Review: Delta Hotels by Marriott, Montreal

This was the first Delta Hotel that Jess or I had stayed at and we were looking forward to checking out another one of Marriott’s 32 (and growing) brands.

While Delta Hotels branded as “providing essentials for the modern business traveler”, I was interested to see what this meant in reality.

Where to Stay in Montreal

There are several great areas to stay in Montreal, depending on what you’re looking for.

The main downtown area is full of hotels including multiple from large chains such as Marriott, IHG and Hilton. This area is full of skyscrapers, museums, shops and the business district.

Old Montreal is about a 5 minute drive east and is the most historic part of town. Many tourists choose to stay here to tour the old architecture, the main sightseeing attractions and be near many restaurants and bars.

Le Plateau/Mont Royal is known for being the “hipster” area with coffee shops, boutiques and street art. There area also many great restaurants and bars here that cater to the 20s-30s crowd.

Gay Village is just beyond Old Montreal and is a colorful neighborhood with a vibrant nightlife seen.

How We Booked Delta Hotels Montreal

There were dozens of options for hotels in all price ranges, but in my attempt to requalify for Marriott platinum status we wanted to choose a Marriott brand hotel. I found a great weekday price at the Delta Hotel for ~$150 a night including taxes and fees. The other option was to book using 35K Marriott points, but I try to get close to 1 cent/point of value, so in this case it was a better option to pay for the room.

Additionally, my Platinum status would allow me access to the executive lounge as well as free breakfast. There was the added bonus of having an evening mixer hors d’oeuvres event that night for hotel guests that actually ended up being the best part of the stay!

On the lower price end was Le Meridien for ~120/night, but there were several reports of bed bugs, so we decided to skip that.

On the higher price end was the Ritz Carlton, which seemed very nice, but at ~$350 a night and no free breakfast or lounge access it didn’t add much value.

Getting to Delta Hotel Montreal & Location

The downtown area of Montreal (and the surrounding neighborhoods where you will likely be staying) aren’t too far from the Montreal Airport (YUL). The best options are to drive if you have a rental car or take an Uber/Lyft. The drive is about 15-20 minutes with no traffic, or ~30-40 minutes during rush hour. The cost of our 35 minute Uber drive from the airport to Delta Hotels by Marriott was $36 CAD or just over $27 USD. Gotta love that exchange rate!

I read online that taxi rates can be close to $40-50 USD, but I didn’t’ check while I was there as we usually prefer Uber/Lyft over taxis when possible.

If you really want to save a little money and time is no problem, there is a bus that goes from the airport to Downtown that takes about 1-1.5 hours, but only costs $8 per person

Check In at Montreal Delta Hotel by Marriott

The entrance to the hotel was nice and modern with high ceilings and an open space, but it felt a little “cold” and unwelcoming. Maybe this is what business travelers like?

The two high top tables at the entrance didn’t seem to serve much of a purpose except to maybe fill up the space.

The check-in desk was directly to the left. Even though no one else was in line we went to the Marriot Bonvoy Elite line ????

The agent welcomed me and thanked me for being a Marriott Platinum member. Unfortunately there are no suites at the Delta Hotels Montreal (probably something that business travelers don’t value as much). The hotel was booked that night for a conference, so no upgrade was available, but we had been given a room on the 16th floor. There are only two different room types at the Delta Montreal, either Guest room or Deluxe Guest room with a balcony. It was below freezing so I didn’t feel like we were missing much by not having a balcony that night.

For being a Platinum member we were entitled to a $10 food and beverage credit, breakfast in the lounge as well as access to the Club Lounge on the 23rd floor.

To the left of the check-in area was the lobby waiting area. Later this evening this became the site of the evening mixer hors d’oeuvres event.

The main hallway to get to the rooms, conference center, restaurant and fitness center/pool was to the right.

Delta Hotel Montreal Room

Our base room was fairly simple but came with all the essential amenities. We were room 1621 which was a sort of corner room, so there was a large hallway with a mirror by the entrance.

The main room was plainly decorated, with mostly whites, beiges and browns with burn orange accents. The furniture and decorations seemed newer than the carpet and walls.

The king bed was clean and well pressed, no bed bugs! On each side was a nightstand, a lamp and a reading light. Two bottles of water were included as well. It was well appreciated that each side came with two charging outlets.

