Old Montreal hotels treat guests in style

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This article was published 01/02/2003 (8256 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — It’s hard to believe that real estate in Old Montreal was relatively cheap and undesirable for residential and commercial developers until just 10 years ago. It is such a classic patch of heritage architecture, within strolling distance of Montreal’s convention centre, and not far from downtown shopping on rue St-Catherine.

And yet it has been largely neglected in the past, except by tourism-oriented enterprises like restaurants, craft shops and a few taverns. But in the last decade, residential space has been appearing under the facades of the stone-built heritage buildings in the old section. And recently, developers have seized on the idea that these buildings could be adapted to serve as small, specialty hotels — read “boutique” properties. Real estate has since steadily grown in value, and last year the price of commercial real estate rose by about 20 per cent.

“Montreal has suffered for years, as the big corporations departed,” said Guy Luzy, general manager of Hotel Le St-James. “Now construction is back, just like in 1967.”

There are six such boutique hotels within the compact dimensions of Old Montreal. They have all been designed with an eye to retaining as much exterior heritage architecture as possible, but then treating their guests to widely different styles of accommodations once indoors.

At Hotel Le St-James Hotel, for instance, a designation as a “Leading Small Hotel of the World” ensures guests are treated to individually-designed luxury rooms, a gourmet dining room and top levels of service. But general manager Luzy doesn’t like to use “boutique” to describe the hotel. “It is more ‘residential,’ in that each of the rooms are different,” he says, referring to the various designs used for bathroom marbles, fixtures and carpeting, for instance. Furnishings in even the basic rooms are opulent.

Le St-James was a bank for most of its life, from 1870 to 1995. It took the new owners three years to convert a few hundred offices to 61 rooms, including 38 suites and sprawling luxury apartments with boardroom facilities. And some elements of its former identity have been retained, including a cavernous dining room that was once a stock exchange. “The building is like a monument,” says Luzy.

The fact that Formula One automotive giants Michelin and Renault filled Le St- James with their team staff for last year’s F-1 race in Montreal says a lot about its style — corporate/boutique, with a French flair for uniqueness. Indeed, the rates at Le St-James determine that some of its business be corporate in nature. Book rates range from $325 per night for a standard room to $500-$675 for junior suites to $5,000 for the Terrace apartment.

Rates are a little downstream from that at Le Saint-Sulpice. This heritage property was once the residence of Charles LeMoyne, one of Canada’s most successful fur traders. Le Saint-Sulpice has the most central location of all, just steps from Notre Dame Basilica, and it likes to call itself an “urban resort.” Lots of wood and leather are used in the lobby, in a warm but modern setting described as casual chic. This theme is maintained in the adjoining trendy and lively restaurant, “S.” After dinner, guests can retire to one of the 108 stylish suites — each with culinary facilities, balconies, fireplaces, French doors and spacious “en suite” bathrooms. There are also business facilities, including conference space, a business centre and computer rentals. Rates at Le Saint-Sulpice range from $189 to $1,199 per night, all year.

Hotel rates may not even be a consideration for those who stay the at the Hotel Gault. The overriding mission at the Gault is to give its guests an experience in modern art as it applies to hotel interior architecture and furnishings. It is captivating and bold — maybe too bold for some.

But the rest of us can savour the investment of imagination in the Hotel Gault interior spaces. Its 30 rooms are best characterized as loft spaces, featuring furniture pieces that are “modern design classics.” Flashes of polished steel and exposed concrete share the space with lots of wood. Each unit has vast windows, heated bathroom floors, flat screen TV and extensive DVD and CD libraries and players. The surprising lobby is gallery-stark, and uber-hip staffers greet you dressed in black jeans and black knit tops. Peak season rates range from $275 per night for a standard room to about $900 for a 1,000 sq. ft. loft, but a winter promotion has reduced those prices significantly.

