For the first hotel stay of my exotic journey to Bangkok via Paris, I spent a night at the 169-key Four Seasons Montreal. I had heard good things about this property from many people, and it didn’t disappoint.
I find Four Seasons to be the most consistent major hotel group in the world when it comes to service, and that’s one major advantage of staying with the brand. Beyond that, though, the Four Seasons Montreal has modern yet cozy rooms, solid amenities, and an excellent food & beverage scene. I’d absolutely return, and I was bummed to only have a fairly short stay here.
Booking the Four Seasons Montreal
I only booked my stay at the Four Seasons Montreal the day of travel, and I’m pretty sure I booked the last available room (since it showed as sold out after I booked). It’s a long story, but there was one alternative outbound routing I was considering, so I wanted flexibility with hotels until the last minute.
For what it’s worth, the rate for my stay was around 500 USD. In this case, I booked using an Amex 300 USD hotel credit, meaning I only paid 200 USD out of pocket, and then received a bunch of perks (an upgrade subject to availability, a 100 USD property credit, etc.).
If you don’t have such a credit to spend, the best way to book any Four Seasons property is through the Four Seasons Preferred Partner program, which offers extra perks just for booking through an eligible travel advisor.
Four Seasons Montreal location
The Four Seasons Montreal is located on Rue de la Montagne at Boulevard de Maisonneuve, in the heart of Montreal’s Golden Square Mile. The hotel is connected directly to Holt Renfrew Ogilvy (a high-end department store), plus there’s lots of shopping and dining on nearby Saint Catherine Street.
In terms of getting from Montreal Airport (YUL) to the hotel, it’s a roughly 20-minute drive.
Four Seasons Montreal lobby & check-in
Upon arriving at the Four Seasons Montreal, I was warmly welcomed by Akash, who couldn’t have been more engaging. He helped me with my bag, and walked me up to the lobby. While the hotel has an arrivals area on the ground floor, the main lobby is up on level three.
The Four Seasons’ lobby feels quite luxe, with the reception desk on one side, and then plenty of seating across from it.
My check-in process was efficient and friendly. Because of the way I booked, I’d receive a 100 CAD credit for breakfast, plus a 130 CAD food & beverage credit, so I had quite a bit to spend! Since the hotel was sold out, I just received the deluxe room I booked, as no upgrades were available.
By the way, as is standard at Four Seasons properties, there was coffee and tea available in the lobby in the mornings. I wish this were more common among other hotel groups, as it’s something I oh-so-appreciate.
Four Seasons Montreal guest room
The Four Seasons Montreal spans 12 floors, and I was assigned room 815, located on the eighth floor.
Entry level rooms here are marketed as being 38-44 square meters (408-473 square feet), so they’re quite generously sized. The room featured a long entryway with the main part of the room straight ahead, the bathroom to the left, and the closet space to the right.
Four Seasons has the hotel industry’s best beds, so the king bed in this room was supremely comfortable. I thought it was cute how it was a four-poster bed… that’s not something you often see at a city hotel!
Across from the bed was a dining table with two chairs, plus a wall-mounted TV. As much as I don’t love how so many hotels are eliminating in-room desks nowadays, I like Four Seasons’ approach of having a dining table that can double as a desk, and think it’s a good compromise.
The minibar was also in this area, and it boasted a Lavazza coffee machine, a kettle, and a variety of drinks and snacks for purchase.
The bathroom then featured a sink, a walk-in shower (with BYREDO toiletries), and a toilet in a separate room. I believe I may have been in an accessible room, so I imagine this bathroom was a bit different than the typical one.
When it comes to views, I imagine that my room probably didn’t have the best view available at the hotel. 😉 Again, I booked the last room, so had no expectations of anything else!
One thing that really impressed me is the welcome amenity that showed up around 15 minutes after I got to my room. Specifically, I was brought a dirty martini (my preferred alcoholic drink). What a lovely, customized amenity — it’s not complicated, but it shows attention to detail, and that’s all too rare at many hotel groups.
Four Seasons Montreal pool & gym
The Four Seasons Montreal has its gym and pool on the sixth floor. Four Seasons properties consistently have excellent gyms, and this hotel is no exception, with the 24/7 gym having a massive amount of cardio and weight equipment.
The Four Seasons also has a nice indoor pool setup, open daily from 7AM until 8:30PM.
Adjacent to that is a changing room area with a sauna, steam room, showers, etc.
Four Seasons Montreal spa
The Four Seasons Montreal has a Guerlain Spa, located on the first floor. It has eight treatment rooms, including one couple’s suite. I didn’t visit this or get any treatments, but I’ve heard it’s popular with locals as well, and you can find all the treatments here.
Four Seasons Montreal restaurant & bar
The Four Seasons Montreal has a cohesive food & beverage concept. All the outlets are located on the third floor, and this includes Marcus Restaurant + Terrace (the main restaurant concept) and Marcus Lounge + Night Bar (the bar and lounge concept).
Marcus Restaurant + Terrace is an all-day dining concept, serving breakfast, brunch (on weekends), lunch, dinner, etc., and you can find all the menus here. This isn’t just a typical hotel restaurant, as it’s lively, and popular with locals.
The restaurant area has a variety of seating options, ranging from tables with chairs, to booths, to counter seating.
In the morning, I met a friend here for brunch. We decided to have the Marcus Brunch, which is the restaurant’s signature brunch concept. OMG, this was decadent. It included a bagel tower (with smoked salmon and Montreal-style bagels, of course), scrambled eggs or avocado toast, a cinnamon roll, and more. We also ordered the salmon tartare.
To drink, I had a cappuccino, which was excellent as well.
I wish I had also gone to the restaurant for dinner, but I was so tired that I was asleep by 7PM, so that didn’t work out.
Also on the third floor is Marcus Lounge + Night Bar, which is open from the afternoon until late at night, and you can find all the menus here. This isn’t just your typical hotel lobby bar. There’s a main seating area, and it’s my understanding that there’s often live music here.
But then there’s also what feels like more of a nightclub, which is enclosed and behind the main lounge area.
Again, all of this was happening way past my bedtime, but based on the number of people moving around the lobby, these places are very popular.
Four Seasons Montreal service
The single thing that the Four Seasons brand does best is having hotels with consistently great service, and this property was no exception. Across the board — from the front office to the restaurants — I found all employees to be friendly and competent.
As mentioned above, a special shoutout to Akash, who greeted me on arrival and bid me farewell on departure, as he was so professional. It’s often the smallest interactions that leave the biggest impression.
Bottom line
I had an excellent stay at the Four Seasons Montreal, and think it’s the perfect North American city hotel. I didn’t actually do that much in the hotel during my stay (though I did get a lot of sleep!), but I enjoyed the comfortable room, excellent brunch, nice wellness area, and friendly service.
I hope to return at some point, though hopefully with a bit more time to actually enjoy Montreal (ideally in summer!).
What’s your take on the Four Seasons Montreal?