Hyatt Regency Montreal

Location is what the Hyatt Regency Montreal has going for it: During the city's major festivals, this hotel is right in the center of things — and there is no close competition nearby. So if you can reconcile yourselves to staying in a place where convenience trumps charm, do choose the 650-room Hyatt as your headquarters. You'll be within walking distance of most of the action, and you may even bump into some of the key players, who also bunk here.

There are many romantic hotels in Montreal; the Hyatt Regency Montreal is not one of them. On the plus side, the beds are good, with plenty of pillows. Drapes plus a light-blocking curtain make it easy to stay up late and avoid the dawn's early light. Aesthetically, the rooms are drab and in need of updating. The mildew-scented bathroom, with its green-tinged fluorescent overhead light, can make even a beauty resemble a beast. Rooms also lack things we've come to consider essentials: a makeup mirror, safe, nightlight, minibar, and flatscreen TV. Wi-fi is available for a fee.

Many packages at the Hyatt Regency Montreal include breakfast, and it is served in a contemporary space with an array of juices, eggs and bacon, fruit and yogurt, and breadstuffs ranging from French croissants to authentic Montreal bagels (no smoked salmon to accompany the latter, alas). Attached to the Complexe Desjardins (a vast mall, for non-French speakers), the Hyatt Regency Montreal offers access to multiple fast- food restaurants. If you're in the mood for something romantic, check out one of Montreal's better restaurants, a short walk or cab ride from the Hyatt Regency.

With its 650 guest rooms, the Hyatt Regency Montreal has enough space to accommodate a huge destination wedding party. Events can be held outdoors on a terrace overlooking the city or in an indoor event space. As a large hotel chain with international properties, Hyatt can extend special offers to bridal parties, such as hosting your wedding here, and giving you free nights at a resort there. For current information, visit Hyatt Weddings.

The Hyatt Regency Montreal is an urban hotel with an indoor swimming pool. At the pool level, Swedish, hot stone, and other types of massages are available. Guests can take a private or group yoga lesson in the Zen room; there's also a 24/7 fitness facility. And there’s an anti-jetlag facial-electro-stimulation treatment for those who want to channel their inner Frankenstein. Others may prefer to de-stress in the large, comfortable cocktail lounge in the round that's convenient for pre-and post-dinner drinks. The hotel contains a gift shop that sells reading material, snacks, souvenirs, and sundries.

The tri-level Desjardins mall complex is connected to the hotel. It features numerous stores, an IGA supermarket, a pharmacy, and a large food court. The Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art stands directly across from the Hyatt Regency Montreal and there is access to both the underground city and the Place des Arts metro station. Montreal's Chinatown, with its many affordable restaurants, is within walking distance.

A lot. The front desk is understaffed, creating lines during busy check-in times. A concierge is MIA. Rooms could use a visit from a contemporary designer whose palette includes more colors than brown and beige. Flatscreen TVs would bring the space into this century. Having a safe, night light, and minibar would be convenient. Providing a lighted, magnifying makeup mirror; Q-tips and cotton balls; and a better complement of amenities in the bathroom (such as Canada's own wonderful Fruits & Passions brand) would convey to female guests that they are as welcome as salarymen.

During festival season! Book your stay early if you plan to attend the Montreal Comedy Festival, which attracts two million people during the ten-day extravaganza or the Montreal Jazz Festival, which draws even bigger crowds. During the Comedy Festival, you can't help but encounter comics, writers, and industry types. From the elevators to the taxi stand, the place buzzes with jokes, pitches, and industry gossip. And the the place swings when the jazzmen and women are in town.

If you're planning a quiet, romantic, Montreal honeymoon, no. (For that, you'd be better off in Vieux Montreal, the charming old part of the city by the waterfront.) But if you need to spend a night in the middle of town or want to surround yourselves in Festival lodging headquarters, this is the place. Note: Several commenters on Trip Advisor mentioned that they scored a room at the Hyatt Regency Montreal by bidding $50. At that rate, it's more than worth it.