Across from the bed was the desk, TV and a luggage rack! While it is probably catered more to business travelers, I enjoyed having the built-in luggage rack. Inevitably hotel rooms come with either no luggage racks or one and Jess and I have to rock-paper-scissors over who gets it. I let her win this one

The desk came with multiple cables as well as several charging ports.

Next to the desk was an awkward chair and side table.

There was also a mini fridge in the corner. It was definitely out of place and appeared as if the room had been designed without a mini fridge in mind, but we at least appreciated having a mini fridge in the room, which is quickly becoming a standard for hotel rooms.

There was a closet back towards the entrance that included a safe, hangars, iron, ice bucket and coffee machine. It was a little strange to see the coffee machine sucked away in the closet.

The bathroom was a little plain and again appeared as if the sink and shelves had been updated recently, while the walls and tile flooring was in need of some renovation.

As mentioned previously, while the fixtures and furnishings were on the newer side, the walls and flooring definitely needed some TLC.

Executive Lounge Delta Hotels

The executive club lounge was located on the 23rd floor

The hours of operation:
Breakfast
M-F 630am – 930am
Weekend 8am-11am

Hors d’oeuvres
Every day 5pm-7pm

Straight forward from the entrance was a small sitting area that was unoccupied.

The main lounge area was upstairs and included an area for the food and drink to the left and the seating area to the right.

The food was mediocre, but at least the focaccia bread and beef skewers tasted better than they looked. There were a few other veggies, finger snacks and desserts available as well.

Beer and wine were available for purchase.

The view from the club lounge was nothing spectacular at night, but better than no view I guess.

Gym and Pool

The gym was a good sized for a hotel gym (I guess business travelers like to get a good sweat in). There were plenty of cardio machines and the free weights went up to 45lbs.

The lap pool and hot tub was in the next room over

There was also a small kids play area.

Restaurant Delta Hotels Montreal Bistro-Bar Le Cordial

The main restaurant at the hotel is the Bistro-Bar Le Cordial. We went by in the evening only to use our $10 food and beverage credit, but it was fairly crowded with what appeared to be business travelers, some solo, some with business partners.

The drinks ranged from ~$6 for beers to ~$8+ for cocktails and were decent, but nothing extraordinary.

Evening Social Hors d’Oeuvres

This may have been our favorite part about the stay. The evening social event is held once every month or so as a thank you to the guests and Marriott members. I wasn’t able to find an exact schedule, so it may be best to call in advance if you are interested

The event was held in the lobby area that was just to the left of the check-in desk

There were several food stations set up with various hors d’oeuvres that included scallops with seaweed, lamb Shepard’s pie, meatballs with bruschetta and even smoked salmon.

Every dish was fantastic. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful and the ingredients complimented each other nicely. These are dishes that would run $10+ each at a restaurant, but the hotel was offering these complimentary!

I may have gone back for seconds or thirds ????

There was also a dessert station that served various flavor macarons.

Alcoholic beverages were complimentary as well and included both red and white wine, beer and cocktails.

This one event alone was well worth staying at the hotel. Keep in mind the event is only offered intermittently, but it may sway you to stay at the hotel if you are there for the event. It’s worth calling a head to check.

Breakfast

We had to leave around 620am so unfortunately, we weren’t able to experience the breakfast, but the hotel staff was gracious enough to make us to-go breakfast bags. I was so sleepy I forgot to take a picture, but it was pretty decent for a to-go breakfast and included toasted bagel and cream cheese, yogurt, fruit, eggs, potatoes and orange juice.

Overall Impression

Overall Delta Hotels by Marriott in Montreal was a decent hotel for the price. It’s located in the main downtown area, has a large gym and the furniture and fixtures seemed to have been updated recently.

Unfortunately the rest of the hotel felt a little run down including the flooring, carpet and walls that detracted from the overall experience. If I was a business traveler this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but traveling with my fiancé, it would have been nice if the hotel didn’t feel so worn.

I’m not sure if this Delta Hotel offered anything extra for business travelers, the wifi was average speed and there was an average number of outlets by each bed (two). I did notice more business travelers than usual for a hotel (maybe 80%+), so that is something to note.

What made the stay more than worthwhile though was the evening social hors d’oeuvres mixer that included fantastic dishes and complimentary beverages. I would say if you can make it for one of the evening social hors d’oeuvres mixers, then the stay would definitely be worth it, otherwise there may be other hotels in your budget that you would want to check out.