Other new boutique hotels to consider include the Hotel St-Paul, Hotel du XIXieme Siecle and the Hotel Nelligan. And don’t forget the granddaddy of all hotels in Old Montreal, the utterly historic Hostellerie Pierre du Calvet, built originally as a home in 1725. Its nine comfortable rooms are separated from each other by the twists and turns of the old hallways, beamed ceilings and staircases. Calvet was a merchant who hosted Ben Franklin in 1775 and offered his support to him during the American Revolution. Room rates are $225 for a standard guest room and $265 for a suite.

Touring Old Montreal

But no one comes here just to stay in a hotel, so you had better get out and start exploring. Consider hiring a guide from the Centre d’histoire de Montreal at a rate of $13.50 for 90 minutes. We did a double tour, which provides enough time to explore some must-see sights as well as more offbeat attractions.

The imposing slab of the Berlin Wall that dominates the east end of the concourse at the Centre Commerce Mondial (World Trade Centre) is in the offbeat category. It is covered with graffiti on the side that would have faced West Berlin but is tellingly marked by only a few desolate scribbles on the East Berlin-facing side. The CCM does a great job of integrating heritage detailing into its modern, airy concourse.

Almost due south from the CCM is another excellent example of how old and new architecture can meet and complement one another. The amazing Pointe-a-Calliere is a museum in the truest sense of the word, in that it has been built where the relics are located, instead of the relics being moved to it. The above-ground museum galleries are essentially window-dressing for the main attraction at Point-a-Calliere — the underground foundations of the original Montreal.

These are well-displayed and described, and lend a valuable context to impressions of life in North America 360 years ago. The museum also has a small viewing turret with a catwalk platform surrounding it, about four stories high. It looks directly down on the concrete nose that marks the point of land where the St. Peter River once split from the St. Lawrence River. It is now the merging point of two busy avenues near the Montreal waterfront.

The turret is high enough to offer a nicely elevated overview of the Old City. Dominating the scene is the massive and unmistakable Notre Dame Basilica, which is probably best known as the site of Celine Dion’s wedding and Pierre Trudeau’s eulogy. The cavernous cathedral was built in 1829, and its twin stone spires pay tribute to Notre Dame in Paris.

Montreal can be a very cold and snowy place during the winter, but the old city enjoys the most scenic benefits of all that white stuff. Its steep heritage roofs slumber under the snow, and sidewalk drifts make the streets even quieter than usual. Old Montreal is removed from heavy city traffic, so the snow dressing stays intact longer. At night, bar noises tumble out onto the cobblestones.

If you insist on taking shelter from the elements, you can duck into the system of pedestrian tunnels that will eventually lead to the new Les Ailes (The Wings) shopping mall. Located on rue St-Catherines in the old Simpsons building, Les Ailes opened in September 2002 and is known for its high-fashion stores.

But you’ll have to go outside and brave the cold to see the Montreal High Lights Festival, running Feb. 13 to March 2. The three-weekend continuous festival includes an open-air fair at the Place des Arts, in the heart of the city. The festival also includes a series of classical, indoors concerts, plus a “food and wine extravaganza.”

And don’t forget to check out one of the best reasons of all for a visit to Montreal in the winter — Les Habitants, better known as the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs play at the Centre Bell and tickets range in price from $30 to $180. The Habs are the most-storied of all NHL clubs — although Leaf fans would certainly take issue with that.

Ted Davis is a Vancouver-based travel writer.

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Staying in Old Montreal

Hotel Le St-James: 1-866-841-3111; www.hotellestjames.com

Le Saint-Sulpice: 1-877 SULPICE; www.concorde-hotels.com

Hotel Gault: 1-866-904-1616; www.hotelgault.com

Hostellerie Pierre du Calvet: (514) 282-1725; www.pierreducalvet.ca

Centre d’histoire de Montreal: www.guidatour.qc.ca; 1-800-360-402

Pointe-a-Calliere: (514) 872-9150; www.musee-pointe-a-calliere.qc.ca

Montreal High Lights Festival: 1-877-266-5687; www.bonjourquebec.com

Montreal Canadiens: 1-800-361-4595; www.admission.com