Tuesday, 19 October 2010

Canada Trip Day 17: Hosteling International in Montreal

 29 June 2010 - HI-Montreal may have been a bit of a walk from the Montreal Central Station, taking about 20 minutes, it is just about a block away from high street Rue Sainte-Catherine O where all of the major shopping labels are located, including entrances into the largest underground city in the world which houses a network of shopping centres. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes walk to the wonderful Parc du Mont-Royal (Wikipedia), passing some of world class McGill University buildings along Avenue des Pins O.

Like the other HI hostels in Canada, this one has all the facilities any modest traveler would need. The usual laundry, cooking, Internet and storage facilities are provided in addition to a whole load of other organised activities. We had an en-suite room, which we were much happy about.

We stayed with a rather difficult room mate who complained a lot and was less understanding. She was quite uppity about how the hostel was cheap and she could not expect too much but had to stay a few nights to visit a friend. She was pleasant in a way but she had her moments. We were quite happy to leave Montreal after three nights of tension there.

All photos are taken by Sakana.



How to get from Montreal Central Station to HI-Montreal

View Larger Map

HI-Montreal
We were greeted by a colourful mural facing the front door

Lobby/Reception. Mum was exhausted from the walking and quickly planted herself comfortably on a couch

Signboards to direct us to rooms

Our room operated by a key card

Lockers in the room

Our bunk beds

Door leading to the en-suite bathroom

Basement where the kitchen is

Fridges and vending machines in the kitchen

Pool table in the kitchen and breakfast served at the counter

Dining area

Kitchen looking clean and tidy

Mum making cup noodles. There are food storage spaces available, stoves, toasters and a microwave oven.

Food label

Stoves and crockery

Right outside the hostel, there is the bicycle sharing system (community bicycle programs). These ones are run by Bixi.

They charge by time and it's pre-paid. Check out how it works here.



No comments: