andymo99

I stayed at the aloft YUL for one night last week. I was in Montreal to have laser eye surgery, and the hotel really met my (special) needs for the stay.

I arrived at the hotel early in the morning of my surgery - at about 9am. My intention was to leave my car there and take a taxi to the eye clinic. Just in case they were able to accommodate me, I asked if they might have a room ready. After a few keystrokes, I was offered my room. I didn't ask about an upgrade, because I was really just pleased to have a place to drop my bags, and that I wouldn't need to sort anything out after surgery. My room was ordinary. According to the floormap, it seemed only one room on the floor was larger than all of the others.

By giving me a 9am check-in, the hotel was 1-for-1 in my book.

I wanted a bite to eat before heading out. They have no restaurant in the hotel, but there is a quick "grab and go" type of area. I took a croissant and juice. It must have been about $4 CDN. (They also gave me a granola bar at check-in).

I was given a parking slip to put in my car, and told that I would be charged $10 CDN. However, there was no such charge on my bill at checkout.

I needed a cab to my destination, and I had no Canadian currency. The helpful desk clerk called for a cab that would take credit cards. When the cab didn't arrive in a timely manner, she followed up, and it soon arrived.

I returned a few hours later and made my way to my room, where I spent the day recovering. I was in sweats and a t-shirt, so I didn't really feel like going to the lobby to grab a sandwich for lunch. I'd earlier spied a few sandwich options in the same setup as the breakfast. So I phoned down and asked what was available. The clerk told me the choices and, when I explained my situation, cheerfully agreed to send someone up with my order. So they gave me customized room service, and I was really appreciative.

As for foodservice, they also have a stack of menus for restaurants that deliver. Again, they were thoughtful in delivering those to my room for me to choose from for my dinner.

Other notes:
**I didn't notice any strange odors
**There is no mini-bar, but there is a fridge. They give you a bottle of water or two.
**I had a decent airport view for the 5th floor (which I enjoyed with great vision the next morning)
**The parking did not appear on my bill.
**My points posted properly, including the 8x promo; however my platinum amenity did not post - I will have to follow up on that.
**My room rate was $116 CDN.
**They offer free wireless.
**I had no trouble at all with cell phone reception. My AT&T service picked up Rodgers.

Overall, I had a very good stay and really appreciated the attention of the staff. It was just a few things they did, none of which were extraordinary, but they added up to give me a really favorable impression.

All that said, I am not sure why one would stay at this location unless you had an early flight the next morning, meetings very close by, or some special circumstances such as mine. Montreal is such a great city. Staying at Dorval would be like coming to NYC and staying by LGA. I had stayed the prior night as well, and spent that night at Four Points Centre-ville (broke up my stay for promo credits). Far superior location. And while the latter property is no great shakes, I am 2-for-2 with suite upgrades there, and it is a good value in a great location.

Totally OT, but if anyone is interested in being a medical tourist in Canada, feel free to ping me for a referral. They are half the price of the US, and have far more experience than US clinics as well - the surgeons I saw are world renowned.

thepointsguy

Had a similar experience at the Aloft YUL (though no customized room service!). I recently stayed at the YUL Airport Hilton for a promo and that place is old school! I really felt like the room was from an 80's ski lodge. NO wireless (not even if you pay- I HATE that) and just dumpy furnishings. I would take that aLoft ANY day over the Hilton (and the Hilton is always more expensive).

smd0202

First off...this doesn't compare to the W, and I don't believe its meant to. (Major price difference also)

Location is right next to the airport so if you plan on going anywhere besides the airport, you should have a rental car.

It was my first stay with the aLoft brand and I really enjoyed it...would definitely stay there again and I will look for that brand during my future trips!

pjoalfa

If you are to take the airport shuttle for this hotel, it's not on the signs. It's the #3 boarding. That said, I stood there for 30 mins or so and the bus that stopped told me I had just missed the correct bus (which didn't stop)... Just ask and you'll be fine.

Hotel as described in the very good post from andymo99 above. All points/gifts posted correctly. Staff helpful. Rooms pretty cool.

One down side- you can hear everything in adjacent rooms and in the hall. This on the 5th floor far from elevator.

DaveTO

Rooms are nice, a level up from comparable Marriott/Hilton offerings. Be aware that if the planes are taking off towards the hotel, you will be woken up.

OneWorldTraveller

Just finished stay 1 night at aloft Montreal airport. I liked it. Only drawback is it was difficult to find hotel with my old GPS. Finally, I found Hilton YUL (not Sheraton YUL), and could find aloft YUL.

No special thing about room.

Amenity (one espresso or capuccino..) was good, but hope to get a voucher for two..

Liked shuttle service, quite quick and reliable, but inbound (from YUL to aloft) takes time since it go around some parking lots..

OneWorldTraveller

Actually, shuttle stops at both #2 and #3.. #2 is canadian departure/arrival side. The road between #2 and #3 is currently blocked for construction..

uxb

I would not recommend this property for the next several months. Construction is at its foot, starts at 6 and is expected last for "months," which is Québéçois for "1+ years."

BobbySteel

The construction isn't too bad. The roads are screwy but follow signs for the Sheraton and you'll be fine

Not a bad hotel - prices seem to have come down so I got a room for around $100 with my corporate discount.

Good stay overall. Not too far from Lachinee so I drove down there and had a nice jog on the canal.

dcstudent

Had a great stay last Sunday night. Front-desk staffer was very friendly and welcoming. Was given a standard king room on the 5th floor, had a good view of takeoffs and landings.

Room was spotless. TV had a good selection of HD channels. Shower pressure was excellent, lots of hot water.

