Homewood Suites Montreal Midtown

This hotel is located outside the main downtown area  -somewhere in between the city and the airport. It is right next to a main highway (Highway 15/Aut. Decarie) which is a north-south connector in the west end of the city between Highways 20 and 40. It is next to a Metro station (Namur) in an area that is undergoing massive transformation. South of the hotel is mostly commercial, but the area right behind the hotel is purely residential. Accessing the hotel is relatively easy, but we have to be careful not to miss the "branch" off the main street. Also, when accessing the property the first time, parking access may not be as obvious. Due to current construction, leaving the hotel means going around a few of the residential street, rather than a direct access to the highway. Although next to a highway, there were no major soundproofing issues. Autoroute Decarie can get busy during rush hour - but this is nonetheless an interesting base to move in/out of the city - and using public transportation is an interesting option.  There is a Starbucks accross the street, as well as a "Local" mid-size grocery store for anyone needing to get supplies for an extended stay

This is a joint property with a Hilton Garden Inn, and both properties pretty much share everything: Parking, front desk, elevators, gym... the only thing not being shared is the Homewood Suites breakfast room.  We used digital key for our check-in so had minimal interaction with the front desk. You can just grab a ticket from the machine when coming into the 3-level undergroung parking which will be close to full on a busy night. Digital key worked flawlessly during this stay and we went direct to our room from the underhroung parking

Pretty much all Homewood rooms at this property features the newer studio suite open concept. Upon entering the room you will find a fully equipped kitchen (fridge, microwave, dishwasher, cookptop, utensils, plates, bowls, glasses, cups,...) which is somewhat recessed behing the entry wall and the dining table.  Nest is the living room area with a sofabed and the TV against the wall. I found the TV placement a bit odd, as you would need to "lounge" on the sofabed, or be sitted at the dining table to watch TV... the angle from the beds is not best. You then have the sleeping section which in our case was Two Queen beds. Finally, you have the "powder room" and the bathroom. There was more than enough space to move around. Temperature control was adequate. Everything is new and in working order.  The room offered nice views of Mount Royal

There is one restaurant on site, and several decent dining options south of the hotel (best to drive, but walking would be ok). There is a separate room for the complimentary Homewood Breakfast. At this time, this is a "served" buffet which include and egg dish, potatoes, a meat item. Cereals, oatmeal, yogurt, pastries and toasts are also available. Only coffee and juices are self-served. Takeout boxes are available to bring the food back to your room if you do not want to eat in the breakfast room

There is a fairly good size gym on site, with the standard Hilton/Homewood equipment.  There is also a small pool available

At this time, housekeeping service is limited to on-demand resupply of toilettries and towels... and maybe garbage pickup. I interacted once with the front desk staff and they were friendly

This is a nice, brand new property.  For the most part, I like the studio-suite open concept style, but I do not find it as conducive to work as the more traditional Homewood design. This will be great for families transiting through the city and potentially spending a few days in town.  A business person may find it suitable for an extended stay, depending on whether they like a traditional desk/chair or not... because other than the dining table, there was not work area that I noticed in the room.

There is no real distinction between the Hilton Garden Inn and the Homewood at this property. Often, when you see co-branding, you see two distinct buildings, joined by a wall and sharing facilities. Not there - I guess rooms on one side are HGI and the other side are Homewood... but the signs only display the room numbers.