Empire Suites in Montreal

I stayed for two nights over Valentine’s weekend. After booking, I was a little worried because many of the reviews were quite negative. However, I honestly don’t understand why there were so many bad comments.
The hotel was much better than I expected, especially considering the price. The nightly rate is very affordable, and the location is excellent — close to the metro station and right in downtown, with everything you need nearby. The room was very clean, and the bed was comfortable.
Breakfast was included in the price. I didn’t expect anything fancy, and while there were no eggs or bacon, they offered bread, muffins, and pancakes. For a budget hotel, I have no complaints about that.
The hotel isn’t luxurious, but it’s definitely worth the money. The reason I’m giving four stars instead of five is because a few essential things were missing. There was no refrigerator in the room, which I’ve honestly never experienced before in a hotel or motel. There was also a small issue with the shower — the water drained very slowly, and I was worried it might overflow. In addition, the room felt a bit cold. The heater seemed old, and even when I set it to a higher temperature, it didn’t warm the room enough.
Lastly, before check-in, I sent a message asking for extra pillows and a question about check-in, but I didn’t receive a proper response — just what seemed like a copied and pasted reply.
Overall, I think it’s a good place to stay if you’re planning a night out and just need a clean, affordable place to sleep after spending time downtown.

Empire Suites is a location-first, no-frills hotel. The metro is extremely close, there are plenty of restaurants and shops nearby, and it’s about a 5-minute walk from the Gare d’Autocars de Montréal, which is a big plus if you’re arriving by bus.

Check-in was quick, efficient, and friendly. The lobby is small but cozy and comfortable.

The room was very clean upon arrival, but was never serviced. Luckily I was alone and had enough towels etc. Overall the room was in good condition, but stripped down.

Some things simply don’t make sense:

- No coffee table in front of the couch
- No shelves in the shower (toiletries end up on the floor)
- The room is quite dark (three lamps, all with dim bulbs)
- No pen or notepad
- No bags for the ice bucket
- Uncomfortable banquet-style chair at the desk
- Some furniture missing knobs
- Small, very basic (unable to cast/stream) TV that was snowy. Luckily I had a tablet with me.

On the positive side, the room was well decorated, clean, and aside from the missing knobs, poor TV and unserviced rooms, everything else was in decent shape.

Breakfast is very basic: cereal, toast, croissants, vanilla yogurt, apples, pancakes, juice, and coffee/tea. Disposable plates, cups, and utensils. It’s enough to get going, nothing more.

Bottom line: this is a clean, efficient, well-located hotel, not a comfort-focused one. If you care about location, cleanliness, budget prices and easy logistics more than room design or amenities, you’ll likely be satisfied. If small comfort details matter to you, you may find it lacking.

Overall a great place to stay. Quite a convenient to stay considering it's between Old and Downtown Montreal.

The entrance was not evident.

Will be staying there again very soon.

It's only a two-minute walk from the subway station, which is very convenient for doing things in the city. The breakfast in the morning is just bread, milk, juice and coffee. It's simple, but it's cost-effective.