HI Montreal Hostel: The best part of Quebec
Hostels. What is a hostel? It looks like the word “hotel” but they sneak in the letter “s” which most likely stands for “sharing” since you do a lot of that in hostels. There are many rooms in a hostel and each are filled with a certain number of bunk beds. When you stay in a hostel, you check out a bed, not a room. While this doesn’t seem that ideal (think: snoring, night owls and early birds) hostels are pretty cheap and will have some activities throughout the week which is great because the general population of travellers are youth (18-30) who are looking for a fun week.
Why HI Montreal was the best hostel in Montreal.
Okay I can’t compare to any of the other hostels in the city and there are quite a few. However, everything about HI Montreal was exactly what I wanted in my hosteling experience. First, HI (or Hosteling International) was the parent operator and so they knew what they were doing. I also got a discount by applying for a membership to be apart of HI Hostels which took off some money from my room and at the downstairs bar (!!). Its good for one year and applies discounts to other HI hostels and travel related costs like buses and flights. Nice.
I mentioned a downstairs bar which was definitely an important part of the hostel (and no, not because of the legal alcohol). On their website, they list that there is a grill/bar and common area that people hang out at which, as a skeptical traveler, I wasn’t expecting to be all that amazing. But they really weren’t just hyping themselves up; the basement was full of life, food, games, and beer! The atmosphere was amazing, very urban and chic. There was also a very nice shared kitchen that me and my travel buddy Bre should’ve used more often. But the best part about the downstairs, was the breakfast. Hostels are cheap because they provide the basics. While many advertise a free breakfast, its your basic office snacks. But HI Montreal went all out. Bagels and bread with jam and pb. Sausages, potatoes, eggs, fruit, fresh squeezed juice. It was seriously the most amazing spread I’ve seen and saved us a good chunk of change, since eating out got expensive.
They knew how to have a fun communal area but they also knew how to do some bar crawls. Twice a week the hostel offered a bar crawl to the pubs that lined the street a few minutes walk away. This was perfect because they knew exactly which ones had good beer and which were fun (btw, the legal drinking age in Quebec is 18). The best beer would be at Brutopia which created their own brews, seasonal and year long. I bought a pint of this amazing raspberry beer, highly reccommend. The second was a very fun bar called The Mad Hatter. They made really good food, sold cheap drinks, and had games throughout the space, like ping pong and giant Jenga. The best part about the bar crawl was meeting so many different people from around the world. We even ran into a group of 4 guys from Chicago that went to college around the country, including Ohio State! Small world. Oh, and to top it all off, the bar gave everyone on the bar crawl a free shot. My tip is, if you happen to be in this hostel, just go on the damn crawl.
And finally, our sleeping arrangements at the hostel were… not exactly ideal but also not the worst thing in the world. We arrived on New Years Eve so the hostel was fully booked. Every bed in our room was full and everyone was very friendly. However, later in the week, the beds thinned out so it was me, Bre, and a very interesting middle aged lady from New York. To keep it PG, this woman was not shy of keeping the bathroom door open and letting everything be heard, or for that matter, outside of the bathroom as well. Despite the many loud interruptions, the room was very nice: clean, warm, and had a private bathroom for all 6 occupants.
If you find yourselves in Montreal, you should check out this lovely hostel and all of its many fun events and friendly staff and travelers that find their way onto the front porch. You might even have better luck with your roommates, but if not, at least you’ll have a good story to remember it by.
BroadsAbroad 