St Paul hotel — Hotel in Montreal

First off - I travel for pleasure and business often (and try and post fair reviews to help other travelers as much as I can) and have stayed at 6 star hotels in Venice to 1 star hotels in Vietnam. I understand value of accommodation and service for price paid, relative to the average cost of hotels in a local area and the average service provided. In Montreal, we've (my wife and I - late 30's couple) stayed at Hotel Gault, Place D'Armes, The W, The Westin, William Gray, Radisson, Nelligan, Intercontinetal, The Ritz, and others over the years. This is just so that we're not coming off as biased in any way and have a pretty good understanding of what to expect at Montreal hotels.

Bang for the buck, this was the worst of all of them, I'm sorry to say. Despite paying nearly $350 for a room for a night, our room was small, forgettable, and had only a queen sized bed. We asked down at front desk to change rooms and they did, which was great, but the request felt like an inconvenience to them, and there wasn't any question whether there was something else they could do to make our stay more enjoyable. Pretty standard, but the three people at reception didn't make the effort. The upgraded room was slightly bigger and had a bigger bed which was fine. The beds were actually quite good and as expected in a hotel of this cost (early May booking) the linens were good too. That's about where the positives end.

The hotel has a chintzy thing that they do when you check in, giving you two vouchers for complimentary drinks at the hotel bar. The intention is good, but poorly received by the bartender who redeems them...When we presented the vouchers, it immediately framed us as 'low-paying' customers and as such we received lukewarm service despite sitting at the bar. We ordered a second drink anyway, which seemed to soften the bartender's demeanor. When we returned after dinner for a late night drink, they made it really obvious that they were closing (it was only midnight) - not just to us, but to other patrons as well. By the way, zero lobby scene here. Like, the the deadest, smallest lobby of any 4-5 star hotel. Kinda disappointing.

The last thing I'll say about the hotel is that our room was boiling hot (75 degrees) When I got up at 4am to adjust the thermostat to my usual 68 degrees, the temperature actually started to creep upwards to 76, then 77. No HVAC seemed to be kicking in. I called down to front desk and they sent a guy up who didn't do anything but apologize - what else could he do - and say that we could change rooms if we wanted to. At 4am, I don't think so. I could barely sleep. The next morning at checkout, no one asked how our stay was, or offered us anything in ways of an apology for the inconvenience. Most hotels will leave a note to morning staff about any problems from the night before and address them when they see their guests the following day. Nothing.

All in all, I'd have to recommend staying almost anywhere else in the old port. This hotel was a...

Review This is NOT a 4 star hotel. Period.

The exterior and entrance is beautiful, modern decor, chill ambiance and staff at the door to greet you. Very nice and knowledgeable staff in front and at the bar. That’s where the 4 star experience ends.

We booked and paid for a King room online, upon arrival we were told all they had were Queen or double. Went with the Queen.

The elevators and super dark as are the hallways, likely part of the aesthetic goal but doubling as a way to hide the stained carpets and walls throughout the common areas beyond the lobby. The elevator walls are covered in random stains.

The room is not 4 stars, not by any means on any level of luxury standard. It’s giving Howard Johnson with wood floors. The surfaces weren’t even wiped down see pics. There was some random substance by the phone, see pics. The sheets are meh. The bedding slipped off the mattress several times. Big ick factor for me. No blackout curtains either. There is a panel on the ceiling that looks like it was opened and not closed back properly so it’s not flush.

The bathroom looks like an apartment that has been DIY renovated with mismatched tiling, which has discolouration and random markings. Is it damage? Is it a surface that hasn’t been wiped? Who knows. The toilet paper holder is actually filthy. The sink drain has pink mold on the drain. There are bathrobes but they are stiff and old, meaning they’ve been washed so many times they have detergent build up. The bathroom towels are also mismatched. There is no fan in the bathroom. No dish for the bar hand soap. The tee diverter to turn the shower head on would not fully go up. Does this sound like a 4 star situation? I certainly don’t think so.

No one came by the room even though the housekeeping cart was out and on our floor from am to pm. A vacuum cleaner was left in the middle of the hall all day as well. On check out day, housekeeping knocked and woke me up at 9:30am. Do you guys not have a checkout list? Honestly this moment really confirmed the complete lack of luxury and quality in the overall service of the hotel.

Are these things issues tolerable? Maybe. But they are certainly not 4 star quality. 3 star absolutely.

We booked off a hotel website. So do they give priority to rooms booked directly through them? Because this place is certainly not worth the $800 we paid for two nights but that’s what we ended up paying even through the website.

Many questions. Final thought, would never choose to book here again.

Response to the team: you couldn’t find the bleach stains on the carpet on the 6th floor? Ok. Good thing I’ve included pictures for you right.

The fact that you have the nerve to tell me “We have inspected the floors and have not seen signs of this being re-produced” says a lot.

The way your management team responds to these kinds of reviews is very odd to me. It’s rude and another example of how it’s just not 4...

Modern Boutique hotel in historic Old Montreal - Great location. The best reason to stay here is the location is excellent. It is quiet, private and a great couples weekend retreat - very romantic! We walked from the Central train station at Bonaventure in about 15 -20 minutes because it was a beautiful day. A taxi or uber would have take only a few minutes and cost less than $10. Situated on the edge of Montreal's Financial district and also at the beginning of Old Montreal you can easily walk to Notre Dame Basilica, the Centaur Theatre, The old Port and countless great restaurants (Check out my review of Boris Bistro located just down the street). A few blocks from Victoria Square (and metro of the same name), you can certainly take the metro east (Berri) or west (Lionel-Groulx) and transfer stations to head back into downtown (for shopping and restaurants or McGill University) or you could take bus north. I suggestion you just start walking on St. Paul Street towards the Old Port.

This is a very hip hotel with modern furnishings and large bathrooms. The bed was super comfy and the amenities were very nice. There are different configurations of rooms but you want to be as high as possible facing south or east.

Fitness facility has the bare minimum but you can access a pool nearby - ask at the front desk. Instead, why not go for a run by the Old Port of Montreal? You are only a few blocks away. Just head left as you exit the hotel on McGill Street and head towards the water. You'll hit the Lachine Canal walkway (Promenade du Vieux-Port) to the Clock Tower.

There is a restaurant attached to the hotel (HAMBAR) but it is owned independently - opened for lunch, dinner and brunch (on the weekends). The menu was a beef-eater's delight and I would have loved their charcuterie plate. It looked very busy at happy hour and for dinner. During the summer months there is a patio outside to people watch.

Breakfast is buffet style and much like ones you find in European hotels with cheeses, cold cuts, bagels, pasties, yogurt & fruit, tea, coffee and juices. I thought it was more than enough but you did have to request the famous Montreal bagels because they ran out quickly.

I have included photos of the different rooms and...