Hôtel Chez Swann

Generally, I’m confused by Chez Swann’s high ratings. This is not a 4.5-star hotel (its current Unilocal rating). Despite its convenient location and swanky décor, its shortcomings are legion. I cannot recommend it to anyone.
The Good:
+ The staff were extremely friendly and eager to please.
+ The bed was comfortable.
+ The bathrooms were, as often noted in other reviews, the highlight of the stay. Amazing shower, cool lighting.
+ Convenient to subway.
+ Free continental breakfast.
+ Free wifi.
The Bad:
+ NOISE. Several rooms on the 2^nd floor sit right above the bar/​restaurant and the thumping of the music’s bass vibrates up through the floor making it an incredibly unpleasant stay. I was in room 205, and requested to be moved after one sleepless night. (The music didn’t cut off until past 1AM, after I called reception to complain multiple times.)
+ LIGHT. My second night, I was moved to room 306 on the top floor. This room didn’t have any noise issues, but it did have a huge f***ing skylight in the ceiling which cannot be closed or blocked in any way. Hello, 7:15 sunrise. I’ve never slept so little while on vacation.
+ NO GYM. They have a «spin studio» on the 3^rd floor, which is a f***ing joke. Three bikes in front of a TV, but it’s all pointless anyway since the cleaning crew left the giant laundry cart parked in there both days I was visiting. What a waste.

Great find! Really conveniently located, helpful staff, nice and clean interior, artsy design. We also love the affiliated restaurant. Very happy with the stay, will definitely come again.

What a greeat place, they made us feel welcome from the moment we walked into the art gallery entranceway. My first impression was WOW, someone really thought about this place. Then I noticed the lovely French restaurant off the lobby, As David Byrne once sang, «This must be the place». French food and art, yummy, I’m in!
The rooms are a collision of retro modern, rustic and minimalist. Beds are divine.
Most important, THE BATHROOM RULES! It’s huge with a double shower, as in, so large there are two showering setups, FANTASTIC for adult activities.
Location is perfect, loads of restaurants, Apple Store and prime shopping all within several blocks.
Only bad thing is parking, they have no valet or parking facilities, you must go to alternative locations.

We stayed here over the long weekend and from check in to check out was a great experience.
The hotel itself is situated in an extremely convenient location — walking distance to everything (Downtown, Clubs, Bars, Old Montréal, Mont Royal)
The service was exceptional. I have stayed in many hotels all around the world and can say this was one of the best. we were checked in and taken care of by Jamil who was fantastic. He was very informative with everything we needed to make our stay amazing — from parking (included a coupon for $ 4 off), the free continental breakfast, things to do in Montréal, restaurant recommendations etc. We needed ice for our room (they don’t have an ice machine) — and he made at least 3 or 4 trips during the course of our stay to bring us ice and clean glassware. We also mentioned on our way out one afternoon that we needed an iron before dinner and the iron was delivered to our room before we even got back. Jamil was an excellent host and really went above and beyond to make our stay great.
The restaurant — Le Pois Penche is phenomenal. French style bistro with fresh seafood.
Overall an amazing stay, and we will most definitely be back.

What a little gem. I usually travel Hilton or Marriott, but this was on my own dime and by myself so I tried Hotwire. Given the bargain price, I had a bit of trepidation. I arrived on a Friday night (late) and the cafes around this location were in full swing. When I realized the small stature of the hotel, I was convinced that I had inadvertently arrived at party-​central and would be lucky to get a wink of sleep. Much to my surprise, the double windows made for a very comfortable stay. Although the décor is sparse and quite hip, I thought the room was quite efficient. Staff was helpful with local directions, and the restaurant downstairs was he perfect place to end the day with a glass of wine. Location can’t be beat with a quick walk to the metro, shopping, art gallery, etc. This is how a boutique hotel should be done!

