Nelligan, Place D'Armes, St Paul and St James. But the person recommending doesn't actually know me (friend of a friend!) and I have no idea what he considered 'good'!

(And while we are at it, Quebec City suggestions also welcome!)

I've been to Le St. James in Old Montreal. Mostly a good experience. The hotel is lovely. I have a trip report on this board from last year.

I'll second St-James in Montreal for you, I believe the only "luxury" hotel. The others you mentionned are mostly "boutique chic", not luxury per se.

In Quebec City, Auberge Saint-Antoine (especially their specialty suites) is lovely and probably your best choice. The Fairmont could work, if you're more into "old world" settings, but the general hardware show it's age.

Agree that St. James is by far the most luxurious choice in the area. However, it may be a bit stuffy for your friends' tastes.

From personal experience, I can vouch for the Place d'Armes being very nice, if more a four-star boutique than a genuine luxury property. Their so-called 'penthouse suites' are quite nice though. They generally go for around ~$600usd.

(And while we are at it, Quebec City suggestions also welcome!)[/QUOTE]

While we stayed at a good / well regarded hotel in Montreal , I will stay at another even nicer one on a next visit so will not comment for now.

The last time we were In Quebec City we stayed onboard ship. But have done the touristy bit in the early 90's - really enjoyed our stay at Chateau Frontenac :)
Not sure what the rooms are like now but ours was very comfortable back then & had a spectacular view of the St Lawrence River and beyond. Bear in mind though , the throngs of visitors in the public areas - seems a lot more when we were returning on the cruise visit .
It was a good base , easy exploring the old town and drive out to the countryside & islands.

Sofitel is best option on Sherbrooke Street..... St James is the best for Old Montreal, but limited choices with two beds for people who want to share a room. Nelligan and Place D'Armes are very similar and more than fine. I personally would take saint sulpice with a room facing the garden, but again, limited two bed options besides a sofa bed.
St. Paul is really showing its age and would not come on my list.

In Quebec City, Auberge St Antoine with its new GM is my personal fav

Thanks for the help folks! I will do some more investigating. I am also trying to recall if my friend is a wriggly sleeper or not - we've known each other since we were tiny, so no qualms sharing a bed (provided she doesn't wriggle! :) ) which may open up a few more options - 2 would be better of course, but 1 big bed better than someone having to take a sofa bed!

To the person who mentioned Sherbrooke Street - would that be a reasonable tourist base - rather than on business? I really am not terribly sure of what is where!

Sorry for the late reply.... Sherbrooke is the grand dame of montreal streets. Home to our Holt Renfew and countless high end apartment buildings. Easy access to the Mount Royal Park and the downtown shopping centres, restaurants etc. Old Montreal is certainly more touristy, but it has the historical charm. Many quality dining options around and shopping is more independant retails stores. In the summer, there is no wrong choice. However, Sofitel is still the only quality hotel on Sherbrooke until Ritz re-opens

There are the McGill dorms which I think they rent out in the summer!! :D

Haven't been to Montreal since 2009, and was wondering if the opinions expressed here still stand.

Currently I"m booked at the Place d'Armes in a Balcony Junior Suite. I've stayed in the 'Penthouse' suites, which are great; anyone have firsthand experience in the balcony suites? Place d'Armes has the advantage of great location, excellent bathrooms, and balconies.

The Saint Sulpice has the same location and balconies, but from what I've been able to find online, the bathrooms look very pedestrian. Again, any thoughts?

Finally, anywhere else I ought to consider? St James is nearly sold out and a bit too formal anyway, and the Hotel Vogue, though the only other FHR hotel, looks tacky and a bit impersonal. Nelligan, Gault, and Le Crystal are a bit too cutting-edge for us. Sofitel, W, Marriott and IC all seem fine but boring.


Thanks for any suggestions!

I ended up saying in a Club Room at the IC this time - in part because there was a priority club offer for free ambassador status with 3 nights stay. The lounge was good - the chap running it was excellent, despite it not being his regular job (he is a concierge but someone was off sick / holiday). We really enjoyed it - the room was very modern, clean (it had a renno recently I believe), the lounge was pleasant, with plenty of choice of wines, spirits and beers in the evening for the cocktail hours, and the nibbles were substantial, good, and why I couldn't find something veggie, the chap went and had the chef make me my own plate of delicious grilled veggies. We ate breakfast in the main restaurant rather than the lounge, and it was pleasant, but fairly standard hotel breakfast fare. It was a short walk to the old part of the city where we went two of the three evenings, and right across from the metro which made it easy to get to places further afield. Front desk staff were professional and friendly, housekeeping were great and didn't mind at all requests for extra towels, conditioner etc. Only real disappointment was the pool, which is tiny and was freezing, but the sun deck was pleasant, and you could order 'room service' to the deck.

