Does anyone know of any good hotels which are near the Montreal VIA station? It seems to me there was a "fancy" hotel immediately adjacent to the station, and accessible through an underground walkway or something -- maybe a hotel called the "Queen Elizabeth" or "Queen Victoria?" It's been many years since I've been there......
Posted by JonA (Member # 2690) on :
Queen Elizibeth. I stayed there a few months ago. about $170 canadian. Well worth it.
jon
Posted by rresor (Member # 128) on :
The Queen E is now a Fairmont hotel, and the rooms have been nicely redone, but it's still a big, commercial hotel that attracts conventions and tour groups. It is accessible by elevator directly from Central Station.
Two other choices are:
1) The Marriott Chateau Champlain, one block away on De la Gauchetiere Street (exit Central Station and turn right). This is my personal favorite hotel. Built for Expo 67, it's been dubbed "the cheesegrater" because of its curious arched windows. Ask for a room with a view of the mountain (Mt. Royal).
2) The Hilton Bonaventure is directly across Rue de la Gauchetiere from Central Station. It's on top of the Place Bonaventure shopping mall.
Either of these would be more interesting and both have more charm than the Queen E. They may be cheaper, as well.
Posted by traveler (Member # 1415) on :
Below is the web address for a hotel in Montreal where my youngest son and I stayed a few days the end of July last summer on our way to a Phish concert in Maine. About $125.00 American and was fantastic. High above the "Latin Quarter" of the city which is full of boutique shops and great informal French restaurants (very inexpensive in American dollars). Huge room and complete room service from the menu breakfast for two for about $7.00 total. Buses run by the hotel in four directions plus the underground a block away. Terrific - think about it! You don't need to type beyond ".com". Bradkansas
I stayed at the Queen Elizabeth in 1974, when I rode my first Amtrak train. Wonderful. Posted by UncleBuck44 (Member # 2049) on :
IO stayed at the Queen Elizabeth in 1993 and had no idea the station was in the Basement until I got there.
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Thanks everyone!!! I'll probably stay at the QE!!
Posted by 20th Century (Member # 2196) on :
Uncle Buck: "station in the Basement".......LOL. Imagine having an Amtrak/Via Rail station in your basement. I probably would be train watching all day......maybe train hopping all day. That was a great way to put it.
Posted by Ken V (Member # 1466) on :
quote:Originally posted by RRRICH: Thanks everyone!!! I'll probably stay at the QE!!
Rich... I've stayed at the Queen Elizabeth a few times and it's a first class hotel. My one complaint is that it is old and the walls are thin. This is not good if you're a light sleeper.
If you choose the Chateau Champlain (more like three or four blocks away) you can get a view of the CP commuter station on the west side or, with the Hilton Bonaventure, you could view the south entrance to Central Station and the CN yard. I've never stayed in either of these hotels but they are both much more modern. Also, both of these hotels can be accessed without going outside using underground passages. I could recommend other hotels but they aren't all that close to Central Station.
[This message has been edited by Ken V (edited 01-31-2004).]
Posted by dilly (Member # 1427) on :
Maybe I'm just cheap but. . . I spent a couple of days in Montreal last autumn. By bidding on Priceline, I ended up with a suite (living room, bedroom, kitchenette, decent bathroom, and small balcony) at the Chateau Royal on Crescent Street for the princely sum of $35 a night.
The hotel is supposedly scheduled for a top to bottom renovation (the elevators are a bit shopworn and some of the furniture had nicks and scratches, etc), but I couldn't argue with the price. And since it was only a few blocks from Central Station, it was easy to walk to and from my trains. Took about 15 minutes each way.
[This message has been edited by dilly (edited 01-31-2004).]
Posted by David (Member # 3) on :
I am rather fond of the Queen Elizabeth. Not surprisingly, it was originally a Canadian National Hotel and was sold to Canadian Pacific about 10 years ago. Fairmont is simply the new name for Canadian Pacific Hotels.
