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Montreal Best Hotels – Hotel Gault

Tucked in a quiet street of the old town, Hotel Gault’s architecture turns head and has tourists stop as they walk by, to take pictures of the impressive 19th-century building that distinguishes itself from the other ones as it stands in the corner of Sainte Hélène street and des Récollets street, thus forming a jaw-dropping triangle. Influenced by Haussmann’s architectural revival of Paris, the ashlar façade is highlighted by rich ornaments and cornices around the windows of the second floor, which happens to hold the construction’s highest ceiling after the ground floor because at the time Haussmann defined the architectural building guidelines of Paris, this floor was dedicated to the wealthy people, who were spared the effort to climb too many stairs and were given the most beautiful apartments (ground floors were used as shops). The third and fourth floors have less elaborate stone work and finally, the fifth one is characterized by the mansard roof, angled at 45°, with dormer windows.

The four star boutique hotel possesses 30 rooms, divided into lofts, suites, terrace suites and apartments. It was named after Adrew Frederick Gault, an Irishman and textile merchant, who used to work in this very building.
Upon entrance, the contrast between the old, imposing and monumental architecture of the exterior and the luxurious, modern and minimalist design of the interior inevitably got a smile out of me. What first struck me is the impression of multiple environments that is created within the immense open-space lobby, thanks to different materials and colors; on one side you can be surrounded by stone or ceramic, concrete floors, grey tones with touches of colors and on another side you’re surrounded by wood, warm colors, brown tones, subdued lights and a fireplace. In the lobby can be found the front desk, the bar, a lounge area, the restaurant and it all looks absolutely stunning.

The adage “less is more” seems to have been the guiding line of the hotel’s interior designers, who have embellished the lobby and the rooms with timeless pieces of furniture to utmost perfection. The lobby has kept the cast-iron columns and is punctuated by sculptures, photos and paintings by Quebec and Canadian artists. In the rooms, the same open-space concept has been applied, with bathrooms opening wide into the rooms – speaking of bathrooms, the one in our suite was exceptionally designed. It had a luxurious, raw, cold steel feel to it, with only two tones used: grey and white; with unique pieces of furniture that truly stand out from all other hotels we’ve seen – minimal and mobile furniture was selected to enable guests to organize their rooms like they want to: eames chairs, artemide lamps, a rolling desk that guests can move in front of the window if they want to work.

Hotel Gault prides itself on providing thoughtful and customized service to their guests and we’ve experienced it first hands. As we checked in, we were offered coffee and bottles of water. After choosing coffee, the hostess asked which type of coffee we preferred and whether we wanted to have it in the lobby or in our room. We decided to drink it in our Deluxe Suite. As we entered our suite, a welcome card with my name on it wishing us a nice stay was placed on the desk, next to a plate of two delicious macarons and a bottle of sweet maple wine. Classical music was smoothly playing in the background; our stay was off to an amazing start. Shortly after our lattes arrived, and we savored them while marveling at the originality of this hotel that truly is like no other. The rooms are equipped with high speed WiFi, Nespresso machines, TV, twice-daily housekeeping service, 24-hour gym access, use of an iPad, 24-hour concierge service and a restaurant whose 22 year-old Chef is very creative, talented and produces everything on-site.

Hotel Gault is ideal for business trips as it offers the comfort of a home. It is ranked as one of the best hotels in Montreal and we definitely understand why. We truly loved our stay. 

Watch this short tour of our suite below. If the video doesn’t work, click here to view.

Note the address:
449 Sainte-Helene street
Montreal, QC, Canada
H2Y 2K9
http://www.hotelgault.com

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