Coming straight from Le Zebre Bed and Breakfast, Maya and I actually appreciated the anonymity of a big, impersonal hotel. Overall, though, Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel was a paler version of the Toronto Sheraton—older facade, smaller room, lower view, shorter stay. However, it was clear the interior had recently been renovated from what was probably tacky 80s décor to calming beiges and pale blues—modern yet conventional enough for a chain hotel. Remnants of the older style and structure were clear enough, though, from the chipped, plastic bathroom fixtures and vaguely rusted hardware.
Arriving on Friday, we had to contend with a weekend crowd which, though not teeming, still made our trip to the pool/hot tub a little less relaxing and our wait in line for check-in/check-out a little longer.
But all visible staff effortlessly rose to the occasion, especially one memorable concierge who gracefully handled a high-maintenance, disgruntled American businessman and then proceeded to apologetically remove a superfluous charge from our bill upon request.
One major advantage of the Sheraton Montreal was the attached underground parking, in the spirit of Montreal’s underground city. This proved crucial for protection from the bitter Canadian cold and helpful for those like us with a tendency to over pack. Another minor but decadent plus was a soft, clean bathrobe hanging for us in the closet, a detail the
hotel’s Toronto counterpart happened to lack.
Annoyingly though, every item (from the bathrobe to the television to the mini-fridge) was christened with plastic signs trying to sell us their services. Worst of all was the warning that our credit card would be charged should we even think about moving the contents of the apparently weight sensitive mini-bar. Alas, such is hotel living in our hyper-capitalistic, hyper-computerized age... even in Canada.