Lodging Review: Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Centre-Ville
I really liked the Hilton Garden Inn Montreal Centre-Ville. I booked it because there was an Hhonors points promotion on Premium Room Awards, which made booking a suite here only 26,000 points per night vs. 35,000 for regular rooms either here or at the Embassy Suites, or 40,000 points the Hilton Bonaventure. I highly recommend this hotel even if paying regular room rate in the low to mid $100s.
The executive suite adds a room with just an extra table, chairs, wet bar and second mini-fridge, and second TV. I guess the purpose is to use this room for business meetings, hence the "executive" name.
The bed was extremely comfortable. It has a feature where you can adjust the firmness on either side of the bed. I fiddled with it and did sense a difference in comfort.
Bathroom is where hotels often show their age, and it was clear that this hotel was built only a few years ago (I was told in 2008). The counters were made of granite, and there was a walk-in shower rather than a tub. I much prefer walk-in showers as I never take baths and prefer the feeling of space in the shower-only setups.
As an Hhonors Gold member, the hotel provided 2 bottles of water every day, as well as complimentary full breakfast. Hhonors policy only requires the hotel to provide complimentary continental breakfast, which at this hotel was $11.95 before tax and tip. A cooked breakfast with the continental breakfast buffet was $16.95 before tax and tip. The buffet itself was extensive, but of course I took advantage of the cook-to-order option as well.
The first morning I got the "crepe of the day" which was banana and chocolate. This was not Hershey's chocolate sauce as it was bittersweet in flavor. I also checked "wheat toast" on the form which ended up being toast that the server brought over from the continental buffet. I myself also took a bowl of fresh cut pineapple and melon, as well as a blueberry muffin, croissant, two hard boiled eggs, and ham and cheese from the buffet.
The second morning's "crepe of the day" was the same as the first, and I decided to get an omelette with a few fillings, and ham on the side once again. From the buffet I got some baguette (not very good), cheddar cheese, a scone (too hard), and some fruit. You can help yourself to juices, while the server comes around with a carafe of coffee. They also have thermoses of Starbucks coffee with paper cups that you can take with you.
The hotel is well-situated near the Place des Arts metro station, and a few blocks down from McGill University (it's the tall building with red letters at the top in this picture looking across the McGill campus). I walked from the 747 airport bus stop in about 15 minutes, and it's approximately a 20-25 minute walk to Vieux Montreal. I would definitely stay here again if I came back to Montreal.
