Absolute nightmare

I used to travel for a living as an IT consultant, so I've had to put up with many second rate hotels. This hotel is by far the worst place I have ever stayed. The entire hotel in is disrepair. There are four floors and NO elevator. The rooms are small, very small - some only as big a queen bed, with no place to put your luggage. The mattresses have springs popping out of them and the toilets are defective. I had the misfortune of trying out three rooms in this nightmare of a hotel and staying a total of four nights. It completely ruined my trip to Montreal. If you have a choice, ANY CHOICE, do NOT stay at this hotel. Pay more, don't go - whatever, just don't stay at this hotel you'll regret it.

Hotel Champs De Mar

We booked this hotel for one night as we wanted to extend our stay in Montreal for a further day/night - BIG MISTAKE!!!!! It is an old listed building with no elevator which we were told when we were booking but as the town was busy and this was the only place we could get in the old montreal town we were happy to take it. Looks lovely on the outside on the ground level - look up and you will see a very delapalated building with horrible curtains and rotten windows.

Once inside we got our room which was on the top floor - 56 steps - i counted! Our room was at the end of the corridor right beside the air conditioning room. Talk about the noise - it was horrendous. The room could only be described as rough. The walls were bright blue and the ceiling was dark blue giving you the feeling that the room hadnt seen decoration in many years. The floor felt as though you were on a boat as the floor sloped towards the wall. You could feel the gradient when you approached the door! The bed had no headboard and the sheets were dirty - we had to sleep on the sheet.

For one night it was $207.00 incl breakfast but no way was it worth it. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone who likes to get some sleep at night in a relatively clean room!!! Dont get me wrong - Im not a picky person but even my boyfriend was appalled at the room { and he is more layed back than me} Take my advice - give this hotel a wide berth but visit Old Montreal as it is a beautiful part of the town and extremely pretty at night.

Clean, basic.

If all you need is a cheap place to sleep with breakfast, located in the old city, this is the place for you.

Good Hotel & Very Nice People

I and my girlfriend just went for Memorial Weekend '05.

The hotel is located in a very nice and convenient area. We were about two blocks from the Old Port and were surrounded by nice resedential browstones. I read all of the negative reviews and could not understand what were people's gripes. Although the room was small, the room was clean, had a thermastat, quilt, and a decent size bathroom. The breakfast was great so were the people. Like Paris, one has to understand that when you dine, be it breakfast or dinner, you will spend at least an hour or so. The waitstaff could use more help but they are nice so you do see that they are working hard. That is about the only bad thign about this hotel - but again, the big breakfast makes up for it and the staff are very friendly. One lady left her home number in case we needed anything!

I recommend this hotel. If you have been to Europe then the ambience of Montreal and being in this hotel will make you feel as if you are in Paris. Factoring the room rate, the small room, no elevator, clean room, safety, service, location, and the free breakfast (it was a real breakfast), I give this hotel a 7.5 and will not hesitate to return.

Wonderful!!

My husband and I along with two friends (another married couple) stayed a the hotel in mid-May of 2005. We had a wonderful time! The hotel staff are pleasant and friendly and make every effort to make your stay an enjoyable one. It is a very secure building with restricted access to the floors with rooms. The breakfast, which is included in the price of the room was excellent. I have never had a better breakfast at a hotel.

The hotel is within walking distance of Old Montreal. Anyone who said it is too far must be extremely lazy. We were within blocks of everything!

Yes, the rooms are small but they are clean. Besides, how much time do you spend in a hotel room when you are in a great city like Montreal?

The only thing I would caution anyone about is that there are 19 stairs between floors and no elevator that I could see, so if you are on the 3rd floor, be prepared to hike it. I enjoyed climbing the stairs.

I am already planning my return trip!

Sufficient

We chose Hotel Champ-De-Mars for its' proximity to Old Montreal, where we saw a Cirque Du Soleil show. We had to climb what seemed like an endless number of steep, narrow stairs to get to our room on the 3rd floor. We got there only to find the room was still dirty. When we called the receptionist she apologized and sent someone right away to clean it. The furniture consisted of 2 beds (a double and a single), a dresser, and a wall-mounted TV, with just enough room to walk around the beds. This was enough for us because we only stayed one night and didn't spend much time in the room, but for longer stays it would be insufficient. That evening we stopped in the restaurant-bar-bistro where we waited 20 minutes for a cup of coffee despite there being only one other customer there, but we were still excited about the show and didn't really mind. The breakfast was very good. It was a full meal, very good, and the waitress was very nice. She even offered us seconds. Overall, this hotel suited our needs because we really only needed a place to sleep after the show, but I wouldn't want to spend any more time there than we did.

Hotel Champs De Mars

The room was clean but this hotel does not have basic amenities. There is no alarm clock in the room and no wake up service, the desk closes at 11 PM at night and doesn't reopen until the next morning. The plumbing is noisy and the location is noisy. The room was very small (approx. 11'x12'). The bathroom was a good size but had no area to place your toiletries. There were no closets in the room. The TV was a 13" TV placed high in a corner of the room. The lighting was not adequate. The only lock on the door was the key lock; there was no dead bolt or chain. There was no blow dryer or coffee in the room (I consider these items as extra niceties). If there was an elevator we were not informed of its location. The advertised fitness center is not on the premises. The breakfast hours were from 8AM to 11AM; therefore, if you are attending a conference you must go elsewhere for breakfast. The hotel is on the outer edge of the tourist area in Old Montreal. The last 3-4 blocks to the hotel did not appear to be well traveled in the evening and my husband and I did not feel comfortable walking back to our hotel after dinner. During the day there was good foot traffic on some roads. We booked this hotel because we are interested in old downtown buildings that have been renovated. The renovations at this location were not in keeping with the historical structure on the inside.

Now Champs-Sur-Mer w/ tiniest rooms in town

Postives: *helpful staff *full breakfast *easy walking distance of all of Old Town* proximity to fabulous Claude Postel bakery, lunch and chocolate place on Rue Notre Dame.

Negatives: *Tiny, tiny, tiny rooms, and dark to boot (we stayed in two, both awful) *we knew all of our neighbor's shower activities intimately *tiny TV *no closet *badly beaten furniture *broken wall light, no bed reading lights *no blankets (just a light bedspread) *fitted sheets that wouldn't stay on bed *advance online booking doesn't allow any changes.

Overall: public areas fine, look out for the rooms. Note: we booked online, and were not allowed to check in before we paid for everything.

Even though we gave four days' notice that we wanted to leave one night early, we were charged for the fifth night regardless

Questionable Reservation Practices

We never stayed at Hotel du Vieux Port. We made a reservation, paid for it in full on credit card. Received 2 confirmations via email. Then 16 days later, we received another email saying that the hotel was overbooked, and that the management of Hotel du Vieux Port will refuse to honor our reservations. (This hotel has a policy of a $25. fee for changes, and no refunds). BEWARE OF THIS HOTEL IF YOU BOOK ONLINE!

Very questionable booking practices for the Grand Prix Week in June!

Worth consideration

A reasonably priced, small European-style hotel - check-in wicket and small, comfortable lobby with lots of printed tourist guides set out - at the edge of Old Montreal. Within easy walking distance of the port and the other Old Montreal attractions, without being in the middle of it all. Although the rooms are not fancy, they are clean, quiet (especially those at the back), and comfortable. The real strengths - and the reason I rate this hotel above average in its category - are its staff and amenities. Everyone is very friendly and helpful, and the price of the room includes a full, American-style breakfast and free use of the facilities at a top-flight fitness centre just one block away (gym and pool). The hotel's bar-restaurant also showcases live blues and jazz on weekends.