DoubleTree by Hilton Montreal

The hotel was clean and quiet, and the rooms were adequate. The dining had a good selection, tasty food of good quality, and attentive service. My main issue was the cancellation experience, and we won’t be coming back because of the poor customer service. The beds were very soft and worn, without much support, so they’re not good if you need back support. I also wouldn’t recommend pre-booking. We cancelled our second night, but Double tree told us to contact booking.com. Booking.com contacted the hotel and then told us the hotel wouldn’t cancel. It seemed clear the hotel wanted our money because they weren’t full. There are plenty of other hotels in the area. I left a voicemail for the hotel manager of guest services on Feb 6, as suggested below, and waited for a return call. The link they posted led to a page with telephone numbers, which wasn’t helpful. It felt like the same runaround we’d faced when trying to cancel. Feb 11: still no return call. Feb 28: still no return call.

The rooms are pleasant but nothing especially distinctive, which seems fine for a 4 star hotel. I also appreciated that quiet hours from 11-8am were respected, handy when travelling for work. Breakfast is included, while the after-hours self-serve snacks and coffee cost extra, but together they’re good value. The downtown location is excellent, and most of the staff were great. Alex in room service deserves a mention for being friendly and providing great service.

We chose DoubleTree because we trust the Hilton brand and expected a smooth stay for our family. Instead, it felt more like an episode of Faulty Towers. We booked two queen beds for two adults and two children, but when we arrived, that room type was unavailable. Joshua at reception moved us to room 1430, with a king bed and sofa bed, and assured us we’d get a discount for the change, that the sofa would be made up, and that a rollaway bed would be sent. Within minutes of settling in, another family knocked twice because they’d been assigned the same room number. They showed us their key jacket. It was unsettling and uncomfortable with our children there. Housekeeping never came to prepare the sofa bed or bring the rollaway. A couple of hours after check-in, my husband went down to reception to ask again, since nobody answered the phone. Housekeeping eventually brought sheets and a pillow, leaving my husband to make the bed for the kids. The extra bed never arrived. After we left, we checked the bill and found no discount. On top of that, we’d been charged for hotel parking we didn’t use. My husband parked the car himself and paid the parking lot directly. The bathroom was another letdown. We got only two bath towels for four people, and one had a large hole and several smaller ones, making it essentially unusable. It was surprising and frustrating that such a damaged towel was given to guests.

The rooms were clean and comfortable, and it’s a great location, but the parking situation was a nightmare. We were told by the front desk to use valet because there weren’t enough self-park spaces. On the second night of our three-night stay, we found our truck left by the hotel entrance instead of underground. It may have been rummaged through by valet staff, left unlocked by them and then targeted by one of the homeless people around the garage, or by an ordinary person with no conscience. I can’t say which happened. I don’t normally leave valuables in the truck, but my prescription sunglasses were there, along with my son’s backpack full of school books and some spare change. They were gone. The desk refunded the parking fee, but said the hotel wasn’t responsible for the unlocked truck or break-in. They also said I couldn’t view the surveillance footage and would need to file a police report. Free parking doesn’t come close to covering the cost of replacing the glasses and textbooks, or the hassle of replacing what was stolen. I had to push the acting manager at the front desk for any solution, and point out that an employee had recommended valet before she offered one. Her first response was that it wasn’t the hotel’s fault. The valet service they hired simply didn’t do the job, and I’m out hundreds of dollars.