HoMa HomeStay Hotel by Olympic Stadium Montreal (Auberge/Hostel)

We arrived late after driving from Toronto and found a run-down building above a local business. Getting into our room was straightforward with the entry code, though we had to keep asking Mig for it before we arrived. Inside, the room felt stuffy even with the window open. There was no working air conditioning, the thermostat was broken, and the partly open window wouldn't close. We turned on the fan provided. The bed looked barely made, the sheets seemed unwashed, and there was a hair in the middle of the bed. We contacted Mig, since there was no concierge, just an apartment divided into guest rooms. He offered to come the next day to change the sheets or have us take replacements from the hall closet. Taking them ourselves seemed reasonable, but he was casual about the problem, said his room was clean, and didn't apologize. Then my partner found another hair between the two supposedly fresh towels on the bed. When we said this wasn't the cleanliness standard we expected from an Airbnb, Mig replied, “A hair doesn’t mean the room is dirty.” We asked for a refund. After about 30 minutes of delayed back and forth, he said he would keep one night's charge because we'd checked in and spent an hour trying to sort things out, then refund the rest. We contacted Airbnb directly. As we got ready to leave, we found half a cut onion in a corner of the room. Mig wasn't apologetic through any of this. He said he'd arrive within an hour after our first message, but never showed up. We disputed the charge with Airbnb, and once the refund was confirmed, we left immediately. We were left wondering how the listing photos had been edited for the website. Airbnb doesn't let us add photos to our review, and pictures from other guests might have helped us avoid this place. Before booking, Mig had been responsive, and the few negative reviews seemed like exceptions because most people praised the location. Since confirming, though, we asked questions about parking and other things that mattered for our first visit to Montreal and the province, and Mig became slow to reply despite the listing saying he responds within a few hours. The other co-hosts didn't respond either. He had mentioned a concierge, but we found there wasn't one.

We paid for two nights at Homa Hotel through Expedia a month ahead, but never got the self-check-in link that the confirmation said would arrive 24 hours before check-in. We assumed someone might be at reception because of the hotel's Google photos. At 5:00 PM, we found the building locked, with no staff, only a key box and code. Scanning it and calling the number reached an automated AI agent that promised a callback, but nobody called. For the next two hours we searched every email folder, including spam, kept calling into the same AI loop, texted and got automated replies, and tried the numbers on the hotel's website, which were disconnected or out of service. Expedia's customer service also spent hours trying to reach the hotel without success. At 10:00 PM they said they couldn't cancel or refund us because check-in time had passed, and told us to wait for a callback. By 11:00 PM, hotels nearby were full, so we had to sleep on a friend's living room floor the first night. We repeated the whole process the next day, hoping to use the second night we'd paid for. Still no code, callback, or way inside. We lost $300 and spent over five hours of our trip trying to get access, with no help from a real person. The stress and wasted time wrecked our itinerary. It felt like a scam. Save your money and sanity, and avoid Homa Hotel.

The easy check-in, available laundry machines, and clean kitchen and living room are why I still gave this place a few stars. For a long stay, though, I wouldn't recommend it. I've stayed twice, once for a short visit in September and again from mid-November through December 5th. Room #1 was extremely cold. There was a small heater in the closet, but it wasn't close to enough at -11°C, and I can't imagine how cold it gets in January or February. The electrical system also seemed unable to run several things at once. Using my hair dryer with the heater plugged in cut the power, and that happened three times during my longer stay. I was given only two rolls of toilet paper for 12 days. And if something urgent comes up, don't expect a quick reply. It usually took around two hours to hear back.

Clean, fairly priced, and well placed for walking to lots of Montreal's sights and other beautiful spots around the city. It's close to several places too. A good fit if you like making your own plans and having independence day to day.