Hôtel Place d'Armes

A few steps from Notre-Dame Basilica, the upscale Le Place D'Armes Hotel & Suites occupies three side-by-side 19th-century buildings (one was the Great Scottish Life Insurance Company headquarters, one was the office of a prominent Montreal lawyer, and the third was the main office of the People's Bank). The large, multi-area lobby, has a grand foyer with double-height ceilings, marble walls, and a sleek, marble-topped reception desk. The reception area extends to several gathering nooks, where guests can rest on modern leather couches and small orange accent chairs and sip free fruit-infused water. A brick-walled game room/lounge area features more leather seating, plus a pool table, a flat-screen TV, a fireplace, and a large contemporary oil portrait. The hotel's two high-end restaurants, Suite 701 and Kyo Bar Japonais, are particularly stylish, while Terrasse Place D'Armes, the hotel's rooftop bar, provides light bites, cocktails, and one of the best views of the city. Le Place's on-site spa and hammam, Rainspa, is thought to be the best in Montreal. The common areas are luxurious and refined (rooms less so), and the architecture and location are exceptional. These are main draws for the tourist clientele -- primarily couples.

Old Montreal is home to the city's largest concentration of historic sites and museums, and is lined with pedestrian-friendly cobblestone streets. With a history dating back to 1642, Old Montreal is, well, old. This well-preserved neighborhood might be one of the prettiest and most fascinating quarters of the city. While summers give way to lively street festivals and restaurant terraces brimming with energy, winters offer a much more mellow and relaxed pace.- Four-minute walk to Palais des Congres de Montreal, Montreal's convention center

• Five-minute walk to Chinatown
• Seven-minute walk to the Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History
• Eight-minute walk to Place Jacques Cartier, a square of shops
• Eight-minute walk to the Musee du Chateau Ramezay, a historic 18th-century home
• Eight-minute walk to the Monument-National 
• Nine-minute walk to the History Center of Montreal
• 11-minute walk to the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art
• 12-minute drive to McGill University (21 minutes via public transportation)
• 17-minute drive to Mont Royal Park (37 minutes via public transportation)
• 30-minute drive to Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport

Rooms are less stylish and luxurious than the hotel's common areas, but they're nonetheless tasteful and comfortable, with high-end perks like Nespresso coffeemakers, light dimmers, bathrobes, and Le Labo Santal 33 toiletries. Guest rooms are different between the three buildings and across categories, but most rooms feature dark hardwood floors, pale yellow walls (suites and Classic Queen Rooms feature exposed brick), traditional furniture (including large writing desks and marble side tables), reading lights by the bed, and big arched windows. Black-and-white-tiled bathrooms feature pedestal sinks, shower/tub combos, and five-tier ladder shelves for storage. All rooms come with flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi, minibars, safes, irons, hairdryers, and nightly turndown that includes bottled water and Lindt chocolate. Suites add wall-to-wall carpeting, iHomes, living areas with remote-controlled fireplaces, and modern gray bathrooms with glass-enclosed rainfall showers and jetted tubs. High ceilings and non-matchy-matchy furniture (tan leather armchairs, black-and-white marble-top coffee tables, sofas with weathered gray leather frames and light beige cloth cushions) give suites a loft-like feel.Room service is available, though not 24/7. Guests in plaza-facing rooms sometimes complain of noise issues.

With two upscale restaurants and one rooftop restaurant/bar, Le Place offers impressive eating and drinking options. The first-floor Suite 701 serves traditional French and Quebecois fare in a grand area with high coffered ceilings, chandelier lighting, and huge arched windows, while Kyo Bar Japonais, also on the main floor, serves sushi, sake, and omakase in a rustic-but-contemporary tavern-like setting (exposed brick, polished metals, and roughly hewn wood). Terrasse Place D'Armes, the seasonal rooftop patio overlooking the square, offers light snacks, cocktails (raspberry mojitos are its signature), and occasional live DJ music.The bi-level Rainspa, thought by many Montrealers to be one of the best spas in the city, offers Vichy showers, a traditional hammam, and a huge treatment menu (more than a dozen massages, Dermalogica and Kerstin Florian facials, light therapy, microdermabrasion…). Le Place's large fitness center is stocked with flat-screen-TV-equipped Precor treadmills and ellipticals, plus free weights, utility benches, a LifeFitness strength trainer, and a large flat-screen TV on the wall. There are also a stylish and airy meeting room and a semi-secluded office nook in the lobby with a computer for guest use.