Standard hotel chain - clean and comfortable but the location is the best! Rates for a double room were good (probably it was because we booked it early) as we booked directly from the hotel website. There is a place for breakfast but it is more expensive than other breakfast places near the hotel. There is underground parking in the garage but you have to pay a little extra. Would definitely go back for the location and for the price!

If you need a view you might not choose this hotel. Most of the rooms seems to look in on themselves, over an inner courtyard. And the lighting is terrible. We were there in winter and the (big)room had 3 small lamps.- I felt I needed a torch!
Upside, its a great location, you are seconds away from great shops and restaurants, and only 2 metro stops from the OldTown. Montreal really rocks, so if you want to party, this is a great place to stay!!!
The room was spacious and comfy (if gloomy) bathroom fine, coffe making etc but our minibar didnt work and there was NO information in the room at all, not about the area or the hotel.
Upside - the staff were lovely and helpful.
So it depends what you need I guess. All in all it was ok and good value, just seemed to lack that little extra touch.

After doing research on the hotel's website, TripAdvisor.com and on the Hotels.com website, I booked through Hotels.com. Just for reassurance, I called the hotel (after I booked with Hotels.com) to ask direct questions about the Novotel Montreal Center a/k/a Novotel Montreal Downtown. I was told with effusive enthusiasm by a staff member that I would be staying in a renovated room called a Novation Room. When I arrived during the holidays, I was not impressed with the room, which looked to me like it had received a cookie-cutter remodeling.

The mini French doors to the corner bathroom were cute but could not hide the dirty floors and vanity. There was hair on the floor and sink as well, which I found unacceptable. The bed was comfortable but nowhere along the lines of the bed I had at L'Hotel XIXe siecle earlier in the year.

With the exception of two staff members, service was poor at this hotel. I will always remember the snootiness of one staffer and the reluctance of another staffer in looking at my phone bill. I needed that person to check my bill because she had cited an alarmingly high amount that made no sense because I was using a phone card (purchased on rue St-Catherine on my first day of arrival). After rereading some reviews of this Novotel here on TripAdvisor and seeing that others were automatically billed for simply opening the minibar door or touching the water bottles, I now figure that maybe that's what happened to me. I didn't touch the water bottles, but, sure, I opened the minibar door just to see what was in there. I shouldn't be billed for curiosity. No one should. Anyway, I spoke with the reluctant staffer face to face, and she straightened everything out.

The hotel's restaurant was this Novotel's best feature, despite the high prices. But then again, nearly all hotel restaurants have exorbitant prices. The meals at the Novotel's restaurant -- I can't recall its name -- are delicious. The host and server were friendly and bilingual during my stay. And, by the way, if you really like the service in the restaurant, let your tip reflect that. Don't be cheap. If you are trying to save money, don't eat at a hotel restaurant. Go out and find a diner, pizzeria or a cafe. There are plenty within reach of the Novotel, especially nearby on rue St-Catherine and rue Crescent.

In fact, please keep in mind that there are many restaurants in Montreal, period. Not just in Centre-Ville , a/k/a downtown Montreal proper. Why not venture out farther into the city, to Plateau Mont-Royal, Miles End, Chinatown. etc. Warning: If you ever stay at this Novotel or any downtown Montreal hotel on Christmas day, either dine at the hotel's restaurant or venture out to Old Montreal, where many restaurants are open and practically beg you to come in. Why? Most restaurants and other establishments are closed on Christmas.

By the way, I do not agree with one reviewer that Old Montreal is an easy walk from this Novotel. When I needed to travel to Old Montreal on one day of my visit, I took a taxi and paid $8 -- and I had my eye on the meter. If you don't want to take a cab, take the metro to Old Montreal and then take a taxi back to your hotel, especially if you are dining late into the night. The taxis are always frequent in Old Montreal, so you will not have a problem. The reason I would not recommend you take the metro to return to this Novotel is that the area is quite desolate at night. With the lots adjacent to the hotel, it can be dreary and spooky.

If you have young children in tow or are a solo traveler and need to get to Old Montreal at night, I strongly would advise asking the Novotel front-desk staff to call you a car. Or just walk one long block (that is, rue de la Montagne) up to rue St-Catherine, where you can hail a taxicab. Then, again, I strongly urge you to catch a taxi after you finish dining and/or touring in Old Montreal at night so that you can return safely to the Novotel. For those folks staying five days to a week at the Novotel and buying an unlimited metro card, be aware that it must be used for three consecutive days of travel. So you will find yourself needing to use a taxi here and there, anyway. On my past visits to Montreal, I found it easier to take the metro to a destination (unless I was traveling there really late at night, in which case I took a taxi), and then I would take a taxi back to whatever hotel I was staying at.

I forgot to mention room service at the Novotel Montreal Center a/k/a Novotel Montreal Downtown. Oops, sorry -- I never got a chance to HAVE room service. The prices were expectedly high, so that wasn't the reason I didn't have room service. Instead, the door tag showing my choices for room service was never removed from the door, and I had left my room in the morning and returned late that night. It was so late that it was actually the next morning.

Booking this Novotel has taught me a lesson. Next time, I will not stay there. I do not blame Hotels.com; that company cannot possibly keep up with every little renovation at all of the hotels around the world. Next time, I'd rather pay a bit more money and stay at one of the boutique hotels in Old Montreal, where the service never fails to be personal (almost intimately so) and superior. You do not need to stay at a big-chain hotel downtown or elsewhere in Montreal to have a decent breakfast, lunch or dinner at the on-site restaurant, either. Or to have the concierge help you plan a last-minute day trip. At a boutique hotel, you might find a hospitality desk rather than a concierge because the staffers tend to wear different hats. But you surely will not have a motel experience as I did at this Novotel, which is really great at offering barebones service (every iota of sarcasm intended, here).

My wife, son, and myself stayed there primarily for the location. It is a very short walk to the Bell Centre where the Canadiens hockey team plays. The people in the hotel were very helpful and the proximity to the shopping areas and restaurants was great. The only shortcoming is parking. Few spaces underground or you can park in the open lot across the street. The room was large enough for the three of us. Did not eat there so I cannot say as to the food there.