If one wants to splurge, I recommend a stay in the Fairmont Gold (formerly known as Entree Gold) section. I don't want to make this into a commercial, so I invite you to look at Fairmont's Website: www.fairmont.com (and for us traditionalists the old URL still works: www.cphotels.com
An unadvertised special exists: parlour rooms. These are the parlour sections of suites. They do not have regular beds but have a bed chesterfield. These rooms have a television and full bathroom, and some of them are huge. The last two I had were double the size of a regular room and contained a dining room table and chairs. The cost was a mere (Can.)$109. They normally won't tell you about these rooms; you must ask for a "parlour room."
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Thanks again,everyone!! You guys (and gals) are a wonderful source of information!!!
Posted by royaltrain (Member # 622) on :
I agree with David about the Queen Elizabeth. I frequently travel between Toronto and Montreal, and it is so convenient to arrive in Central Station and have a porter take my bags directly to the hotel. Never having to step outside in Montreal's brutal winters is a real plus. Like David I also sought out one of those parlour rooms, a really great price for such an excellent hotel.
Posted by espeefoamer (Member # 2815) on :
I stayed at the Queen Elizabeth in 1995 and it was excellent. At that time it cost me $94 American,and was well worth it! ------------------ Trust Jesus,Ride Amtrak.
[This message has been edited by espeefoamer (edited 02-03-2004).]
Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :
Well, after several e-mails to various people (including AMTRAK), it looks like I won't be making it to Montreal after all on my trip in June, since apparently there is no way to get from St. Albans to Montreal now -- no regional services, no shuttles, etc. All I was able to find was a 4 PM Greyhound bus from St. Albans to Montreal, which you cannot connect to from the Vermonter, since the Vermonter arrives in St. Albans at 8 PM. I guess I'll have to get myself from St. Albans to Rouses Point, NY now to catch the Adirondack (I'll stay overnight in St. Albans rather than Montreal)
Posted by royaltrain (Member # 622) on :
The current Amtrak timetable shows a connecting bus departing St. Albans ten minutes after the arrival of the Vermonter. Is Amtrak discontinuing this connection with the summer timetable? Of course I always wondered who would take this bus given that in the other direction it departs Montreal at four in the morning. What is really disgraceful was the elimination of the Montrealer, the overnight Montreal to Washington train some years ago. Amtrak must have lost a fair amount of business by cutting back the train to a small town in Vermont and downgrading it to a coach only no dining car service.
Posted by dilly (Member # 1427) on :
The St. Albans-Montreal connecting bus made its last run three months ago. The decision was made after Amtrak's current national timetable went to the printer.
Posted by George Harris (Member # 2077) on :
To royaltrain: The Montrealer was killed off by one of the waves of Amtrak cutbacks, was it the first one that killed the National, etc. The Vermonter came in some time later and is a state supported train, and since there is no practical end point beyond St. Albans, that is where it ends, unless and until someone decides that it is a smart move to revitalize New England train service or the Province of Quebec decides to kick in some cash. Since New England includes New Hampshire, whose motto seems to be, "millions for pavement, but not one cent for rails" it may be a long time coming. It is a minor miracle that it continues to exist at all, since the loading north of Springfield, Mass seems to be fairly small, the route is somewhat roundabout thanks to Guilford's Connecticut river line deterioration resulting in the double reversal to get on the New England Central at Palmer, Mass and finally the inability to go over a 59 mph limit north of White River Junction due to non-signaled track.
Posted by rresor (Member # 128) on :
George:
The Montrealer lasted into the mid-90s; I last rode it in September 1989. To avoid the circuitous trip from Springfield to Palmer, in its last years the train ran up the NEC to New London, then headed north on Central Vermont (it's a straight-ahead move off the south track on the NEC). There was an Amtrak stop at Amhearst, MA.
The conversion into the "Vermonter" must have been part of the ill-advised 1995 cutbacks. I was doing work for CN in the early 90s, and considered taking the train PHL - MTR on several occasions. Problem was the late arrival (about 1130 am) at MTR, so I never managed to do it.