Yes, my opinion has not changed in two months.... Saint Sulpice bathrooms are fine, but no TV in the mirror or super sexy rain showers. Just a deep soaking tub and a shower that can flood the floor if you are not careful.

I am not sure that Montreal has much in the way of real luxury hotels. I have stayed at most of the ones you named, and they are all somewhere between average and just above average. And distinctly off in terms of luxury as it is usually defined on this board. I usually stay at the W--but I am not as picky about that lately because part of the attraction used to be the food and the restaurant and has really gone downhill over the last couple of years.

Thanks for the feedback. I think we're going to end up at the St. James, as it seems to be the closest thing to a true 5-star hotel in Montreal. I'll report back with thoughts in a couple weeks.

Good choice for certain..... you will give up the balcony (unless ur paying 4 figures a night) but gain a lot more. PM if you need additional Montreal information. To round out the thread, try and get up to Laurier BBQ by Gordon Ramsey for a lunch. Quebec Roasted chicken!

Oh I was so annoyed to have missed that opening by a week when I was in Montreal! I love his restaurants, and really wanted to try it - next time!

Much obliged for the tip; the menu looks great!

Unfortunately, the St. James now ranks as my biggest luxury hotel disappointment. I"ll write back in a few days once I have received a response from (the non-existent?) management.

On the bright side, the Place D'Armes was wonderful.

st james
 

nba1017 :
~ how unfortunate to hear of your awful experience at st james.
~ we've stayed twice and my daughter just returned. although one night the bath from above leaked down into her bath the problem was immediately addressed and she was moved to a huge suite.
~ we've enjoyed everything above st james except for some snooties employed there.
~ place de armes - oh my, we stayed there last year and the front desk staff was awful and unhelpful. all others were great! the place was not well-kept as the glass display in the elevator was broken and walls/corners/details were chipped and dinged up...gym was a mess. the room was enormous and cleaner than the public areas but very dark. not a good experience for us but maybe improvements have been made. glad it worked out for you.

As promised, a review of the St. James, as well as the Place d'Armes. I"m going to write in a more casual fashion, as opposed to a traditional review.


Hotel Le St. James, Montreal QC


The Good:

- The room. We were shown 906 and 802, settling on the latter. Both were junior suites. 802 is in a corner position, and although it's about the smallest room you could get away with calling a junior suite (485-490sf), the four large windows made it acceptable. Beautiful sleigh bed with impeccable linens, a large wooden desk to the left, and a sitting area with two leather chairs and a round dining/vanity table by the windows. The decor was unique and interesting in and of itself.

- The bathroom. Simply the best shower I've ever experienced in a hotel, outside of the Dolder Grand in Zurch. Molton Brown products and a lovely port window off the tub. Only complaint is that the tub could have been a tad bit deeper and wider.

- The concierge. Simon was absolutely fabulous. He seamlessly handled my restaurant and car bookings, recommended a great local place I was indecisive, and arranged for VIP access to a jazz club. As an example, the front desk screwed up my request for a morning NYT, and when questioned in the afternoon, told me that none were left and gave me the name of a newsstand a few blocks away. I ran into Simon upon walking out of the hotel in a bit of a huff and relayed my concern. A NYT was outside my door in ten minutes.



The 'eh:'

- Arrival experience. I had prebooked a hotel car for a transfer from YUL. Perhaps this was a simple miscommunication, but my impression of a 'meet-and-greet' service is that the driver meets me outside baggage and takes me directly to a waiting car. Having to wait for him to pull the car around defeats the purpose of this service. Then again, it could just be how it's done in New York and some other places I've utilized it. Anyway, this was a bit annoying. Furthermore, the hotel was totally unaware of my arrival, with no doorman to open the door, no one greeting me by name, and not having a room available despite not being sold out the night before. No offer to have drinks in the bar or utilize the spa was made, and our drinks were never comped despite waiting until 4:30pm. For a hotel with ~60 rooms, this is really poor. If the Boston Ritz Carlton can recognize my personal SUV and have every single employee greet me by name, why can't the St. James track their own car? Regardless, after some pushing with the manager on duty, I was shown a (newly available) room, but declined it and ended up waiting for the corner junior suite (802).

