Rates

From about 188 Canadian dollars ( about $143) .

Basics

A vertical checkerboard that touts itself as “Canada’s most innovative hotel,” Hotel Monville opened in March near Montreal’s mammoth convention center. Stark and streamlined, the Monville emphasizes connectivity over coddling. Pod-size rooms are dominated by 50-inch web-enabled smart TV systems; guests check in at lobby kiosks; room service comes via robot. The first hotel by quirky Montreal architects ACDF, the aggressively modern property feels like a departure for the owner Nathaniel Fraiberger, whose intimate Gault introduced boutique hospitality to Old Montreal 16 years ago .

Location

Even locals don’t recognize the Monville’s corner, once home to a run-down haunted-house attraction. Condo construction surrounds the hotel, and Rue de Bleury has blossomed into an under-the-radar Restaurant Row, with hot spots like locavore bistro Monsieur and Peruvian-Japanese mash-up Tiradito. It’s a supremely strategic location within walking distance of Old Montreal, the Palais des Congres convention center and the Quartier des Spectacles entertainment zone. The city’s $10 express airport bus stops a block north on Rene-Levesque Boulevard; the Place-D’Armes metro station is five minutes away on foot, and Montreal’s minuscule Chinatown borders the block.

Image The Hotel Monville opened in March and touts itself as Canada’s most innovative hotel. Credit... Dominic Filion/Dfmotion

The Room

Rooms are not designed for hanging out. Somewhere between minimalist and monastic, my 220-square-foot room included a king-size bed — standard here — and an elongated nightstand that doubled as a work desk. Amid black laminate and natural wood, the lone decorative touch came from a pink acrylic throw draped over a gray-upholstered Scandinavian chair. Lack of overhead lighting made reading tough; strong bedside fixtures helped. Though I’d paid extra for a high floor — the hotel promises views from every room — the uninspiring vista included an adjacent condo’s swimming pool. Rooms are devoid of art, but dried paint on my dirty floor-to-ceiling window added an unintentional abstract effect. The room’s thermostat regulated temperature precisely, but glowed bright red when heating, suggesting either a system error or an emergency (it was neither).