t this point, you probably already know my sentiment on the “favourite” hotel chain, all other bloggers constantly raved about from the previous article. I also promised to have a part 2 for that article, but I had to cancel those hotels because they have shared the similar attitudes as Park Hyatt Paris Vendôme. Fortunately, thanks to the newly opened Hyatt Centric Montréal, It is time for another post.
Before this trip, I have never stayed at any Hyatt Centric, and always wanted to try, because it is promised modern style or claimed by the hotel, the “chic guest rooms and suites”. The nightly rate of this brand is normally on par with Hyatt Regency, or Renaissance or Le Méridien of Marriott, Canopy / Curio of Hilton. People who are not so familiar with Hyatt brands may easily mix up Hyatt Centric with Hyatt Place and Hyatt House, due to is uncreative naming convention or lack of history in its product lineup. By all means, Hyatt Centric is not a budget or extended stay brand under the Hyatt chain.
The one night trip to Hyatt Centric Montréal
I was happy that Montreal are finally getting two Hyatt properties, after the legacy Hyatt Regency exited. HR was a fine hotel with many memorable design, and it is steps away from the Modern Art gallery, which is always a nice weekend getaway before I am in the points and miles game. With the two new properties, Hyatt Centric and Hyatt Place, they finally changed the score from 0 to 14(roughly counting) to 2 vs. 14. We are talking about 14 Marriott properties from the best luxury hotel to the budget brand in the downtown core of Montréal.
After I made the decision to not continue my loyalty with Hyatt for 2024, I did not reserve Hyatt Centric initially. However, when I realize that I was only one night away from another free night award under Hyatt’s brand explore challenge. Plus, I do not recall reading any reviews about this hotel, unlike Hyatt Place, which literally has exactly same interior anywhere. It would be nice to experience the upscale Hyatt Centric, so I pulled trigger and booked one night at the Hyatt Centric Montréal.
Check-in Experience at the Hyatt Centric Montréal
Once arrived at the hotel, the entrance is located on the third floor of the hotel, where the guest can access the hotel by a bridge that connects to the Old Montréal, and it is steps away from the old port and all touristy attractions.
During the checkin process, I was not sure if I am still a Globalist, until I asked about the upgrade, and I was pleasant to know that the hotel has put me in one of the nicest room on the hotel’s top floor as their appreciation to my loyalty. Without knowing what amenities or perks are available to me, I proceeded to the elevator. Happily, I discovered that the elevator is does not require a room key tap to access my prestigious top floor, which will be very handful if I am holding a box of wines and liquors while preparing the party in my nicest room.
The nicest room at the Hyatt Centric Montréal
“Biiiii”, the sound of the unlocking seems a bit thin to my liking, but it does unlock the door and I do feel the door is quite light, even lighter than those new condos’ doors where developers cut corners at any possible ways. The washroom is right next to the entrance door, and I discovered that the door for the washroom is way heavier than the entrance door. I quite welcome this feature, because it will provide quiet peace of mind while dealing my business in the washroom, and not worrying anyone to kick down the door at first attempt.
Another thing I noticed is there are motion-sensing lights in the washroom which my eyes literally blinded during the middle of night. There are also two motion-sensing lights at each side of the bottom of the bed. When I was still doing research on senior citizens, I would welcome this equipment. Considering I am not in an accessible room, I am not sure if it is more assuring and comfy when you can see your bare feet step on the hard cold not so clear wood floor than stepping in dark, on a soft and warm carpet surface (there were no slippers due to supplier issue).
While I continue my journey, two steps later I am at the bed, and facing the window. I am not sure why, but the hotel believes facing an old nice building plus a construction site is nicer than facing the old port and St. Lawrence river. I guess people all have subjective views on aesthetics, so I guess I should just be inclusive to other people’s aesthetics as the hotel is supposed to be chic. Then I noticed something that is not quite related to the chicness or aesthetics. The bedding of this upscale hotel is worth than the bed I made myself in my house. I understand they may not have time to iron the bed sheets or the comforter. I am not asking the sheets to be wrinkle-free, but at least it should be in an appetizing shape, so the Gen-Z kids can do their boomerang video on the SnapChat and Instagram. I also discovered one piece of unknown hair, foreign article and some stain on the bed sheet, the part you suppose to replace all the time. I took some photos and sent to the Hyatt Concierge Twitter support, and I got a response a day later, but it is still faster than my concierge turn around time. I noticed the hotel started addressing me by Mr. Y, instead of sir, which is definitely more welcoming and heart warming. That was the only improvement, and I guess it concludes the bedding incident.
One last thing about the room, I quite admire the interior designer of this hotel, who have pushed limits to make the working desk to one of the narrowest in depth. It fits my 14 inch M1 MacBook Pro perfectly, so I will not accidentally pushed the laptop to hit the wall. It fits nicely.
The restaurant at the Hyatt Centric Montréal
During this one day quite stay, I have had multiple pleasant interactions with the restaurant, the Ice, the dinner and the breakfast. While preparing the presumed party, I wanted to get a bucket of ice to go along with my barrel aged Negroni. After realize there are no vending machines on my floor, I seek help from the support line. The nice people at the front desk suggested me take the bucket to the restaurant for a fill up. While I arrived in the restaurant, the staff seems a bit confused for my presence, but they were very happy to help me to fill up my bucket. I am sure they were bit nervous on this new task, they have put the bucket cover upside-down, and left the plastic that is supposed to separate the ice with the bucket on top of the ice as a symbolic representation to welcome to their hotel. After returned to my room, I have struggled a bit to decide whether I should use the ice to my drink. With my scientific reasoning, as I believe the alcohol can kill germs, I mixed the ice with the drink. Later that night, I was also able to get a bucket of ice by calling the reception, and waited probably half hour. I should have informed the hotel earlier, but the messaging to hotel feature was not available for this hotel on Hyatt app, and the phone number from the Hyatt app did not lead to anyone to answer.
For dinner and breakfast, it was less eventful. I found the staff are all very courteous and really trying to provide excellent service. It does really provide a great experience. The hotel was also generous enough to provide breakfast for three people instead of two. The food quality is decent, and I liked the sour beet salad quite a lot. The bar seems have decent selection of liquors and bitters, and it even have a menu to allow you to customize your own martinis. Unfortunately, I did not have any cocktails at this hotel, because it won’t count towards to your points accumulation, and I was going to check out the Atwater cocktail club that night.
The Parking at the Hyatt Centric Montréal
Supposed to be a normal operation, the parking has brought me the most excitement during this trip. Firstly, it is located at the ground of the floor, or under the bridge. There are three garage door looking door on one side of the wall facing the bridge. The real entrance door has a subtle red led strip on on side of the garage door, which is the one you need to go to. Secondly, in order to get the garage door to open, which is still a mystery to me, whether the door is manually opened by the hotel staff via the surveillance cameras, or you need to get real close and move the car body position into a certain angle. Regardless, I was able to get into the car garage. Lastly, due to the covet natural, without any safety mirrors or in and out signages, hotel guests often ran into the situation where two vehicles of guests would go head-to-head. The hotel has provided a perfect scenario to allow guests, strangers, to foster empathy, patience and compassion. At this point, I truly appreciate the efforts the hotel is trying to do here.
Bottom line
I would probably not stay here again when I could get more room in other properties in town. However, if someone wants to stay in the old port area, I would recommend them to stay at this property. It has been a pleasant but rather surprised stay at the Hyatt Centric Montréal.