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| - Perfect hotel for our first visit to Montreal. My only regret is only booking two nights and having to move to a lesser hotel my final night in the city. Using an online booking service (Priceline) I got a great rate on this hotel in the heart of the city. Parking is expensive at $28 (approx.) per day, but when you factor in the cost of moving around the city and trying to decipher the Francophone street signs, it was perfect to stay put and, plus, we had parking privileges the day of check-out until 6pm, so we were able to stay parked as we continued to explore (including an ill-fated attempt by the Mrs. to get this Southern man to try ice skating - I went fast just like Ricky Bobby...and then came my NASCAR-quality crash - thank god the flurries meant the rink was almost empty, and thank God the Zamboni closed the ice about 2 minutes later, but that's a different review I guess!). The parking lot was a little hard to find: tip, it's immediately to the left of the main entrance to the hotel as you face the building. That means it's on Rue Saint-Urbain BEFORE you get to the door of the hotel when coming from Rene-Levesque, which is how our GPS directed us. It's down a narrow entryway, but there's ample parking once you're in.
The hotel has a Chinese flavor, as it is right next to the city's Chinatown. The staff had no problem communicating to me in English, and seemed like they might be Vietnamese, but I'm not sure. I salute them for having to speak at least 3 languages.
The room was perfectly comfortable and clean. As a result of our online deal (I suspect) we were hustled off to a room on the 8th floor at the far end of the building far, far away from the elevator. Plus you have to switch elevators on the second floor to get to the parking garage. Plenty of French and English channels, plus a vending machine just down the hall. There is at least one Chinese restaurant in the building that claims to have the best Dim Sum in the city, but I did not try it. When entering the building from street level you have to go up a floor to get to reception. Kinda irritating, but minor.
The most important thing here was the location. I love walking more than the Mrs., and, being cheap, hate using Uber or taxi services. We were able to walk EVERYWHERE and see all we wanted to see. She didn't kill me either, although when she saw my plan to walk up a mountain on a frigid March day, I did wonder if a break-up was in my imminent future. As it happened, the walk to Mont Blanc was way easier than expected (but walking up? THAT's another story!!) and the view at the top was absolutely magnificent.
Also, it's an easy walk to the Old Port (ok, if you're not a walker, check the distance in kilometers or miles and make sure you know what you're getting into) and to all the cute little touristy shops and beautiful buildings. I also loved walking through the business districts and seeing all this fabulous city has to offer.
Better yet, the city is right next to the Place-d'Armes, a major Metro station reminiscent of Union Station here in DC. Plenty of eateries and, most importantly, a Tim Horton's right inside the door as you come in from the Holiday Inn. Despite being a DC resident for long enough now to be a sophisticated Metro rider, I was a little scared to try to ride the metro here with all the French names, but I'll try next time. Still, the principle is the same is in DC, look for your train by boarding the one with the name that is at the end of the line you are wanting to ride on, just make sure to get off at the right stop!
Bottom-line: If you can score a decent price, this is an excellent mid-range hotel that is an excellent base of operations for exploring the city with gusto - walk, metro, or drive, you will be set. I would absolutely try to return.
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