Review : The Ritz-Carlton Montreal | Marriott Bonvoy

In our couple, nothing could be easier: we love the same things.

For our 10th wedding anniversary, we wanted to mark the occasion with a trip. It was a failure with COVID-19… However, Jean-Maximilien surprised me by booking us a beautiful suite at the Ritz-Carlton Montreal, the city’s iconic hotel that has been in existence since 1912 (and it is the oldest Ritz-Carlton in the world to still be in operation)!

And what’s more, we treated ourselves to a meal at the renowned Restaurant Maison Boulud. Luckily we have an adorable nanny who agreed to watch our children for one night to let us enjoy this getaway.

Jean-Maximilien planned things several weeks in advance in order to be able, not without difficulty, to get us a beautiful 93 m² Executive Suite at the Ritz Carlton Montreal. Thanks to his Titanium Elite status, of course, but also to his negotiating skills. Most of the customers would not be able to get this room. It took a lot of discussion, and status alone was not enough.

We took advantage of a late check-out at 4:00 p.m., which was a great opportunity to take full advantage of the room, with the children who joined us!

Given COVID-19, it was far more advantageous to pay for the room than to use 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points (sincde the rate was $290).

Also, thanks to one of our American credit cards, we had a great American Express promotion: Spend US$200 and Get US$50.

The Ritz-Carlton brand is part of Marriott Bonvoy’s luxury properties.

The hotel has received numerous awards. The latest is “Best City Hotel in Canada in 2019” by the Travel and Leisure Awards.

The Ritz-Carlton Montreal is located on Sherbrooke Street in downtown Montreal, just a few minutes walk from St. Catherine Street and the nearest metro station: Peel.

Finally, it will take you about 20 minutes to get there from Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.

I love this neighbourhood. It is always buzzing with activities, and you’ll find lovely storefronts, and museums (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts or the McCord Museum).

As for eating out, the offer is also impressive and really wide ranging from an expensive to a cheap experience. Here are my favourite addresses:

• Restaurant La Maison Boulud offers fine cuisine by Chef Daniel Boulud, and it’s the perfect place for celebrating a special occasion. You can access it from inside the Ritz-Carlton Montreal or from Sherbrooke Street. The outdoor terrace is lovely and romantic.

• Another tested and approved place: the stylish Bar George with tasty cuisine for a romantic dinner.
• The Bar-Restaurant La Cour des Palmiers located inside the Ritz-Carlton Montreal is perfect for a chic break, and why not try the tea experience! It makes for lovely memories with your friends.

• For a personalized drinking experience, the Cloakroom Bar will serve you a custom-made cocktail – I love it.
• And a lovely bakery, La Maison Christian Faure is always a success for my taste buds.
• For vegans, LOV Restaurant offers a healthy and delicious menu.
• For a relaxed atmosphere and to fulfill your burger craving, head to the Deville Dinerbar.

A butler greets us as soon as we arrive and offers to take care of our luggage. I was expecting a larger lobby than that. The place is still remarkable with an imposing lobby desk.

In this period of Covid-19, the hotel has set up two lanes of traffic for check-in and check-out. The automatic roundabout door has been deactivated. The Bar-Restaurant La Cour des Palmiers faces the entrance, and the room is splendid with its palm-decorated ceiling and flashy bar.

The only bad thing: the Bar-Restaurant seems less warm and cozy than before. The comfy chairs and sofas have been replaced by modern furniture, which I imagine are easier to clean in the current situation. The room is still very nice.

Two elevators are available, and they’re facing the lobby. With our key in hand, we head there to reach our Suite on the 10th floor.

Our Executive Suite is located on the 10th floor and is the largest one on the floor: about 1,000 square feet. There is a second one on the 9th floor.

The suite is on the corner of the building and therefore offers a beautiful panoramic view of downtown Montreal as well as the hotel’s charming garden.

The living room is vast and beautifully decorated. It is made up of several spaces.

First of all, a beautiful workspace, with a desk and its chair as well as a bench at the corner of the window. A safe is hidden inside the desktop.

Then a dining area with a round glass table and three chairs, as well as a nice hanging chandelier.

A desk to prepare coffee and tea. You’ll find a Nespresso coffee machine in the right cabinet with packaged cups and glasses, and a fridge in the center cabinet.

