Montréal in June

[Joffrey]

Hey, I plan on heading to MontrÃ

al next June for the Canadian GP. It looks like all the trendy and posh hotels are already fully booked. Do any of you guys with past experience going up there have any recommendations for hotels off the beaten path? I used Superfuture/tablethotels.com and all 10 hotels that they came up with (Nelligan, Gault, Ritz etc.) were fully booked for the June 8-11 weekend (i specifically called Nelligan and the lady said they're booked for that weekend for next few years).

Some suggestions for hotels, stores and hotspots to check out will be awesome. I want to make this weekend count cause it will be my first trip abroad since I graduated so my spending budget (outside of hotel room, GP tickets, and airfare) has a ceiling of $1k (pretty serious for a weekend in my case), also I may be going with a friend/colleague with pretty good tastes.

PS - Suggestions of stores that sell items I wouldnt easily find in DC area or even new york would net points to my rewards program!

 

[andyw]

Hi there......check out the Auberge du Vieux-Port which is under the same ownership as the Nelligan and inquire about their lofts and apartments, all of which are located in Old Montreal. If you make it up there during GP week, check out Da Emma - a superb Italian restaurant housed in a former Women's Prison in Old Montreal for the Ferrari scene. Good luck.

 

[GQgeek]

For boutique hotesl, there's Hotel St-Paul which is a favorite of mine. I assume you tried the W and Loews Hotel Vogue? There's also Le St. Germain and Hotel Godin (although bring your own booze to this one) off the top of my head. The W is incredible but it'll probably be impossible to get a room there.

As for hotspots.. What sort of crowd are you looking for? There's a LOT of money being thrown around during GP weekend and a lot of places effectively double their prices for drinks or require that you commit to a certain # of bottles to reserve a table. I don't usually go out that weekend b/c it's just not worth it for me.

 

[J-Shock]

The Godin has a liquor license now. But what GQgeek mentioned are the top for hotels.

With a little more info on what you are looking for we could point you in a better direction

 

[Mr. Checks]

I went to the 2003 and 2004 GPs in Montreal with GP Tours. Very good outfit. Great silver-level tickets (and gold even better, I imagine).

Pretty close to your budget, plus, if you can hold off til the last minute, they'll cut you a deal. In 2003 I went for half-price because I got the tix the week of the race.

Disclaimer: I don't know these guys personally. I believe they are a Montreal outfit, though, which helps if there are any glitches:

http://www.gptours.com/new/race.php/...ian-Grand-Prix

 

[dkzzzz]

Stay at my fav. hotel please.
http://www.hotelcantlie.com/

 

[Joffrey]

GQGeek, For the most part me and my friend are looking for a sleek spot to stay at just so we can pretend we're high rolling for the weekend (alot of the nice places for double rooms were still in the $200CDN range which isnt bad), most of what I've enquired on has been sold out. I did try the hotels suggested here and then some, and they all say theyre booked during the weekend (on the web reservations). I did call Hotel Place d'armes and they said they had two rooms left (that was a few days ago), but I won't be ready to book until January.

Dkzzz I got rates for your "fav. hotel" and they're rates are sick $350+ a night. I've seen much cheaper from hotels like Sheraton et al.

Anyway, though I'd love to stay are a trendy spot, I'm not totally against staying at a "regular" hotel and using my savings (if any) on drinks and shopping.

GPTours sounds like a great idea. Except that Track tix and flight isn't included. So after everything I'm looking at $2k, unless I took a gamble and waited for a last minute discount.

Anyway, keep dropping suggestions (even hotels one normally wouldnt book for such a trip), I'll ring em all up come January and figure out my plans. Also, don't forget to drop suggestions for Bars (trendy and simple laid back places) and clubs, restaurants and stores. I looked at Superfuture's listings and any more will be appreciated. Any other spots to check out will be cool, especially for those days I'm nursing a hangover or have time to kill before a track session (said friends wants to go to all of them)

PS - info on the red light district will be nice too!

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Jodum5

GQGeek, For the most part me and my friend are looking for a sleek spot to stay at just so we can pretend we're high rolling for the weekend (alot of the nice places for double rooms were still in the $200CDN range which isnt bad), most of what I've enquired on has been sold out. I did try the hotels suggested here and then some, and they all say theyre booked during the weekend (on the web reservations). I did call Hotel Place d'armes and they said they had two rooms left (that was a few days ago), but I won't be ready to book until January.

Dkzzz I got rates for your "fav. hotel" and they're rates are sick $350+ a night. I've seen much cheaper from hotels like Sheraton et al.

Anyway, though I'd love to stay are a trendy spot, I'm not totally against staying at a "regular" hotel and using my savings (if any) on drinks and shopping.

GPTours sounds like a great idea. Except that Track tix and flight isn't included. So after everything I'm looking at $2k, unless I took a gamble and waited for a last minute discount.

