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What you need to know about Montreal hotels
There are hundreds of large hotels, small hotels, motels, bed&breakfast and dorm rooms in Montreal. Most of the large high-rise hotels are located downtown on Sherbrooke street west of du Parc ave. or on side streets near Sherbrooke street and now also in Old Montreal. The smaller, less expensive (and sometimes just cheap) hotels are located in the Quartier latin district either behind the bus terminal on St-Hubert street or south of Ste-Catherine street on St-Denis or Berri streets. Some of them do not have a very good reputation, not that they are really bad but you'll just get minimal service. The b&b are also located mainly in those two districts (ie downtown and the Quartier latin) but some are also located in the Plateau Mont-Royal or Cotes-des-Neiges districts. The b&b in the museum district (downtown, north of Sherbrooke street near the Museum of Fine Arts) or on Tupper street (also downtown but south of Ste-Catherine street) are the most interesting : they are centrally located but in relatively quiet sections. There aren't many hotels oustide of downtown or the Quartier latin. Here's more important information on hotels in Montreal:
- Hotel names : It would seem that hotels in Montreal change names every year. Sometimes they just add the name of the new company when they change owners (the Château Champlain is now the Marriott Château Champlain for example) or they change their name completely (the old Meridien hotel was named the Hôtel du Complexe Desjardins and then named the Wyndham Hotel and now it is an Hyatt Regency for instance). So don't be surprised if the names in this guide are not exactly the same as the official name of the hotel (although I try to keep up).
- Making reservations : it depends on when you are visiting Montreal. It's always a good idea to make reservations (and it's free anyway except for the cost of the long distance... unless the hotel has a web site or an 1-800 number) but it's not necessary in the off season. It is manditory however during some major events like the Montreal Grand Prix (mid-june) and the Jazz Festival (last week of June and first week of July). It is also recommended that you make reservations during high season which is in July and August. You can make reservations on-line for some hotels through the a couple of web sites listed in moreMontreal.com's sub-section on these specialized sites or directly with the hotel if they have an on-line system. To see a list of Montreal hotels with a web site, check out moreMontreal.com in the hotels and b&b sub-section of the Tourism and hotels section.
- Hotel categories in this guide : The accomodations in this guide are divided in five categories : large hotels (hotels with more than 100 rooms), apartment hotels (for stays longer than a week), small hotels (hotels with less than 100 rooms), motels, b&b and dorm rooms (rooms with 6-8 beds or semi-private rooms, some rooms are private, like the YMCA or YWCA but the bathrooms are shared). and campings
- Price range in this guide : The price range for the hotel rooms are varied, like everywhere else. The prices are usually proportional to the level of privacy and service you want. The cheapest places to stay are dorm rooms with multiple beds, then comes college dorm rooms with one roomate, then the b&b, small hotels and finally large hotels with suites... The prices are based on double occupancy basic rooms during off season. The price ranges are as follows :
- $ correspond to rooms that costs less than $50 per night
- $$ correspond to rooms that cost more than $50 but less than $100
- $$$ correspond to rooms that cost more than $100 but less than $150
- $$$$ correspond to rooms that cost more than $150 and beyond (luxury hotels)
- Hotel ratings in this guide : the ratings are from 1 to 5, 5 being better. These are absolute rating, not relative. They are based on the level of service that you might expect from the hotels, not necessarily on quality. So an hotel rated 1 in not bad but don't expect room service, air conditioning or even a television,. The hotels rated 5 have all the trimmings (including great hotel restaurants). Since I live here and haven't stayed at any of these hotel, the ratings are largely based on reputation (things I've heard over the internet and from employees), location and rating from the Corporation de l'industrie touristique du Quebec (CITQ).
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