Vogue Hotel Montreal Downtown

Golden Square Mile Polish, With a Cabinet of Curiosities

Rue de la Montagne is one of those downtown Montreal streets where the city’s two moods meet: the stone mansions and gallery windows of the Golden Square Mile uphill, the shopping and nightlife of Sainte-Catherine below. The Vogue Hotel sits right between them, a polished, mid-sized hotel that belongs to Hilton’s Curio Collection, the label reserved for properties with a character of their own. Here that character shows in a lobby library styled as a cabinet of curiosities, in marble bathrooms throughout, and in a restaurant that is a destination in its own right.

Why It Works

We chose the Vogue because it gets the essentials of a Montreal city break exactly right. The location lets you do almost everything on foot. The rooms are generously finished, with marble bathrooms, separate showers and jetted tubs, and the top-floor spa suites add a private sauna and whirlpool for a proper indulgence. It is large enough to offer full service, a fitness centre and valet parking, yet small enough to keep a personal tone. And with YAMA on the ground floor, dinner is solved on the first night.

Why This Location

This block of rue de la Montagne is the connective tissue of downtown. Walk uphill and you reach Sherbrooke Street, with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Ritz-Carlton and the grand boutiques of the Golden Square Mile; keep climbing and the paths of Mount Royal Park begin. Walk the other way and the terraces and bars of Crescent Street, then the shops of Sainte-Catherine and the entrances to the underground city, are only a few blocks off. The Bell Centre, home of the Canadiens, is within walking distance for a hockey night, and Old Montreal is a short metro or taxi ride away.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: polished, urban, discreet, central

• Rooms: king and double rooms, studio suites, top-floor spa suites with sauna, an apartment suite and a presidential suite

• Best For: couples on a city break, culture lovers, business travellers extending into the weekend

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the top-floor spa suites, each with its own sauna and whirlpool tub

• Dining: YAMA, a mountain-inspired restaurant and cocktail bar with East-meets-West cooking, plus a café for breakfast, pastries and light lunches

• Amenities: marble bathrooms with jetted tubs, fitness centre, valet parking, pets welcome

• Attractions: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Crescent Street, Sainte-Catherine Street, Mount Royal Park, Bell Centre

The Rooms, and the Spa Suites Worth Asking For

Standard rooms start at a comfortable 375 square feet, with plush beds, a proper work desk and a marble bathroom where the jetted tub is the signature. Superior and high-floor deluxe rooms add a little space and a better outlook over the city. The rooms to ask for, though, are the Premium Spa Suites on the top floor, which pair a king bed with a private sauna and a whirlpool, turning a winter weekend into something close to a spa retreat. Families or longer stays will find far more room in the apartment suite, which runs to around 1,200 square feet.

YAMA, and Reasons to Linger

YAMA draws its name and its mood from the mountain that watches over the city. Led by Montreal chef Antonio Park, its kitchen works an East-meets-West register, and the cocktail bar makes it a natural first stop before heading out on Crescent Street. For mornings, the hotel café serves coffee, pastries and light fare. Between the two, and the curiosity-filled library in the lobby, the Vogue gives you reasons to linger rather than simply pass through.

Before You Book

Montreal changes character with the seasons, and the Vogue works in all of them: festival summers when the downtown streets fill, crisp autumns for walks on Mount Royal, and long winters when a jetted tub and a sauna suite earn their keep. Pets are welcome, parking is by valet and check-in opens at 4 pm. Most guests will not need a car at all: the metro, the underground city and your own two feet cover nearly everything.