Great location, however the hotel room itself was very basic. Kind of felt like a cheap apartment room and our room didn’t have a window either. The air conditioning is very confusing so we spent the first night boiling. Although breakfast is included it was super basic and not that great. I didn’t feel that this hotel was worth the price as it didn’t seem ‘4star’ to me.

Very cute décor and in a great neighborhood. The room was nice but walls were incredibly thin. You could hear neighbors and street traffic perfectly. Room temperature also was not very good tried to make it cooler but did not seem to work.
Staff was friendly. Probably wouldn’t stay again but wouldn’t deter people from staying there.

I got an awesome deal for my room (less $ 100). The room is beautiful and spacious. The staff is great, the location rocks. It is quiet as well.
The only thing to improve is the quality of the wifi.
I love this place and will come back for sure

I am a local from Montréal and booked my in laws a room. When we arrived and we also commented on the booking we told them that they need a handicap room. They wanted to charge us extra because the room was bigger. I have never bearer witness to such discrimination before. There were a series of other things that happened to my mother in law because she was handicapped. Therefore every time i pass by the place I am absolutely disgusted. I am still in shock how the receptionist and even the manager could treat her so unkindly!!!

My wife and I stayed at the Chez Swann a for 5 nights last month and we had a fantastic time. As the others have stated, it’s a hidden gem in the heart of Montréal. When I say hidden, I mean that it it’s tucked behind/​above a Parisian restaurant and the entrance isn’t at first recognizable as that of a hotel. On the other hand, I think that its understated elegance is part of the appeal. The staff was friendly and helpful and the breakfast each morning was a welcomed surprise. If at all possible, I will stay here the next time I return to Montréal.

5 stars for the location, décor, and the staff. All around a wonderful and hip hotel. Will definitely stay here again next time.

Do NOT stay in room 207 or you’ll hear bass from the music in the restaurant below. I asked the hotel if they could turn the bass down or off. Sometimes they obliged, other times it seems like the music kept going.
Since the hotel is completely booked out they can’t switch rooms, which makes the situation a little worse. The restaurant has the speakers mounted right into the ceiling, which is just beneath the floor. I’m not sure why they don’t rip those out and just mount something a little smaller on the walls so the bass doesn’t travel through the floor.
If you stay in room 207, be prepared to hear the bass from whatever song is being in the restaurant. Super frustrating if you’re trying to catch a quick afternoon nap or want to get to sleep before 1130p.
Other then that mega flaw, the place looks great. It give it 4 stars if they could solve the sound problem, which is completely solvable.

Had a nice stay here in early February. Location was convenient to downtown shops and restaurants. We enjoyed our room on our second night, but that was only after being moved; on our first night, the first room we were assigned to seemed a bit odd — there was a massive sheet/​drape covering the bed and headboard when we arrived, which seemed suspicious. In addition to that, the phone wasn’t working and the toilet wasn’t flushing properly. So we asked for a new room, and were given one right away — however, the new room was significantly smaller than the first, and quite cramped. It also had a bit of a sewage smell in the bathroom (perhaps Montréal water issues?). In any case, the next morning, when we mentioned that, we were quickly upgraded to a bigger and better room. I think the issue on the first night, was that the night staff on duty was new; had we taken up the initial issue with the day staff, I think we would have been upgraded on the first issue. Regardless, the final room was clean, spacious, and airy feeling, so we were quite content. The day staff made a point of reaching out to us and trying to make our stay satisfactory.
One other issue — parking. The only parking lot is down the street, and there is construction going on right next door to the hotel, which sometimes blocks off the street in front of the hotel. So it can be tricky to pull the car up out front, and then the walk to the car feels long in cold weather.
Nice hotel with a cool vibe. Stay here if you’re looking for something «sexy» but not necessarily for the amenities of a regular hotel.

