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A Lesson In Hospitality As Given By Le Germain Hotel Montreal

“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

That’s a quote from late Basketball Coach John Wooden that I particularly like and strongly believe in. I know, you’re wondering why in the world am I mentioning a basketball coach quote in a four-star boutique hotel review; but bear with me. We, as humans, are always in such a rush to accomplish spectacular things in life to satisfy our ego, show off our social status or simply make millions of dollars; we want to reach the mountain summit without having to put in the mental and physical effort required to climb it. We forget that the only way to make it to the top is by putting one foot in front of the other and keep doing so until we finally reach our destination. See, it is the accumulation of little things that allow bigger and grander things to occur. Le Germain Hotel Montreal has understood this better than anyone else and has acted upon it.

I have come to realize that it’s not enough to own or manage a beautiful hotel with breathtaking suites and hope guests will spend even more money than they did booking their room; on alcohol, food, snacks and what not. Hotels have to find ways to make guests feel extra special and taken care of. And I’m not thinking solely about the quality of employees’ service. I’m talking about paying attention to small things that make a big difference in guests experience; little details that will turn a curious client into a loyal one.

More often than not when staying in hotels, if you don’t need to interact with the employees besides checking in and out (which is our case most of the time since our stays are usually very short), you have no idea of how good the service is and it’s hard to rate a hotel’s quality solely based on its architecture and interior design, although that counts. A lot. Our stay at Le Germain truly blew my mind. It taught me that if you truly care about your clients, not only will you rely on your staff to embody and convey your company’s culture, but you will also go the extra mile to find means to enhance guests’ experience, to make them feel at home and pampered, even if they don’t directly need to interact with the staff. I’m sorry if this introduction sounds a little moralist or business oriented, but my second impression as we arrived at Le Germain (the first one being marveling at the beauty of our suite) literally was “Oh, these people are really about their business and they are experts in their field.” and I felt so strongly about it that I just had to get it off my chest.

At Le Germain, it seemed like guests’ health and wellbeing was put at the forefront. Every single detail related to guests experience was meticulously thought out to cater to their slightest potential needs, to help them relax and unwind to utmost perfection. For instance, the hotel worked with Yoga Teacher Virginie Duval, to develop a program called “Nama Stay”, which are four Yoga videos that guests can practice in the comfort of their room, with Lulu Lemon mats provided by the hotel. Isn’t that genius?!
 
As we checked-in, I thought it was rather unusual to place apples at the front desk but then realized green apples were actually made available for guests to grab (for free) and eat everywhere in the hotel: at the front desk, in the corridors and in rooms. Now for anyone who is into living a healthy lifestyle, you know that one of the most challenging things to do when traveling, is managing to still have some sort of a healthy diet, which is nearly impossible when staying in hotels because the only snacks within easy reach are sweets and potato chips that, in addition to being unhealthy, will also be charged to you. So believe it or not, I utterly loved the concept and was highly impressed by these green apples, but that was not all.
Usually if hotels provide any water at all, they will place two small bottles of water in each room and if you want more, well, you’ll have to pay for it. My jaw dropped when I saw the customized bottles of water with Le Germain’s logo, also available in abundance and for free. In our suite, there were bottles of water in the fridge, on the desk, on the living room table, on the coffee table and on the bedside tables. And since we’re talking health and wellness, I drink between 1.5 to 2.5 liters of water a day, which is the advised daily intake for women, so I was really over the moon about the bottles of water. And can we just applaud the effort to customize the bottles?
 See the bottles – and the large desk that I fell in love with. 
We stayed at Le Germain Montreal a couple of weeks ago; in a sensational two-floored Apartment Suite that  looked like something out of the dreamiest Architecture and Interior Design magazine. It breathed comfort, style & luxury from wall to wall. The amazement gradually increased as we progressively discovered the apartment; downstairs, as we opened the door and found the wood flooring corridor that led to the large living room with huge glass windows covered by white curtains that I couldn’t wait to pull, to discover the view it offered. We rushed upstairs to see the bedroom and I had to pause to take it all in. The bedroom’s design had me gasp in wonder. And since images are worth a thousand words, I’ll just let you see for yourself.
 
A panoramic view of the living room.
The view from the bedroom
       
 

And if you thought I’d told you all about the hotel, think again. Le Germain also offers complimentary car service for the duration of guests stay: you can get behind the wheel or let a chauffeur drive you. And the cherry on top? there is no fixed time for check-out. You can really leave whenever you want. And let me tell you that not having to rush to in the morning to get ready, go downstairs to have the Continental breakfast before it’s too late and leave, was the absolute best feeling in the world.

Deluxe Continental Breakfast was delicious and healthy

The hotel also offers WiFi, deluxe continental breakfast, Nespresso coffee machine with endless capsules and DAVID’s TEA tea in rooms, gym open 24-hour, valet service, massage service in rooms and charging point for electric cars.

See, when you get into business with the intention to serve your clients’ needs first, magic happens. And that is exactly what Le Germain does. Magic.
Dear Le Germain owners, General director and Marketing Director, if Ze Square had the ability to deliver Certificates Of Excellence, you would, without the shadow of a doubt, be the first Montreal hotel to obtain one. Your dedication to serving clients and caring for their wellbeing is rare and commendable. Thank you for having us.
Ladies, did you know that Le Germain Group possessed hotels in different Canadian cities, with each hotel having its own perks. If you? looking for a weekend destination to recharge, take care of your soul, body and mind, alone or better yet, with your bestie; in what could be the most enchanting setting ever, look no further. The absolutely spectacular Le Germain Charlevoix organizes a “Wellness and Workout Weekend” for women only, that you would not want to miss. Click here for more info.
Take a look at the video tour of Le Germain Montreal!

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