For the first hotel stay of my review trip to Bangkok, I spent a night at the Four Seasons Montreal. This was between two flights, as I was arriving on Porter’s Embraer E195-E2 from Fort Lauderdale, and the next day I was departing on Air France’s Boeing 787-9 to Paris.
I’ve heard great things about this hotel, and was curious to check it out for myself. The hotel didn’t disappoint, and really, it perfectly sums up what I love most about the Four Seasons brand, which is how stays are just consistently so frictionless, thanks to the friendly and attentive service.
In this post, I’d like to share my initial thoughts, and then I’ll have a full review upon returning home.
In this post:
The Four Seasons Montreal is a gorgeous city hotel
The Four Seasons Montreal is what you’d expect from a fairly new Four Seasons city property, as it feels modern and luxurious. For what it’s worth, I booked my stay the morning of, and I’m pretty sure I booked the very last room that was available (I booked using an Amex $300 hotel credit, so while the rate was around $500, I only paid $200 out of pocket, and then received a bunch of perks).
I was assigned a deluxe king room, the same room type I booked. It was beautiful, with the typical uber-comfy Four Seasons bed, a great shower, and overall functional design.
Beyond that, the Four Seasons has an excellent gym, as is standard for the brand. There was also an indoor pool, along with a sauna and steam room (that doesn’t have much appeal to me, coming from Florida, but I know it does appeal to others). And of course there’s a spa, though I didn’t get any treatments.
Marcus is the hotel’s restaurant, lounge, and bar, and it’s a massive space that’s not just popular with hotel guests, but also locals. It’s always nice when a hotel has a destination restaurant and bar that’s lively, and this clearly fits that bill (and the lounge part of Marcus even turns into a nightclub of sorts, though obviously that would be way past my bedtime). 😉
I met a friend for brunch, and we had the Montreal bagel tower breakfast, which was as good as it looks (and came with avocado toast and a cinnamon roll… just what you need when you’re having a bagel!).
The reason I love staying at Four Seasons properties
Four Seasons isn’t the most bespoke or boutique hotel brand in the world, but then again, it doesn’t claim to be. What Four Seasons does so exceptionally well is consistently having excellent service, given the average size of its hotels.
Every single employee I interacted with was friendly, and a special shout out to Akash, who couldn’t have been more welcoming, both on arrival and departure. Often it’s just the simplest interactions that impress me at Four Seasons. For example, when I go to the lobby at 5AM to grab a cup of coffee, and the night auditor says “good morning” with a smile, and proactively asks how my stay is going.
Beyond that, what I really appreciate about Four Seasons is just how frictionless stays are. To some people, that probably sounds like such a dumb thing to say, but it’s such a contrast to staying at so many of Marriott’s luxury brands, where it just feels like there’s minor problem after minor problem. But at Four Seasons, they put such effort into just making stays easy.
I also have to say that Four Seasons’ CRM never ceases to amaze me. Even though Four Seasons doesn’t have a loyalty program, they do an amazing job with getting to know guest preferences, and somehow tracking guests no matter how they book. Like I said, I booked the morning of arrival, and through Amex (my first time booking a Four Seasons property that way), and I had no contact with the hotel prior to arrival.
15 minutes after checking in, I was brought a welcome amenity consisting of a dirty martini (my preferred alcoholic drink). It’s a little thing, but shows such impressive attention to detail. So many hotel groups talk a big talk when it comes to the info they have on guests, and how much they like to customize stays. But this is really how it should be done, if you ask me.
Bottom line
I’m glad I had a night in Montreal, and got to stay at the Four Seasons. It’s a modern hotel with great amenities, an excellent restaurant and bar, and most importantly, great service. And bigger picture, Montreal is such a lovely city (despite absolute crap weather during my visit), and I really need to return soon… well, maybe when it’s a little warmer.
What’s your take on the Four Seasons Montreal?
I love staying at Four Seasons properties for the same reasons you shared here. Now, what is that frame on top of the bed? It looks absolutely unnecessary.
I say this as a FS frequent lodger - the frame is there to distract from the largely unadorned international beige walls behind and around the bed.
Yup, that's the palette alright.
What's the box on the lower level of the bedside table (first "Four Seasons Montreal deluxe king room" image)? A safe? Speaker? Just a decorative block?