Montreal Hotels?

[bcscot]

Can anyone suggest good reasonably priced hotels in Montreal, handy for city & airport?

Thank you.

[Ephraim]

Sorry, but you can't have both... either handy for the airport or handy for the city. Which of the two do you want?

 

The airport is west of the city centre in an industrial zone and has horrible public transport. It's easy to get to and from the airport from the hotels because they generally have airport shuttles.

 

The city centre has a lot of public transport and if you are very mobile is quite walkable. But you will need to take a special bus or a taxi to get to the airport.

 

Here is a link to a map showing the driving directions from the airport to the city centre. It's a 20 km drive. (I think that's 12 to 13 miles in the old system).

 

What is your version of reasonable priced and what star level do you want? Hotels, B&Bs and Inns in Quebec has a standard star rating system for the province. (My B&B is a 3 sun, for example). What kind of amenities do you want? Are you looking for a small B&B, a small hotel or a major brand name hotel? Also, do you need parking? That's a very important question in Montreal as parking is at a distinct premium.

 

Also, the dates are very important in Montreal. During certain festivals or the Grand Prix du Canada the prices can easily double and availability be so scarce that some people end up staying over 100km away..

 

Around the airport expect to pay about $70 for the Rodeway (2*), about $120 for the Holiday Inn or the Best Western (4*).

 

In the Centre Sud (my neighbourhood), you will find hotels from $80 and up but I always warn Americans that this is a Bohemian neighbourhood with everything from business people to punk rockers and the Gay village, if that bothers you, then this isn't the neighbourhood for you.

 

In the Central Downtown core, you will find hotels from about $90 and up, depending on stars. At least $100 a night for major brand hotels at 3* and $120 a night and up for a 4*.

 

These are off-season rates. Looking in July and you can expect prices to jump at least another $10 to $20 a night. The Hilton Bonaventure 4* is about $140 a night and the Delta 4* goes up to $190 or more.

 

And if you want to stay very close to the port, expect to pay over $200 a night or more. Old Montreal is the most expensive part of town.

[bcscot]

Ephraim: Thank you very much for your informative & helpful reply.

We will be arriving in Montreal in mid May, staying for one night before driving up to a timeshare near Quebec City for a week & then on to another timeshare near Ottawa. We then have one more night in Montreal before flying out at the end of May. We may or may not tag this on to the repositioning cruise of the Maasdam from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal.

We only have the two nights in Montreal but would like to see something of the city. We will hire a car in Montreal but I am a little concerned about driving in the city, as your fair & historic city has something of a reputation when it comes to driving!!!

We have been looking at B&Bs as well as hotels & hope to find something in the mid-price range, neither cheap & miserable or expensive & luxurious, but something clean, pleasant & reasonable value for money.

OK, so how do we find out about your B&B in the Bohemian area of Montreal, without incurring the wrath of the 'Board' gods or the 'Hosts from on high'? Is the area like Monmatre or Montparnasse in Paris?

Many thanks once again for your help & also for that amazing 'zoom in & out' map!:)

[Ephraim]

Ephraim: Thank you very much for your informative & helpful reply.

We will be arriving in Montreal in mid May, staying for one night before driving up to a timeshare near Quebec City for a week & then on to another timeshare near Ottawa. We then have one more night in Montreal before flying out at the end of May. We may or may not tag this on to the repositioning cruise of the Maasdam from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal.

We only have the two nights in Montreal but would like to see something of the city. We will hire a car in Montreal but I am a little concerned about driving in the city, as your fair & historic city has something of a reputation when it comes to driving!!!

We have been looking at B&Bs as well as hotels & hope to find something in the mid-price range, neither cheap & miserable or expensive & luxurious, but something clean, pleasant & reasonable value for money.

OK, so how do we find out about your B&B in the Bohemian area of Montreal, without incurring the wrath of the 'Board' gods or the 'Hosts from on high'? Is the area like Monmatre or Montparnasse in Paris?

Many thanks once again for your help & also for that amazing 'zoom in & out' map!:)

 

I don't think we will really have to worry about the wrath of the g-ds around here if we talk about a little b&b in a gingerbread house in Montreal. The problem is that we don't really open reservations for the year until the 16th of April because we have the house on sale. We have delayed taking reservations until that date in case the someone does purchase and doesn't want the responsibility. In any case, we are a simple $65 a day. I do strongly suggest not bothering to rent a car, the hassle of parking will drive you crazy. Montreal drivers are actually quite good drivers, it's the fact that others aren't that makes things more difficult. For example, we don't have right on red in the city (that's right, Montreal and Manhattan don't have right on red) nor do we allow reverse parking as they do in other cities.

 

The reason I call the neighbourhood as Bohemian is that it's sort of a mixed neighbourhood, at the edge of the Gay village, next to the University (UQAM), not far from the clubs and bars and restaurants, to the east of the city centre and north of old Montreal.

 

What specific days are you looking for, though. Remember that we have the Victoria Day long weekend in May. The Grand Prix isn't until June, so you don't have to worry about that.

 

If you want to put a hold on a room at a reasonable price waiting to see if my B&B will be available, then my suggestion would be to look at the Hotel Roberval or the Hotel St-Andre. Both are in my neighbourhood and walking distance from the metro, the city and the central bus station. On the 17th of April you can drop me a note and if I'm taking reservations you can always cancel your reservation there. That is assuming that after you look at my B&B's website it's to your liking.

[bcscot]

Thank you again for your helpful advice. Your B&B looks very nice. As we are only staying for one night at a time before moving on, the car will be needed anyway & will save us the price of a taxi from the airport. I am glad to hear that Montreal drivers are good drivers. That is reassuring! I can see that parking will be a problem though. We will have to give it all some thought.

Thanks again.:)

[Ephraim]

There are parking lots. In our neighbourhood we help our guest find streeet parking, but since we don't own the street, we can't guarantee it. Expecting to pay about $15 to $25 a night for parking depending on if it is outside or indoors and where it is in the downtown core.

 

Victoria Day (Dollard Day) is the first monday on or before the 24th of May. So this year it will be on the 19th of May. So that weekend is a long weekend and hotels will be more difficult or have two day minimums (as we will as well). So just watch out for that one weekend in May.

[VicKen]

Ephraim et al,

 

I am having a hard time deciding between downtown and Vieux Montreal when choosing a hotel. We are a group of 5 spending two nights in Montreal before boarding the Royal Princess in early October. We are interested in being centrally located for the major tourist sites as we only have 2 days. Nightlife is not a priority for us but we would like to be able to walk or take the subway to get to most places.

[Ephraim]

They are walkable from each other. Take downtown if you want to be close to the metro. Take old Montreal if you want quaint and proximity to the port. There are restaurants near each, but everything is more expensive in old Montreal. The metro stations are all out on St Antoine, so it's a walk out to the metro station from Old Montreal.