Coffee capsules and tea bags are each in a box sealed with a “disinfected” sticker.

Finally a warm living room furnished mainly with a three-seater sofa and its footstool, a glass coffee table, a large bench in baroque style seems to me.

The whole thing is complemented by a beautiful marble gas fireplace. A flat-screen television is suspended above the fireplace.

The bedroom is luxuriously furnished in shades of purple and silver. In the center of the room is the King bed, with a velvet bench in front, a bedside table on each side, and a wooden stand on the right.

Note the exquisite attention: the concierge has placed 2 lion cuddly toys with the effigy of the brand oneach side of the bed, with the names of our kids.

A relaxing and comfortable chair, with its footrest and a bench, are placed close to the window.

Finally, two dressers, an old and a modern one, as well as a television on the wall (with a gold frame), complete the whole room.

From the bedroom, we enter the dressing room through a sliding door.

The room is large and includes a make-up/hairdresser corner with a table and a mirror (the latter is unfortunately placed far too high for you to see your face when seated).

Mr and Mrs each have their well-lit and functional space to place their clothes on the hangers.

A dresser is also available. Besides, you’ll find additional cushions if the ones on the bed were not suitable. We didn’t use them; the cushions and bedding were of high quality: we slept superbly well.

As shown in one of the previous photos, access to the bathroom is via the dressing room through a sliding door again, equipped with a full-footed mirror inside.

The bathroom is sublime and bright, tiled in marble from floor to ceiling and has floor heating.

In the center, there’s vanity with two large mirrors Underneath the furniture, hand towels, a stool and a scale.

On the right, the glass walls conceal a modern rain shower and hand shower with a mosaic on the floor, showcasing the effigy of the Ritz-Carlton. Next to it, you’ll find a high-tech toilet with a built-in bidet, with a heated seat and an automatic detector.

On the left, a (very) deep bathtub and its bath accessories, coupled with a 24″ flat screen TV. Facing it, there’s a towel warmer.

Some interesting details I noted for this bathroom were a floss dispenser on the wall under the backlit magnifying mirror (first time I saw this), cozy bathrobes and slippers, a toilet control, a towel for makeup removal, an exfoliating glove and other care accessories, and handy hangers around the room for towels.

Another nod to our wedding anniversary: 2 yellow honeymooners ducks were waiting for us on the edge of the bathtub.

As we didn’t have the kids and we were in the COVID period, the day before we ordered a breakfast served late to our room (it’s not every day you can afford to sleep in or at least wake up gently without children screaming).

The service was on time, all arranged elegantly on the dining room table. Anecdotally, Jean-Maximilien had the unpleasant surprise of having an empty coffee thermos when he tried to help himself. The staff quickly fixed the mistake, and we had a good laugh about it.

We shared a French breakfast that included croissant and chocolate bread.

The swimming pool is located on the 12th floor. It did not open on Sundays until noon. Jean-Maximilien picked up the children at home so that they could enjoy the pool. The person at the counter offered us a bathrobe, a towel and a bottle of water. And each of our kids received a Ritz-Carlton Montreal bathrobe!

There are no limits on the number of people. At the time of my arrival, two people were already there. We had enough room not to interfere with each other. However, if there are more than eight people, I do not see how you can keep social distancing in the water, given the narrowness of the pool.

There are two stairs to the pool. An open shower is also available.

The beautiful benefit of this space is its open terrace overlooking Downtown Montreal. Luckily, we had good weather.

We had a great time with our family to end our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Montreal.

The hotel offers the services of the ST. JAMES SPA for a relaxing moment (open daily from 10am to 6pm), except on Mondays. The gym is on the same floor. It was closed during our stay but offers a wide range of strength and cardio equipment.

The Ritz-Carlton Montreal hotel has several meeting rooms and reception rooms for events such as weddings or cocktails. Different promotions and packages are offered on their website.

We definitely enjoyed our experience at The Ritz-Carlton Montreal. Thank you to the staff for giving us this beautiful Executive Suite.

We will remember from our stay the great comfort of our very large bed, our beautiful evening at the Maison Boulud, where the staff tried their best to please us, and the delicate attentions brought to our room, whether for ourselves or our children. They were happy the next day between the balloons, the toys and the ducks!