Canada Montreal Marriott Chateau Champlain

[al-canada]

Hi all -- I've posted a review of my stay on TripAdvisor and the text is below.

I booked this hotel on PRICELINE for USD$105 + taxes. Frankly, I've never paid that much for a 4* hotel in Montreal before, and I feel like I've gotten better value for my money elsewhere (Hyatt Regency & Delta Centre-Ville, for example, both under USD$80/night). However, it seemed to be a busy time in Montreal and hotel rooms were in short supply, which might explain the higher nightly cost.

At any rate -- the good points: The location of the hotel is excellent -- a short walk from the train station (where I arrived) and the hotel is right on top of the Bonaventure Metro station, directly accessible from an elevator in the hotel lobby. It was very easy to walk to Ste-Catherine street and Old Montreal. The lobby is classic and features a Starbucks (although its opening hours seemed rather short). Front desk and room service staff were excellent. A big plus was free wireless Internet, in room and in the lobby. I did order room service once, and the food was excellent. The bed, too, was excellent, as was the view, but....

The not-so-good points: The rooms. Others have said it here and it is true, the rooms are in need of a major refresh. My room was a king on a high floor, and it looked exactly as represented in the king room pictures the hotel provides on its website. The room was clean, but tired, and the furniture is slightly damaged and not particularly new. The bigger problem was the first room they gave me -- on the 33rd floor -- had a very noticeable humming/buzz that permeated the whole room -- seemed to be in the walls. In fact, you could hear it on the floor in general. I asked for another room and was given another one on the same floor -- but with the same buzz, although quieter this time. Eventually I got used to it, but it was somewhat annoying all the same. I actually got off the elevator at other floors to see if the buzz was there, and it wasn't -- so you may want to avoid the 33rd floor -- and maybe the floors around it.

All in all, while the rooms were a bit outdated, the stay was pleasant and the location and service can't be beat. Had I paid rack rate for the room, I think I would not have been happy. Even $105 I thought was pushing it, but I have seen rooms at this hotel go for $80-90/night, which would be more in line with what it offers. A real refresh of the rooms would make a big difference.

Two tips for getting around: (1) If you are arriving by train, you can walk underground to this hotel, by following the signs to Bonaventure Metro station -- be warned though, there are plenty of luggage unfriendly stairs and revolving doors on the way. If the weather is nice, I suggest walking on the street -- it is a block away. (2) Montreal transit (STM) now offers a weekly pass, from Monday-Sunday, in addition to its tourist passes (1 and 3 days). Passes now use an electronic chip card, which you have to pay for (up to $7.00, depending when you buy) in addition to the pass cost. Current prices are available on the STM website--but either way, the passes are a great deal since the subway gets you most places in Montreal so you can avoid high cab fees.

And a final tip if you are a business traveler -- the business centre at the hotel is very expensive ($0.50/page for b&w printing!). There is a Staples/Business Depot/Bureau en gros at the central train station with an excellent copy-and-print centre -- use them instead. I needed to print a number of reports which I took to them on a memory key and they produced them in 20 minutes at a very good price.