During a recent trip to Quebec province, I had a chance to stay at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal and came away with mostly positive feelings.

Disclaimer: This hotel stay was necessary as part of volunteering work I do related to the health care industry. While I did not pay for the room charges, the opinions contained in this post remain my own.

Booking the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal

Frequent readers would know that I occasionally volunteer in a variety of locations across the United States and Canada. This most recent event took me to Montreal, a predominantly French-speaking city with plenty of delicious food to eat.

The negotiated room rate for this trip to the Le Centre Sheraton Montréal was $299 CA per night (~$210 US). The rate itself doesn’t seem to be quite all that uncommon for this particular hotel, as the average nightly rate hovers in that same range.

If you’d rather pay with Marriott Bonvoy points, room rates will typically run between 35,000 and 50,000 points per night. That makes this hotel not a bad option if you’re looking to use up any expiring 35k or 50k free night certificates. But be sure to compare cash prices with points prices before committing one way or another.

Earning Marriott Bonvoy points

If you’re looking to earn Marriott points quickly, you could look into picking up a Marriott credit card. Both Chase and American Express offer Marriott credit cards.

Full disclosure: in this section are refer-a-friend links where I may earn some points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

Chase offers the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card that gives a sign up bonus of three 50k free night certificates for spending $3,000 in the first three months for a $95 annual fee.

Or you can turn your eyes to American Express:

• The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy (not an affiliate link) offers 85,000 Marriott points for $5,000 spend in the first six months for a $250 annual fee.
• The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (not an affiliate link) offers 100,000 Marriott points for $6,000 spend in the first six months. It also comes with instant Platinum status but with a higher annual fee ($650).

Since Amex credit cards are generally one-in-a-lifetime, it might be worth waiting for a better deal to come by.

Arrival to YUL airport

I arrived at YUL airport in the afternoon to find an incredibly long Uber line that didn’t look like it was moving. Rather than wait in that line, I decided to just take the bus (747 line). (I later chatted with someone in my group took it said it was over an hour to wait.)

Fortunately, taking the bus is quite simple. You can either wait to talk to someone at the counter or you can walk up to an automated machine.

Fares on the bus are very reasonable. To get between the airport and downtown Montreal, it’s just $11 CA for a 24-hour pass (children 11 and under are free). The ticket also includes rides on the metro, but unfortunately the metro doesn’t go to the airport.

There are two variations to the 747 bus line: route “1” that will take you downtown and route “2” that will take you to the metro station. Since I was heading downtown anyways, route “1” was sufficient for my needs.

There is some luggage storage onboard too.

The bus stop (Drummond) is on the opposite corner from the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal. Very convenient!

First impressions of the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal

I arrived at the Le Centre Sheraton Montreal to find a hotel and city that was preparing for the Grand Prix the following week. It’s too bad I didn’t get a chance to stay for the Grand Prix, but hotel prices also tend to be quite expensive throughout the city that time of the year.

I made my way over to the front desk where I was immediately helped by a charming agent warmly welcoming be to Le Centre Sheraton Montreal. She took my information, thanked me for being a Marriott Titanium member, and gave me a brief walkthrough of the features at the hotel. She also let me know where to find the Sheraton Club (more on that later) since I had access thanks to my elite status. Unfortunately, I didn’t get an upgrade on this stay (aside from a room on a high floor).

The lobby has lots of natural lighting, especially around the hotel’s main restaurant.

I made my way over to the elevators where I found a beautiful flower display celebrating the Grand Prix.

The room

I made my way up to Floor 35 to find my room (3515) for this stay at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal.

Bedroom

Inside the room, I found a bed that was functional enough for my needs since I was here on a solo trip without the rest of the family. The mattress wasn’t too soft or worn out but the pillows could have been thicker. The decor was simple but it worked.

Across from the bed is a flat-screen TV, a luggage storage area, and some free bottled water.

Inside the console is a mini-fridge, which is never a bad thing to have in the room.

Next to the TV is a simple desk. This one works as both a place to eat a meal and also be functional enough to do work.

While it does have power outlets built in, the best part about this table was that it’s adjustable to the height you prefer. Neat!

Next to the bed is a small chair. Maybe it’s just me but the chair seemed a bit undersized compared to the rest of the room.

I need to point out that the A/C unit is very noisy, which can be a distraction when trying to sleep. On top of that, for some reason this room seemed to have a small spider infestation by the window behind the shades. I didn’t discover it until my third day in the room. At that point, I didn’t feel compelled to change rooms. There’s something about spiders in my room when I travel…

Also in the room by the front door is a full-length mirror and coat rack.

The view from the room was quite nice up on Floor 35. Unfortunately, the air quality was quite poor due to the fires.

Bathroom

The bathroom is tastefully decorated and I liked it a little more than the rest of the bedroom. There is indirect lighting to go with lights built into the mirror. Unfortunately, since there is no vent in the bathroom, this mirror gets incredibly foggy after showering.

