Our Review of Hyatt Place Montreal - Downtown

We decided, almost at the last minute, to go explore Montreal and the Laurentians region in the middle of winter, in February. It had been a while since I last wrote a hotel-focused article, but here it is—our full review of the Hyatt Place Montreal – Downtown. Initially, we were supposed to collaborate with a city in the Quebec region, but things fell through at the last minute. We didn’t let that stop us and decided to surprise the kids and go experience the beauty of Canadian winter for the first time.

We were lucky to enjoy many activities during our week in the Laurentians and Mont Tremblant area. It was honestly amazing and everyone loved it. But that’s not today’s topic. Feel free to check out our other articles where we talk about dog sledding, snowmobiling, or even a helicopter ride over Mont Tremblant.

One quick note before we get into the heart of the topic—since we live in Guadeloupe, we were clearly not equipped for the -20/-30°C Canadian cold. In partnership with Manawa, we decided to rent our winter gear from Tuque & Bicycle Experiences. If you’re interested, feel free to read our full review. Honestly, it was perfect for us.

Contrary to what you might think, this is not a partnership with the hotel and we paid full price for our room. But our experience was so good that we decided to write a short article to inspire you to check out this lovely hotel, ideally located right in downtown Montreal.

We spent a week enjoying activities in the Laurentians and then decided to spend 6 more days in Montreal to explore the city. Since we were in an Airbnb during the first week, we preferred to stay at a hotel for our time in Montreal—it was just easier for us. So we chose the Hyatt Place Montreal – Downtown. Based on the reviews and the description we read, it seemed like a great hotel, well located downtown, right by the metro. So for us, it was perfect.

We arrived from the Laurentians around 1 PM, a bit before our official check-in time. The idea was to drop off our luggage and do a quick round trip to the airport to return the rental car. We had decided not to keep the car in Montreal since we’d be using public transport.

The first thing that really surprised us was the warm welcome. We were greeted like family by the front desk staff. Honestly, we’ve stayed at upscale hotels in French Polynesia before, and the welcome is usually a bit formal and distant. But this time, it was perfect: we were asked “How are you?”, they chatted with the kids—really pleasant. Our room was already ready and we were able to check in two hours early.

The hotel lobby is really classy, with a high ceiling and a cozy waiting area with sofas next to the reception desk. The check-in was fast, and we went up to the 20th floor to access our room.

Of course, it felt very different from our week in the Laurentians chalet, but we discovered a beautiful 28m² room with a great view over the city. It was a classic upscale hotel room, with two king-size beds. We settled in and dropped off our luggage. Before heading to the airport, we took a moment to explore the room.

There was a great view of the surroundings. Inside, we found all the basics: a 55-inch flat-screen TV, blackout curtains, a practical bathroom, a mini-fridge, a Nespresso machine, a safe, and a wireless charging station between the beds. A standard room for a hotel of this category. We would’ve loved to book a suite (larger and with a kitchen to cook dinner and avoid eating out), but I have to admit the prices were much higher, haha. Anyway, we were happy with the room.

Just so you know, the hotel doesn’t have a full-service restaurant, but there is a large room where you can enjoy a very good breakfast in the morning. That wasn’t a problem for us though, because you can easily reach several restaurants within 5 minutes on foot, and you can also access the metro directly without stepping outside. The hotel is really well located, just a few minutes from Berri-UQAM metro station. It’s a very central station, convenient and easy.

We stayed 6 nights at this hotel, enjoying the city, breakfast, and the pool—which the kids loved. That was one of our criteria! I admit, at the end of the day before dinner, it was really nice to take the kids to the heated 28°C pool for an hour or two. Fun fact: I almost didn’t want to get in because of the extreme contrast with the freezing cold outside! But I did once, just to say I did, haha.

I wanted to say a few words about it because honestly, we thought it was really great. We had booked all our nights with breakfast included, since it wasn’t that much more expensive. The welcome at breakfast was excellent and the staff was very friendly. Every morning, the kids were given blank sheets and colored pencils to keep busy while we enjoyed pancakes and bacon, haha.

The breakfast was really complete, with all the usuals: tea, coffee, various fruit juices, cold and hot chocolate for the kids. As for the food itself, we had scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, small vegetarian quiches, cereals, fruits, plenty of toast to grill, and of course, eggs, waffles, and tons of maple syrup. Honestly, it was perfect. Nothing was missing.

The breakfast area has several sections with armchairs and tables where you can work or hold meetings. We often sat down to do schoolwork with Louis while one of us watched Téo and worked on the blog. The large open space was really great.

I also wanted to talk about the pool. As I mentioned earlier, we thought it would be a good idea—and clearly, we were right. The pool, located on the 6th floor, is really nice. The first time we went, there was absolutely no one there and it felt amazing! Of course, you won’t always have it to yourself—there may be other kids—but that’s fair since we brought ours too, haha.

I don’t know exactly how big the pool is, but it felt really spacious. And the best part? There are beds along the side to rest or keep an eye on the kids—perfect if, like me, you prefer not to swim. I think we went almost every night for at least an hour. Now that both kids can swim, I was able to relax on a lounger while keeping an eye on them and working on the blog. There’s even a spa next to the pool, though unfortunately it was under repair during our stay.

In the end, what we really loved was the warm welcome, the simple but very comfortable rooms, and especially the fact that you can access the metro directly from the hotel without going outside (super handy in the cold, haha). There’s even a Starbucks downstairs! The pool was clearly a huge bonus. If you’re coming with kids, we totally recommend this hotel.

As usual when we write about accommodations, here’s what you need to remember about the hotel:

• The hotel has 354 rooms, which is pretty huge.
• The standard rooms are 29 m², and you can choose between rooms with or without a view depending on the price.
• There are 59 m² suites with a bedroom and a separate kitchen—super handy if you prefer cooking instead of eating out.
• There’s even a specialty suite with 89 m² of space.
• The hotel includes a fitness center (which we didn’t test, haha), a beautiful pool like I mentioned earlier, and several meeting rooms for events.
• There’s underground parking available with no issues.

How to get there obviously depends on where you’re coming from. The hotel is located here, just so you know.

If you’re looking to rent a car for your trip to Montreal or the Quebec region, I suggest checking and comparing prices on Discover Cars. It worked perfectly for us. We’ve been using it for years, and once again, we found excellent deals for our rental week!

That’s it for our review of the Hyatt Place Montreal – Downtown. We really enjoyed our week at the hotel, and I’m sure you will too. It’s centrally located, the welcome was excellent, and the breakfast was really good. For us, it was perfect. I’ll drop the link again in case you’d like to book it!

In the meantime, feel free to read about our experience with snow tubing at Mont Tremblant.

All the best,

Written by Sylvain PONS

I had the opportunity to explore the beauty of this country I love on several different occasions and in different places (Canadian Rockies, the Island of Newfoundland for 1 month, Yukon and Québec)!

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