Montreal: cosmopolitan, gastronomic and cultural

The Montreal hotel industry: a new beginning

Driven by a thriving cultural and economic scene, Montreal's hotel landscape is changing. Luxury hotels are coming up to date, while new business hotels are playing the urban-chic card to the full.
By The Editor -

After playing the 'boutique' card during the first decade of the 21st century, Montreal is now seeing the return of luxury and business hotels. In 2011, the Union of International Associations (UAI) named the Canadian metropolis the number one city in North America for hosting association events, ahead of Washington and New York. More than half a million people flocked to a resolutely contemporary convention centre, with the colourful glass panels that have made its design reputation. So, to accommodate the growing number of business travellers, we are renovating and building. The convention centre is linked by underground access to nearly 4,500 hotel rooms, 454 of which were added in 2009 with the opening of the Westin on rue Saint-Antoine Ouest.

This hotel complex, which itself has two floors of meeting rooms and an executive club with a panoramic boardroom, cost around one hundred million Canadian dollars. This is real competition for its massive neighbour, the InterContinental, which has reigned supreme in the Quartier International since 1991, and which has now given itself a much-needed facelift. Its lobby is now adorned with birch bark under glass and plates on the walls signed by the Italian designer Fornasetti. The rooms, particularly those on the Club floors on the 25th and 26th floors, some of which have 360-degree views, have been given a nature-chic feel.

However, the renovation that really got people talking was that of the Ritz-Carlton. Closed for four years, this monument to the Montreal hotel industry, the brand's first property in North America, reopened in spring 2012, just in time to celebrate its hundredth anniversary. Sanded, brushed, scrubbed, pampered and remodelled, it is a hotel of great elegance that has come out of the hands of two famous interior design firms: California's Buz Design, specialising in slightly offbeat corporate projects, and Super Potato, the famous crazy Japanese. "We opted for a contemporary style that highlights the history of the building while preserving the decorative elements dating from 1912, the masterly fireplaces, the stucco ceilings, the grand staircase designed by César Ritz so that ladies could show off their evening gowns, several master paintings and the monumental chandelier in the former ballroom transformed into a reception area", explains Natalie Chepurniy, hotel spokesperson.
 

The new diamonds at the Ritz

Image preview

The original 229 rooms have now disappeared. There are now just 129 of them, but how majestic they are! Some open onto Sherbrooke Street and the famous Golden Square Mile, others onto a Japanese garden. "200 million Canadian dollars have been invested in these renovations, twice the amount initially planned", admits Natalie Chepurniy. While the sober result underlines the luxury and Belle Époque splendour of the place, the technology has brought it up to date, with intelligent thermostat systems, anti-fog bathroom mirrors and more. For lovers of hotel life, 35 flat residences and 15 flat suites with hotel services will open in an additional wing in 2013. A spa, on the 12th floor, is also being prepared, right next to the saltwater swimming pool on the roof.

This magnificent initiative by the Ritz-Carlton has been emulated. Recently, a frenzy of hotel renovations has been sweeping the city. The Omni Mont-Royal, owned by the eponymous American chain and located just a few steps from the Ritz, had only undergone a few light paint jobs since it opened in 1976. This time, 20 million dollars have been invested to restore all its panache to this 299-room hotel on Sherbrooke Street, with a resolutely modern look: marble lobby, sophisticated lounges, spacious rooms in soft powdery tones.
 
The same goes for the Sheraton, which was avant-garde when it opened in 1982, but has since aged a little. Between 2008 and 2012, all of its 825 rooms and lounges were given a makeover at a cost of 40 million dollars. Here again, the natural theme reigns supreme, with tree-patterned carpets and eco-friendly installations. But it's the urban views, especially from the 37th-floor lounge and the beautiful meeting spaces, that are among the hotel's major highlights.
 
Last but not least, in this wave of freshness that Montreal is treating itself to, the W, which will be celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2014, will soon be bringing a little novelty to its 152 rooms, located in the heart of the Quartier International and also linked to the convention centre by the underground city. It has to be said that the W line, which plays on surprise and the ultra-contemporary, cannot afford to be outdated... The project is still a secret, but there is talk of a new colour palette and playful nods to the building's historic architecture, formerly the Bank of Canada.
 

Raw decor and bright colours

A number of corporate establishments have opened in the Quebec metropolis. One example is the Saint-Martin, an ultra-business hotel with 123 high-tech rooms in a glass tower offering splendid panoramic views. Another concept, more unusual, but just as suited to business clients looking for a chic urban environment: the Zero 1 Hôtel, a twelve-storey former student residence. Its decor is a little crude, with concrete, wood and a few touches of bright colour, but its 170 'units', all fitted out identically in spring 2011, are undeniably seductive. From the lobby onwards, with its fireplace set in a glass insert, you enter a cocoon of softness and style.
 
2013 will also bring its share of new developments. In the spring, a Courtyard by Marriott with forty floors and 400 flats, including 212 hotel rooms with a minimum surface area of 38 m2, is due to open in a tower designed by Montreal architect Brian Burrows on boulevard René-Lêvesque. In the autumn, all eyes will turn to Grif?ntown, a former Scottish immigrant neighbourhood in the midst of a "boboïsation" phase. It's here that a new establishment from Groupe Germain, a trendy Canadian mini-hotel chain, will be opening its doors. The ALT District Grif?n and its 154 rooms will be part of a complex of offices, residences and shops that will contribute fully to the new bohemian spirit of the district. But the highlight will undoubtedly be the opening, scheduled for 2015, of the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Montréal.
 
 

Notepads

WESTIN MONTRÉAL
Tel.: +1 514 380 3333
E-mail : reservations@westinmontreal.com
Internet : www.westinmontreal.com

HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL360 Saint-Antoine Street West
Tel: +1 514 987 9900
E-mail : montreal@ihg.com
Internet: www.intercontinental.com

RITZ-CARLTON MONTRÉAL1228 Sherbrooke Street West
Phone: +1 514 985 0464
E-mail : reservations@ritzmontreal.com
Internet : www.ritzmontreal.com

OMNI MONT-ROYAL1050 Sherbrooke Street West
Tel.: +1 514 284 1110
Internet : www.omnihotels.com

LE SAINT-MARTIN MONTRÉAL980, Bd de Maisonneuve West
Tel.: +1 514 843 3000
E-mail : info.mtl@lestmartin.com
Internet : www.lestmartinmontreal.com

LE CENTRE SHERATON MONTREAL HOTEL1201, Bd René-Lêvesque Ouest
Phone: +1 514 878 2000
E-mail : reservation.lcs@sheraton.com
Internet: www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton

W MONTRÉAL901 Square Victoria
Tel.: +1 514 395 3100
E-mail : wmontreal@whotels.com
Internet : www.whotels.com

HOTEL ZERO 1 MONTREAL01, Bd René Lêvesque East
Tel.: +1 514 871 9696
E-mail : info@zero1-mtl.com
Internet : www.zero1-mtl.com

MARRIOTT COURTYARD MONTRÉAL DOWNTOWN380, Bd René-Lêvesque Ouest
Tel.: +1 514 840 0010
E-mail : lsecondo@hgimontreal.com
Internet: www.courtyardmarriottmontreal.com

HOTEL ALT DISTRICT GRIFFINCorner of Wellington and Peel
Tel: + 1 418 266 1080
E-mail : hgermain@althotels.ca
Internet : groupegermain.com

Montreal: cosmopolitan, gastronomic and cultural

Related articles