The shower is pretty good, both in terms of water pressure and temperature. No complaints here, other than the lack of a vent to clear out the steam.

Toiletries are the brand-standard Gilchrist & Soames, which is OK.

Sheraton Club at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal

If you have Platinum, Titanium, or Ambassador status, or you have a room on the club floor, you’ll have access to the Sheraton Club. Elite members technically only have access for you plus one guest. I’ll say that sometimes there is an employee taking down room numbers when you show up to confirm access. This tended to happen more for breakfast than at other times.

The lounge is up on the 37th floor, but unfortunately not all elevators go up to the 37th floor; some only go to the 36th floor. That means you might need to change elevators on the 36th floor.

Lounge hours are as follows:

• Breakfast
  • 6:30AM to 9:30AM Monday to Friday
  • 7:00AM to 11:00AM Saturday to Sunday
• Evening service
  • 5:00PM to 7:00PM daily (with paid bar service starting at 5PM)

The lounge is open outside of breakfast and evening service, until 10PM daily, but you won’t find too much available.

If you take the elevator up to the 37th floor, you’ll find that there’s nothing here except for the Sheraton Club and some beautiful decorations.

At the black doors, just scan your keycard to gain access (assuming you have access).

Seating

There is some varied seating here, with both larger tables and plenty of seating for pairs. Throughout the lounge, there are TVs scattered about (some showed the news while others showed sports).

There is a section in the back that seemed generally pretty popular. I think that’s because the furniture looked more comfortable back here. Despite all the seating, it did seem a little challenging to find an open table for breakfast.

Breakfast service

All of the food is located in the center of the lounge–that applies for both meals in the lounge. I’ll let the pictures mostly speak for themselves. In general, the food was fine. I’d prefer scrambled eggs over the frittatas, but it’s not bad. It works marginally better than your average Marriott lounge within the United States, but not quite as nice as some of the other Marriott lounges we’ve been to in Canada.

Evening service

Let’s jump to the chase and answer the question everyone is thinking: is there enough here to count as meal replacement? Maybe! They have some delicious hot dishes already partitioned into small plates.

If you want something a little healthier, there are also some small salads you can choose from.

Along the edge of the buffet are some crackers, cheese, cold cuts, and olives.

And a variety of desserts to choose from.

Given there is only one hot dish, your ability to dine here instead of going out to dinner is going to depend solely on how much you like that hot dish. I’m not so sure there is enough to eat here if not for that hot dish.

I didn’t get a picture of the alcohol setup (or of the pricing for the drinks), but there was a large selection and a bartender standing by.

Room service

One afternoon, I decided to keep things easy and just order from the comfort of my room.

The beef burger is decent and they give plenty of fries, but it’s on the expensive side ($32 CA or ~$23 US). That doesn’t include the $4 CA delivery fee or the required 15% tip.

I also ordered “the chocolate” for dessert, which I could best describe as a Nestle Crunch Ice Cream Bar with a whipped topping. Obviously the theme is chocolate, so everything tasted like chocolate, but I prefer my chocolate to be a bit richer. This dessert cost $14 CA or ~$10 US.

The indoor pool

On the 6th floor of Le Centre Sheraton Montreal is the indoor pool, which operates from 6:30AM to 10PM daily. Not only is there an indoor pool, but there’s also a whirlpool and sauna inside. If you’re here during colder weather, you might appreciate that you can swim while it’s snowing.

Just outside the pool is a foyer where you can get towels and it’s also where the restrooms are located.

And then just inside is the pool itself. Depending on the time of day, it can get crowded and thus difficult to do laps. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the whirlpool (closed during my stay) or the sauna out of respect for privacy.

Fitness center

Right next to the indoor pool is a nice fitness center. What I tend to look for in fitness centers is a nice variety of machines, free weights, lots of natural lighting, and a good view. This one has all the basic boxes checked. Like the pool, this fitness center tends to get a bit crowded depending on the time of day.

What is the view of? This outdoor patio area with a handful of games, useful for relaxing or spending time with the kids.

Recommendation: Yes

If you’re not looking for a fancy stay, Le Centre Sheraton Montreal is a great option to consider for your visit to the city. It’s in an excellent location, around what some might call the “English-speaking” part of town. The room is comfortable and the lounge at the top of the building is above average by North American standards. The Le Centre Sheraton Montreal is a place I wouldn’t mind returning to with the family, especially with room rates that don’t seem unreasonably high.

I don’t think anyone would generally come to a Sheraton looking for a luxurious stay, so if I grade it based on my expectations coming in, this place does reasonably well.

Where do you like to stay in Montreal?

Suggested reading:

• Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal is Fantastically Delicious
• Destination Spotlight: Quebec City, Quebec
• Review: Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel