I spent a few years practising at the Bikram Yoga Capitol Hill in DC and when I moved back to MTL I found it tough to switch studios.
For one thing, in DC, if we wanted to step out of class to use the restroom, that wasn't a problem. Here I once got kicked out of class for doing that. Yep. And personally I'm not cool with feeling like I'm not "allowed" to pee. Maybe that's just me? Is that just me?
Another difference I noted was the lack of personal attention in MTL. It's harder to improve when you're not getting specific notes from your teachers (classes taught by Adil or Damon excluded. Damon remembers peoples names.)
Something else I dont like is that classes are taught "bilingually" - the bottom line is that you never get the full dialogue in either language. Just sort of half English and half French. I wish they'd at least have occasional classes in one language or the other. I go to the Laurier/St. Denis location, and I hear it's a little different at the Walker studio.
I was actually unhappy enough to cancel my membership, but after a year messing around at other studios I decided to come back to Bikram. It's my favorite yoga, the studio offers lots of classes, and I just avoid the teachers I don't like and stick mostly with Damon, Anni, Marc, and Adil.
Plus, on the upshot, they're selling delicious Zico water. For 3.50 a bottle. Which is only semi-outrageous.