Old Montreal / Place Jacques-Cartier

Hotel William Gray

★★★★★

Hotel William Gray is the hotel that best captures modern Old Montreal: historic stone on the outside, contemporary design within, and a location that puts the whole old town at your door. It stands at 421 Rue Saint-Vincent, overlooking Place Jacques-Cartier, and combines two eighteenth-century houses, the Maison Edward-William Gray and the Maison Cherrier, with a sleek modern wing built behind them. It opened in 2016 and is part of the Gray Collection, a small group of Old Montreal hotels. The rooms come in several styles. The Alcove rooms are compact and intimate, with rain showers and writing desks; Deluxe rooms and suites are more spacious; and a limited number of rooms and suites inside the historic Maison William Gray have stone walls or cathedral ceilings, the most characterful choice. For longer stays or families, a full residence with a living room and kitchen overlooks the old town. The common spaces are a draw in their own right. Maggie Oakes, the hotel restaurant, serves seasonal brasserie cooking with a grill focus and a large terrace on the square in summer, and the rooftop Terrasse William Gray, open in the warm months, offers cocktails with views across the rooftops of Old Montreal to the Old Port and the river. The spa provides signature treatments and a thermal circuit, a welcome contrast after a cold winter walk, and there is a modern fitness centre. The service is friendly and polished. The location is ideal for sightseeing: Notre-Dame Basilica, Pointe-a-Calliere, the Old Port and La Grande Roue are all a few minutes on foot, with the Champ-de-Mars metro nearby. In summer, the square below is busy and lively until late, which some guests love and others find noisy.

Choosing a room: for the full Old Montreal experience, ask for one of the rooms in the historic house, with exposed stone and beams; for space and light, choose a Deluxe room or suite in the modern wing, some with views over Place Jacques-Cartier or toward the Old Port. Alcove rooms are good value for solo travellers or couples who will be out exploring all day. Light sleepers should request a quieter room away from the square in summer.

Eating, drinking and relaxing: Maggie Oakes works for breakfast, a business lunch or a lively dinner, and its summer terrace is one of the best spots to watch the square. The rooftop terrace is the hotel's signature summer experience and is popular with locals, so arrive early on warm evenings. The spa's thermal circuit, with hot and cold experiences in the Nordic tradition loved by Quebecers, is a perfect way to recover from a winter day of sightseeing.

Who it suits: couples, design lovers and first-time visitors who want to stay in the heart of the old town in comfort. Families can be comfortable in the residence or larger suites. Those who need indoor access to the metro and the Underground City for a deep-winter visit may prefer downtown, but for character, location and atmosphere, William Gray is one of the best choices in Montreal.