Just came back from a trip with my boyfriend. Overall, it’s a beautiful little boutique hotel. Staff is friendly, rooms are nice and the beds are comfortable. 2 minor downsides: 1) we were in a room with no real window. It only looked to the lobby (we were on the 2^nd floor). 2) breakfast is pretty minimal. It was included in our stay, which I’m glad about because I personally do not find it to be worth the $ 15 they charge per person. There’s yogurt, peaches, coffee, 3 types of juice, 1 type of cereal, and croissants. We got it the first morning, but the second we ended up just going out (where we got 2 big breakfasts of crepes and omelettes + coffee for $ 22).
Lastly, fantastic location.

My boyfriend and I stayed at Hotel Chez Swann in Montréal for four nights recently. I would highly recommend this place to anyone who doesn’t want to stay at another generic cookie-​cutter hotel.
This hotel is in a great location — there’s an awesome chocolatier/​gelato shop across the street. It’s three blocks from a movie theater, and a block from Rue Crescent (lots of bars and restaurants). It’s two blocks south of a Metro station, too.
The room: Super comfy beds and nice rainfall-​style showers. (Note: If you’re not a couple, you might want to stay elsewhere, as the showers are rather peek-​a-​boo.) Also, free wi-​fi is a plus.
The staff is really friendly and nice (and bilingual). One of the employees helped my boyfriend and I try to track down whether movies at the theater were in French or English. They’re really nice and cool.

Hip and comfortable, Hôtel Chez Swann a living work of art!
I was fortunate to visit Montréal on a work excursion and had the please of staying in this twenty-​three gorgeous room hotel, where no two rooms are alike. This is a prime example of what a boutique hotel should be. The décor is fun and flamboyant while still captivating a high level of taste.
In addition to the remarkable eccentric flair you will receive a welcoming experience and enjoy the spark of the frienldy, witty and charming staff.
Don’t think twice, book your trip to Montréal NOW!

I need only one word to describe this hotel… PERFECT! :)
Why perfect to me?
— Very chic and comfortable interior design
— Love the ceiling skylight window in my room
— Very spacious washroom/​bathroom. Two shower columns in one shower room!
— Clean and comfortable bedding
— Free Wi-​Fi
— Very friendly and helpful hotel staff
— Quiet at night. I noticed that some people complained about some noise at night. I did not hear any noise at all. Maybe I stayed on the 3^rd floor! :)
— Free good quality toiletries, etc. etc!!!
— Most importantly, it closes to everything and everywhere!

We booked a room for a romantic night and were definitely not disappointed.
The entire place feels very glamourous and sexy from its incognito façade to the reception area with its attractive staff to its stainless steel elevator, funky corridors and especially the rooms.
We had one of the smaller rooms on the third floor but it was perfectly appointed. The décor was very modern and art deco with its black lacquered floors, beautiful black armoir, funky light fixtures, cut log bedside tables and deep red and lime accents. The bed was huge with very comfortable bedding. The bathroom was very large and felt more like one in a cool friend’s apartment than a standard hotel-​issue one.
The highlight was, of course, the peek-​a-​boo shower. It was huge with 2 seperate rainfall showerheads and its own blue lighting for extra ambiance.
All the elements for a very romantic getaway.
For more practical purposes, the room had a large desk, flat screen tv, free calls to Canada/​US, free wi-​fi (password provided at reception), dual ipod dock, great hairdryer, water bottles from Liquid Nutrition and products from Bella Pella.
Breakfast was included and served from 7 – 10 at Le Pois Penche adjoining restaurant. As we wanted to maximize our romantic escape, we didn’t get up early to try it so I can’t comment on it.
I loved the hotel — it was gorgeous, clean, comfortable and very affordable.

