SkiAdcock

Congrats - and how cool to propose in the exact spot her parents did! Great pic!

Cheers.

DealAddict

So I stayed there last week....Really nice hotel with an onsite restaurant/bar and free wifi. Not your ordinary Courtyard... Felt more like a full service Marriott. Surprised this is only a Category 5.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update!

Cheers.

longwaybackhome

Hallelujah, this is now the closest Marriott brand to the Place des Arts, which means no Residence Inn! However, if we ski Tremblant, the only Marriott in town is an RI.

The RI is on the same block as the Metro (the Peel stop), but you have to go outside to go between train and hotel, and the Springhill Suites, while amazing, are about five blocks away.

(I always end up on the pull-out couch when I stay at a Residence Inn with my father, and that's not fun.)

longwaybackhome

My father and I stayed at this hotel this past Saturday and Sunday night.

It had possibly the best hotel gym I've ever seen - tons of treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes, free weights and weight machines. I think the hotel's attached to an apartment building, so I assume it's also the apartments' gym. We used it three times, including on Monday morning before we left.

Our room was huge, gorgeous, and had its own Keurig!

As I mentioned in my previous post, the most important thing to me about the hotel was its proximity to the Place des Arts - the concert we attended ended at about 11:30 so it was nice to be able to walk through the Complexe Desjardins then a only a half-block outside. Otherwise, its location didn't matter because we walked to Old Montreal and back twice.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

flyfire

Any one have experience with the new Courtyard downtown? The photos look great though.

transportprof

The rooms and staff are excellent. Best Courtyard I've ever stayed in. Only complaint is that the Keurig coffee maker makes bad tasting tea, but that may not be an issue for many.

Gigantor

I will be using points for a stay with girlfriend in Montreal this summer.

I would like to stay at a Cat 7 property and I would like to know which hotel would be better for a romantic getaway.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions,

G

NJUPINTHEAIR

You should re-think your plans and take a look at the new-build C/Y downtown that is presently a Category 5. It is better than either of them and I would not be surprised if it were converted to a Renaissance property (they used to have one in Montreal before it became student housing for McGill) or a Marriott if they ever jettison the old in the tooth Chateau Champlain that was built for the 1967 World's Fair!

Gigantor

Thank you very much for the tip. The CY Downtown also has a pool and whirlpool.

I have taken your advice.

Many thanks

G

NJUPINTHEAIR

Great! There have been some great trip reports here and on T/A. I will be staying there using my M/B certs over the July 4th holiday which also coincides with the tail end of the 35th Jazz Fest.

When arranging your trip if you have a choice of dates, see if one of Montreal's many summer festivals is going on, or for that matter, Quebec City's, as well -- bit of the taste of the Old World up there in looks and style, which I assume you are well acquainted with.

C/Y Montreal is also in a better position than the Chateau Champlain for most things that a tourist would want to see.

Gigantor

I will be attending the Tremblant Blues Festival: July 4-13.

karch

The RI on Peel is in an exceptional location. It's steps away from everything except the old town. The hotel otherwise is rather average except for the amazing rooftop terrace that gives some of the best views of the city.

The Chateau Champlain is in a very average location but the lobby elevator takes you straight down to the subway. Very convenient!

HorsesAndHockey

I recently stayed here with a Silver member on Cat 1-5 certificates. We e-mailed ahead of time to inquire about early check-in, and some luck at the airport pushed us up to an extra early arrival. The 747 airport express bus was very easy to take from the airport though the Courtyard is not listed on the hotel list so I recommend looking up ahead of time which stop to get off at. The 3-day public transit pass worked well for us to use the express bus each way and to use the metro many times.

We dropped our bags off, took care of check-in details, and were given a very helpful map of the city before we set out to explore. We came back after a few hours ready to relax in the pool for awhile as the early morning was catching up to us - the room the agent wanted to put us in with a view wasn't ready yet so we opted to grab what we needed from our bags and wait a little longer for the nicer room. The pool and large hot tub were nice though it was a little cool for the outdoor patio area. The keys were sent up to the pool pretty quickly, and our bags were dropped in the room - this was all still before the normal check-in time which was appreciated particularly considering the hotel was full.

We had a large king room on a corner with an unobstructed view despite only being on the 5th floor. The housekeeping refresh the next day seemed to be a step up from usual though I'm not sure if I can identify exactly why that was. The only "issue" was a shower door that didn't entirely stay shut, but otherwise the stay was very nice.

The bad part was leaving and staying closer to family outside the city - after having such a lovely stay at the Courtyard, the next hotel had trouble measuring up.