Hotel Montreal — Hotel in Christchurch

The next morning:

I’m updating my review after becoming warm and falling asleep and feeling rested. The room warmed up around 11 pm between the 2 space heaters so I did fall asleep. The King beds are huge and comfortable. They are moving me today to a different room and they are giving us a complimentary dinner which is very nice especially as I didn’t expect it and only just wanted a room switch. The manager did send a nice long email apologizing which was kind.

Rooms: they are spacious. We are in a junior suite. I actually did one superior room and one junior suite and they upgraded us for free to two junior suites at the time I reserved. They have balcony’s and large windows. You get a view of the street but I feel like most hotels in Christchurch will just give you a street view. I didn’t think the road noise was bad for a Thursday night. I’ve been told they are getting new chairs. The chairs look fine to me but I suppose they are upgrading. There are scratches on the tables but most hotels do have scratches and stains from daily use. They had a couple of pieces of chocolates and they are good.

Restaurant: 5 star restaurant! Truly wonderful from the taste alone. This is probably the best part of the hotel. The food is absolutely delicious. Last night we ordered the Mediterranean flat bread, the burrrata with basil ice cream, and the fries. They were all delicious. The basil ice cream was unique and amazing. They also made up cocktails for us which were delicious. This morning we had breakfast. I got the avocado on croissant which was so good. The croissant is perfectly made. The portions of everything are huge (large by American standards). I would come to this restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner just to try out the different things on the menu. They have a large outside dining area with heating and last night people were in there and appeared comfortable.

Location: it’s near the botanical gardens and the tram stop. Farther away from the Riverside market but you can take the tram there or uber.

Anyway, I’m very pleased this morning. I will keep updating during my stay. I probably will change it to 5 stars.

Night I checked in: I’m currently staying here and while I normally wouldn’t review a hotel until I’m fully out, I’m extremely cold and extremely frustrated. I booked 2 rooms. One room is fine. The other room (room 304) has no heating. While online on their website they do have other rooms available they have told me they don’t have other rooms to switch me into. I am currently in a cold bed in my jeans and a thermal shirt and I will probably put my socks back on. I’m thinking of wearing my gloves. I will not take a shower even though I just had a 10 hr tour today. They gave me 2 space heaters (and initially just wanted to give me one but I asked for a second one) and the space heaters are completely inadequate. The room is still cold. The heaters blow heat straight up rather than having a fan that blows the heat to you. I have stayed at more comfortable two star motels in villages. The reception person is kind but keeps saying the manager will help tomorrow. I don’t know if he can’t access the manager now or is not getting a response. It’s 3-4 hrs after checking in and I am not at all remotely comfortable. The sheets and pillows are still cold. Furthermore they literally do not have usb ports. All they have to do is buy 5-10 dollar charging stations with usb ports to fix this issue. They can’t use the excuse of “the building is old.” They give you a charger to use but then you have to make sure the connectors work for your phone. There are stains on the carpet and furniture. This is a 3 star hotel with “pretty rooms” with old furniture and 2 star management. I will not stay here again. Many of the the reviews are for the restaurant or just random comments (like Alan saying he didn’t stay at the hotel, just picked people up from in front of the hotel)- which may not be the hotel’s fault. Also lots of reviews from local guides...

Was expecting more. The staff were exceptional. The best thing about this hotel is the staff. They were friendly, caring, very accommodating. However, the hotel rooms could be improved for the price we paid. We stayed in the family king suite. The bedroom has no individual heater, the heat is only from the split system in the main TV room. The TVs are old, and are not smart TVs. You can cast from certain apps on your own device, but you need to follow a few steps on a small piece of paper on the coffee table. Smart TVs would be a welcome addition. The room is comfortable enough but not large when you have 4 people. The bathroom, while updated, smelled a bit musty, potentially due to poor ventilation in the old building. For the price, it may be better to get 2 separate rooms here or at a modern hotel where you will have 2 bathrooms. Free parking is great. Proximity to botanic gardens is also great. Many other things are a longer walk or short drive away. Breakfast was great, except for the under-ripe hard avocado served. I would not say this is a conventional 5 star hotel, closer to 4 stars. Expect lovely staff in an older building with traditional...

We just loved Hotel Montreal: it had such a homely feeling because it has only 26 rooms, and the receptionist as well as the restaurant staff were so friendly and helpful. We got the junior suite which was beautiful and well appointed (loved the teas and the toiletries) and fit a rollaway bed for my 11 year old daughter without making the room feel crowded. It had a small pantry and dining area, lots of cupboards (which I love as I like to unpack) and a huge sitting area. The balcony looking out at the restaurant was cute, and it also felt very safe to leave your child in the room while you dined at the restaurant downstairs as they could come out and call out to you. The restaurant is soooooo lovely: the food menu is small but very tasty so we didn’t tire of it. And the outdoor section has such a fun vibe! Very lively and nice- looking over at Hayley Park. And the location was superb- many restaurants close by and the buzzing Riverside market and restaurants like Delilah were a 10 min walk away. Try Kum Pan Thai (2 mins away) for...