I always try to stay away from the chain hotels, but sometimes my shallow wallet just can’t afford the big price tags associated with staying at boutique hotels. Lucky for me, I found a deal that included flight and hotel for $ 500 for 4 nights. Yay!
I have stayed at the W Hotel in Montréal before, another boutique hotel but I just can’t afford their prices without an expense account.
The Hotel Chez Swann is located on Drummond Street which is a hop, jump and skip away from downtown. Peel metro station is located within a 2 minute walk and when Bixi bikes are in season (they stash them away in November), there is a Bixi stand right outside the hotel. We pretty much walked everywhere and downtown was about a 20 minute walk away. Not a bad way to work off the calories from all the yummy food to be had in Montréal.
The hotel itself has all the elements of a boutique hotel. Dim lighting, funky décor, a peekaboo shower and even a plush seating area right in front of the window that looks out onto the street. I couldn’t help but feel I had walked into some sort of modeling shoot.
Prior to arriving I had requested a room on the third floor because I didn’t want there to be too much noise coming from the street. However, being a factory-​converted hotel, with only 3 floors, you could still hear the noise from the street at night. But I slept through it all anyways. We had a room with a great view of the street, thank goodness as I know one side of the hotel faces a parking lot!
The staff are all very friendly although on the first night of our stay, we noticed the sheets hadn’t been changed and our toiletries hadn’t been replenished — but they took our $ 2 tip anyways. The next day I left a note requesting the said changes, and for the rest of our stay, these requests were met. A nice thing that the cleaning lady did was stock our room with bottles of Eska water. I guess she saw the insane stash of water we had in our room and saw us working out in the spin room!
We also requested a late checkout as our flight didn’t leave until 8:30PM, and they extended it until 2PM without additional charges. However, we didn’t want to be wandering around town, so we just forked over the $ 80 to extend it until about 6:30PM.
Breakfast is served daily from 7AM — 10AM in the restaurant adjoining the hotel, Le Pois Penché. The breakfast selection is heavy — all pastries (pain au chocolat, almond croissants, plain croissants, cheese croissants, muffins, danishes, french baguette with butter, fig jam, and strawberry jam). There is also a selection of juices and milk. But the Espresso machine was a nice extra touch. It was a Nespresso machine, and I was wired for hours! They have about 8 different kinds of espresso, along with the standard coffee and tea. You absolutely HAVE to try the cheese croissants as they not only had cheese on the outside, but also on the inside. I found the sweet pastries to be TOO sweet to eat first thing in the morning. The plain croissants were also good.
If you don’t want to be eating croissants every morning you can also visit Q Nutrition House which is located at the very front of the hotel and serves up protein shakes, and healthy fruit smoothies of all kinds — but it isn’t free.
For those of you who are keeners, you can use the spin room. It is equipped with a television, towels and complimentary bottles of Eska water. I used it all 4 days I was there. Complimentary phone calls anywhere in North America and free wi-​fi (password provided upon check-​in).
There was only one night where we could hear rowdy teens coming in from a night on the town (around 3AM). But other than that I have no complaints! I would definitely recommend Hotel Chez Swann and would definitely stay here again.

If you’re going to Montréal and want to stay away from the standard hotels, this cool boutique hotel is just for you. Very incognito from the outside. Right off of St. Catherines, rue Drummond was surprisingly peaceful.
As soon as you walk into Chez Swann, you feel like you’re inside a gallery. The lights, the furniture, the movie playing on the wall, the big wood logs give it its cool vibe. There are three types of rooms: les mondaines, demi-​mondaines, and boudoirs. We had the demi-​mondaine and it was huge! If this was in New York it would be ridiculously priced. The furniture in the room is SO NICE. Especially the velvet chair. The colour scheme was very art deco, think dark green and fuscia, but somehow it all made sense.
Best feature in the room: the shower – you can fit a party of 10 in here. i’m serious… it is massive… two shower heads and massage jets
The staff were really nice. I asked for an iron and he brought it up right away. I asked for tea, and they brought me hot water. If you drove here, there is a parking lot two minutes from the hotel. They give you a discount coupon if you’re staying at the hotel but it is still 20 $/​night to park.
*side note: It was always bright in the morning, as the ceilings don’t prevent the natural light from coming through so if you don’t want to be woken up, cover your eyes!