I stayed a few times at Aloft Montreal Airport back in 2016 but had not stayed recently not because Aloft was bad, but more because I generally found the Sheraton across the street to be better value for the money as Platinum/Ambassador guest: 50%+ success on suite upgrades + Club Lounge access. At Aloft there are no room upgrades and no lounge + no drinks vouchers, so unless it’s significantly cheaper than Sheraton I did not see much of a reason to stay there.  Sometimes Aloft even costs more than Sheraton which is a head scratcher, but recently I see rates perking up at Sheraton which makes Aloft a relatively better deal, on occasion.  This time around I found a Best Rate Guarantee below 100 USD so at that price I was willing to forego the likely room upgrade I would get and the free happy hour at Sheraton.

Location

The Aloft shares the shuttle bus from the airport with the Sheraton and is very convenient: it runs 24/7 every 15 minutes.  The location is not as great as the Marriott which is connected to the airport terminal, but the Marriott is often double the price of the Sheraton or Aloft so if we put Marriott aside, Sheraton and Aloft have the second best location at the airport because they are very close; other hotels are further away and have less frequent shuttle.  

Room

While no upgrades at possible at Aloft, at least they gave me a room on the top floor at the very end of the hallway so probably one of the most quiet rooms they have.  The room is ok but nothing fantastic.  I have not visited many Alofts in the world so it’s not easy for me to compare, but I think it is fairly standard.  The room was clean and functional, although perhaps the shower would benefit from a bit more water pressure.  Amenities are decent including a safe, mini-fridge (empty), and iron/ironing board.  

Dining

Breakfast is what surprised me the most.  From memory breakfast at this Aloft back in 2016 was quite subpar and same for other Alofts I visited.  I would normally forego breakfast in favor of points if breakfast is crap, but for only 500 Marriott points (instead of 500 Starpoints before) and because my stay was 2 nights rather than only one night, I decided to try their breakfast again.  The breakfast benefit includes a limited buffet which has yogurt, pastries, cereals, and uncut fruits.  But the best feature was a choice of breakfast bowls (= re:fuel breakfast pots) which seemed more attractive than the standard boring North American breakfast.  I enjoyed the Ranchero bowl (poached egg with black beans, salsa, tomatoes, and avocado) and the Goodness bowl (poached egg with quinoa, brown rice, avocado, tomatoes).  These bowls are prepared within 10 minutes of order and are served fresh out of the kitchen.  You can also get them for takeaway.  I am assuming this is now an Aloft standard but I had not heard about it and I would say this is above average especially compared to other (low-end) Marriott hotel brands where I have been recently such as Courtyard, Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites, and Residence Inn which have mediocre breakfasts.  This Aloft breakfast easily beat them.  On the downside there were not enough seats on the second morning to have breakfast so I had to use a sofa without a table.  

The WXYZ bar is an pleasant place to have a drink in the evening.

Gym

The gym was ok and was not crowded when I visited early morning.  Equipment is fairly modern and still in good working condition.  

Overall

Overall I will continue to prefer Sheraton if price is similar to Aloft but I often find that rates can vary significantly based on dates: sometimes Aloft is more expensive than Sheraton, but sometimes it’s cheaper by a healthy clip.  If for a particular stay in the future a room upgrade is not so important to me, and if the price is right then I know Aloft will provide a comfortable bed, and now an improved breakfast so I will consider returning.