Anyway, keep dropping suggestions (even hotels one normally wouldnt book for such a trip), I'll ring em all up come January and figure out my plans. Also, don't forget to drop suggestions for Bars (trendy and simple laid back places) and clubs, restaurants and stores. I looked at Superfuture's listings and any more will be appreciated. Any other spots to check out will be cool, especially for those days I'm nursing a hangover or have time to kill before a track session (said friends wants to go to all of them)

PS - info on the red light district will be nice too!

You could try Le Chateau Versailles and Le Meridien. You'll get good rates at the meridien, but versailles is a more expensive but still less than the boutique hotels. You might want to consider the more regular hotels b/c all the boutique hotels are basically 300+/night and they'll definitely be using their highest rates for GP weekend.

As for the red light district, prostitution is legal, but there's no red light district per se. There are places you can find street walkers but you'll want to stay away from them b/c they're all drug addicts and are likely germ sponges.

 

[Joffrey]

Looks like I'm all set for Montreal. I ended up renting an apartment in "beaubien" area of the city, its right next to a metro stop so I think transport will be a breeze.

What were some quick suggestions for simple bars and restaurants to check out? And maybe a few nice ones. Suggestions for areas to check out for off the beaten path shopping and food would be nice. Shopping wise I'm looking for stores carrying casual (but SF recommended) clothing and maybe a few nicer stores. I'm 22 so bars and clubs wise I wont be dropping "benjamins" so places interesting but leaning toward a mid twenties crowd would be great to (live music, great drinks, good crowd).

Thanks for all the help, folks.

PS - I followed the other Montreal thread but it seems he's on a much different price range than me.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Jodum5

Looks like I'm all set for Montreal. I ended up renting an apartment in "beaubien" area of the city, its right next to a metro stop so I think transport will be a breeze.

What were some quick suggestions for simple bars and restaurants to check out? And maybe a few nice ones. Suggestions for areas to check out for off the beaten path shopping and food would be nice. Shopping wise I'm looking for stores carrying casual (but SF recommended) clothing and maybe a few nicer stores. I'm 22 so bars and clubs wise I wont be dropping "benjamins" so places interesting but leaning toward a mid twenties crowd would be great to (live music, great drinks, good crowd).

Thanks for all the help, folks.

PS - I followed the other Montreal thread but it seems he's on a much different price range than me.

I'd recommend checking chowhound for restaurants, but be specific with regards to your price range and what you're looking for. When I go out for dinner I typically go to the high-end places b/c they can do things that I can't do on my own.

Actually, one cheap place I like is McGibbins Irish Pub. I believe it's on Bishop (i can never keep track). They make a great burger and have home-cut fries. If you're in to asian food, there's Chrysantheum (on bishop, crescent, or De La Montagne-again, not sure, but these streets are all right next to and parallel to each other), although I haven't been in a couple years. It's more expensive than the cheap noodles places littered along Ste-Catherine, but it's not expensive in the larger scale of things. Three Amigos is a pretty decent mexican place on Ste-Catherine near Guy with awesome salsa and pretty good daquiris. It's not expensive either.

As for clothing stores, just do a search, there have been several posts on montreal shopping.

 

[leftover_salmon]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Actually, one cheap place I like is McGibbins Irish Pub.

It's McKibbins, dammit! Everyone always calls it "McGibbins"!

Also, to the OP: check out Cafeteria and Pistol on St. Lawrence (Laurent) street, as well as Sir Winston Churchill's on Crescent. Good bars that don't cost too many $$$, and they should be smack in the middle of all the action. But really, you picked the wrong weekend to go if you're not ready to spend money. The GP weekend is best enjoyed with a fistful of dollars.

Schwartz's is a must for eating, and it's cheap.

 

[Joffrey]

No worries, I'll have money to spend but I didn't want suggestions centered toward the high rolling scene.

A few suggestions for some nice clubs/lounges to check out? Like I said I'm 22 year old professional so I'm not broke so a young trendy place would be cool. Maybe somewhere I can rock a nice shirt and blazer (prob with jeans) w/o worrying about someone getting drinks or puke on it (so somewhere bumpin' and another more laid back spot?)

Any hukka bars in the city?

 

[fatherseanfan]

1234 on de la montagne. http://www.1234montreal.com/ will be very busy this weekend but see what you can do

 

[Edward Appleby]

Just don't think that because it's Canada it will be cool. We went to Montreal last July and while we had a great time, it was hot as balls. One extended walk concluding at L'express was just awful (well, until we got to the restaurant.) I would try to avoid long walks.

 

[Violinist]

Originally Posted by fatherseanfan

1234 on de la montagne. http://www.1234montreal.com/

will be very busy this weekend but see what you can do

haha ya go to 1234 if you like clubs full of arab guys trying to fight you for stepping on their pumas. That is probably one of the lamest spots in Montreal.