- Restaurant service. Just slow and a little lethargic. I was only of three tables in the restaurant at 8am, and had to wait 10 minutes for a waiter to come over. After waiting 15 more for my check, I simply left. On a similar note, I called down for some desert and coffee at 10:15pm and was told the particular desert, off the restaurant menu, couldn't be made as it closed at 10. I had just had a nightcap downstairs and was told it would be no problem by the restaurant staff. They ended up making it, but the general attitude was to just say "no" unless pressed.

- Spa. The St. James is a small hotel, but it does have a spa room in its basement (formerly the bank vault). It further advertises the use of sauna and steam facilities for guests on its website. Unfortunately, it doesn't mention that these services are upon request, only when spa guests are not using them. I called at 5pm one evening to inquire about this, and was told it would be possible at 9:30pm, or at 2pm the next day. It's not an issue per se, but it is a clearly advertised service, and a bit of a let down.




The really poor:

- One evening, I heard a knock on my door while the DND sign was on, and, before either my partner or I could dress ourselves, a hotel employee entered the room. Obviously it was a disconcerting thing, and would have been a lot more serious if it was just her in the room. When I dressed and went down to the front desk to discuss it, I ran into the same employee, who began verbally accosting me. The front desk agent's response (this was the manager on duty) was 'sorry, we will talk to our manager in the morning.' When I pressed further to speak to the rooms manager (the same gentleman who made a room appear, so to speak), I was told he had left for the night. Naturally, ten minutes later, I saw this same gentleman walking around the lobby. The hotel had no response to this. I took it upon myself to appraise American Express (as my travel agent) of the events. The manager on duty still had nothing to say beyond 'we apologize' and that I could speak with the manager who had 'left' in the morning. I asked about moving to a room with a more comprehensive security apparatus (perhaps a chain-lock?) and was told this would not be possible. As it would have been very unrelaxing to wait around until 9am to speak with a manager about a very disconcerting issue, we decided to leave and haul ourselves to the Place d'Armes. I settled up the bill, and this same agent actually had the audacity to not simply charge me the full rate, but gave me attitude when I requested my breakfast (as an FHR perk) be removed.



Overall, I have some good things to say about the hotel. The property itself is downright beautiful, with the best rooms I've found in North America. Unfortunately, the service is reminiscent of certain 'grand' hotels in Europe. I will give due credit to the hotel GM for contacting me Monday afternoon refunding my full bill per my request, as well as offering a two night stay in a suite with breakfast on them. I will take them up on it at some point, as all the issues I referenced were simply ones of training, rather than fundamental flaws.



I've written a lot--the Place D'Armes review to follow shortly.

We did not have a perfect experience at St. James either. It is beautiful though.

What in the world was the employee's excuse for coming into the room? Sounds like it was night - what time was it? And why did he "accost" you later?

I was wondering whether there might be any more recent experiences/views. I couldn't find a newer thread than this one, apologies if I missed it. Is there anything recommended for a stay in the summer within let's say 15 minutes walking distance of the Convention Center? Any input greatly appreciated, thank you.

Anything in "Old Montreal" or "Old Town" is very walkable to the "Palais des Congres". This would include The Saint James and various quality 4 star boutique style hotels.
The Ritz Carlton, Mount Stephen and Four Seasons are much further away

I don't know if it would be up to your standards but I have only good things to say about Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. My parents went there on their honeymoon a few decades ago and it (along other Fairmont hotels I've been to) always seem to have held up a great service standard ever since. It's a walking distance to the main attractions too!

Thank you both for your insight. Some TripAdvisor reviews seem to indicate that the Fairmont has undergone renovation, which might make it a good choice. ABG do I hear you right that in your opinion the only true luxury option in my preferred area is the St. James?

we had a perfect stay at the Ritz summer before last. I wrote a review somewhere on this site. I don’t know where it is in relation to the convention center, but we easily used Uber to get around.

It's about half an hour walking, which unfortunately isn't perfect, since I need to keep going back and forth several times a day for several days in a row. Otherwise I would love to try out that property.

I'd take a half an hour walk each way for the ability to use a Toto toilet with seat warmer and bidet. Absolutely the easiest trade I'll ever make.