Check-out was just as smooth as check-in. Great stay.

littlemookie

I don't understand the Aloft brand, but had a one night stay here last week. For 4k points or 2k plus $35, this place is well worth it from a value perspective. The room was fine, but the lobby and public areas are shabby and showing their age. The room was fine, the bed comfortable, the shower and bath products excellent, but the parking situation is terrible and the general cheapness of certain items detracts from a potentially great brand. The mix of quality and cheap chic makes for an odd contrast that is noticeable.

The bar and grab and go food concept is great, and I wish other SPG brands would incorporate into their next remodel concept. It's a rare concept that has appeal across business, leisure, and travelers of all ages and is definitely done right.

winebug

I mostly praise SPG, but on this one occasion it is a heads up for low expectations at a very badly managed property: the Aloft Montreal Airport.

I took pictures of the pool which is absolutely filthy. The raw concrete around the pool has pucks of hair, the pool overflow drains are clogged with dirt and hair - over how much time does how much hair need to accumulate for that, hair floating on top of the water. You can clearly see the place has not been cleaned for ... years I guess?

I took pictures of the shower where the provided shower gel and shampoo tubes are fixed to the wall, dripping. Better watch out or you slide in the shower.

The plastic caps protecting the door key electronics fall off, apparently a known problem at the hotel. They just put them back on until the next time the cap falls off instead of dealing with the problem structurally. If one goes missing, they just slam another one on. Rinse and repeat.

The bed sheets do not cover the whole bed. Apparently they know about the problem, but don't do anything about it. Allegedly, as per management writing, their new sheets are too short and it is not their fault they ordered the wrong ones and have to wait for 2 months to get a new order of the proper size ...

And now brace yourselves ... the bed duvets, which are not completely covered by the sheet at the feet end, are not changed between different guests according to the cleaning personnel. Cleaning personnel only changes the duvet when explicitly asked by management, not when other people check into the a room per se. Let's assume they change the duvet's every 3-4 guests or when they visually look dirty. Clear breach of SPG rules by this property.

And now brace yourselves even more. You tell these things to reception. They are very kind and attentional, make a note, and you complaint to management, which tells you they know about these things and don't do anything about it.

Given the management, this property should really not be in the starwood portfolio.

At reception of the Sheraton next door they want nothing to do with the Aloft. They clearly distance themselves from being part of the same chain. I guess they must have harbored other runaways from the Aloft and heard other horror stories they prefer to not identify with.

I sent a little email to SPG, they replied that since the management was dealing with the issue they left it in their good care to properly respond. Responding they did, in the most unprofessional manner possible, reverting to language problems and misunderstanding and denying even though pictures ...

SPG, kick this one out of your portfolio!

bcrdukes

I stayed at this property when it first opened. It was very unknown and new to the area so it was relatively quiet. I quite liked it, and for the value, I couldn't complain. I stayed here with a colleague on the weekend after a business trip in Toronto; we rented a car and drove to Montreal. At the time, we were both chasing Platinum status since we were 2 nights stay away from achieving it, so we thought, "Why the heck not?"

It's been a solid 5 or 7 years (?) since my last stay here but I was here in June of this year - and let me tell you, the property is run down, beat up, and tired. I sort of knew what to expect, having stayed at other aLoft properties before, but this one really needed a renovation and upkeep. I would stay here again only under special circumstances. Otherwise, I would not go out of my way to stay here again.

For those of you who like the aLoft concept, but also a fan of Westin, try the Element when you get a chance. Starwood did a good job of blending both together. Hopefully, Starwood brings one to Montreal.

sfvoyage

Any updates on this property and its shuttle service from the airport? (On Tripadvisor, the recent reviews have generally been good.)

Dreamflight

I stayed at this property just this past weekend. The airport shuttle picks you up on the departure level near door 7. It was around a 15 minute wait for the shuttle at the time I arrived (shortly after 9pm). I forget exactly how the shuttle was marked, but it does have the aLoft logo on it.

The shuttle first makes a stop at the Sheraton and then the aLoft (note: both hotels are literally right across from each other :P).

It was my first time ever staying at an aLoft and I had always been intrigued about the experience. The lobby, as you'd expect, is very funky and modern. The front desk set-up reminded me of one of those customer service kiosks you see at the mall. The night staff weren't overly friendly or peppy, but they did their job.

I am an SPG Plat and received a room on the top floor, which is the 5th floor. My room looked exactly as pictured but was much smaller than I thought. It didn't have the "loftniness" aspect that I had envisioned - other than the ceiling having a concrete/industrial look. In fact, the room felt somewhat claustrophobic for me. It felt more like a spruced up dormitory room as opposed to a loft.

Despite the close proximity to the airport, I didn't find the noise from planes taking off to be intrusive. There are roll-down blinds that blackout mostly all light to keep the light out. I had the A/C off but there was some fairly loud drone noise that I did find bothersome - coming out of the air flow or somewhere... never got to the bottom of it.

Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, hardboiled eggs, sausage, breads, pastries, fruit, cereals, hot oatmeal, and various juices and coffee/tea, all laid out very casually. Overall, it was satisfactory and better than the spread at some hotel lounges.

I had a chance to check out the gym and pool area. Both areas looked clean and weren't being used by any guests in the morning.

The two morning staff members were EXCELLENT. One in particular, who really knew what she was doing - almost like she owned the place or was the manager. A pleasant switch from how the night staff were.

All that said, I'm not sure I would return here unless I scored a fabulous rate and had to be close to the airport. Even then, I might consider paying more to experience the Sheraton if there was a price gap. It was really the rooms that disappointed me. I have to repeat what I said earlier about the room just feeling a done-up dorm room. There was also something strangely depressing about being in the room - maybe the partly colored grey walls, it's tiny size.. I'm not sure what exactly. But I definitely wasn't sold on it.