Home > Public Spaces > Hotel Monville impresses guests with sleek angles and space for art thanks to the innovations of ACDF Architecture

Hotel Monville impresses guests with sleek angles and space for art thanks to the innovations of ACDF Architecture

By Courtney Constable

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Amidst the urban but historical hustle and bustle of downtown Montreal, in Canada’s province of Quebec, stands the sleek and impressive Hotel Monville by ACDF Architecture.

When the architectural firm unveiled this recent project, sophistication was at the heart of their motivational tenets. The Hotel Monville is the first in a whole collection or proposed future properties, businesses, and buildings that have been planned in collaboration with the owners of Old Montreal’s Hotel Gault.

Hotel Monville opened its doors for good in March of 2018, exuding a sense of chic luxury immediately. The hotel’s lobby, rooms, and structure, feature a unique and well-balanced blend of contemporary style and historic charm that somehow also works cohesively with its urban surroundings. The aim of the hotel’s atmosphere was to harness the high-end experience offered by well known hotels like Hotel Gault but with a slightly stronger sense of the local character.

Because the hotel lies in the heart of historic Old Montreal, a stunning distinction is created the moment one sets eyes on its exterior. The building looms impressively over the smaller heritage style sites, its black and white patterned “tromp l’oeil” style facade adding depth to the skyline and giving it a striking presence. The sleekness of the buildings facade is broken halfway up by an exterior curtain that spans three storeys up like a wall, intriguing passersby and contributing to the hotel’s vibrant atmosphere both inside and out.

Inside the hotel, the entry foyer extends further into a high ceilinged lobby that is framed by beams made of warm oak and large white columns similar to those found in historic cathedrals. These columns, however, have lamp-lit bases that add a welcoming warm glow to the hotel’s inviting public spaces. To add character, large tartan sofas and leather banquets make the area one that people actually enjoy interacting in.

Extending from the designers’ goals to incorporate the building into local life, the lobby walls have been decorated with large, breathtaking black and white prints of local Montreal life throughout the years. These are part of a customized overall mural commissioned from a talented and notorious local artist named Valerie Jodoin Keating.

Because the hotel was designed to be an actual destination in itself, rather than solely a stop off in experiencing Montreal at large, it features more than just a welcoming lobby and luxury rooms. Hotel Monville also boasts several meeting rooms, an illustrious library, and a beautifully spacious rooftop terrace to be enjoyed in warm weather.

The mood and atmosphere for the hotel at large are established right from the moment guests walk through the door. This is due in part to a DJ booth built right into the oak motif in a smaller, adjoining lobby feating a bar and white terrazzo seating spaces accented with brass details. The music flows throughout the bar, a neighbouring cafe, and the main lobby itself, enticing people in from off the street and rounding out the experience while people order local cuisine at all hours.

Beyond the social spaces, guests can stay in any of the 269 rooms on the property. Here, bright floor to ceiling windows provide each suite with a stunning view of the old city surrounding them. These views have such reach that they can even be enjoyed before you’ve left the luxurious king-sized bed for the day. Ornate oak headboards, custom made furnishings, rain style showers, and Nespresso coffee machines in each room ensure comfort of the highest degree.

At the same times as it strives to integrate itself into Old Montreal life, design teams also aimed to keep things firmly in the 21st century in terms of connectivity. They made sure to incorporate all modern technological offerings and compatibilities they could think of that might enhance guests’ experiences. These include online and electronic kiosk check-in and Smart TVs that sync effortlessly with personal devices.

Hotel Monville is also the first hotel in Canada to offer autonomous robot room service delivery! These smart and efficient robots were designed by Savioke, a Californian firm. They carry food orders directly to guests’ rooms in record time. Otherwise, most products are locally produced. For example, the all natural bath products in each room were made by a Quebec company called Oneka, while staff uniforms were designed and created by a Canadian brand called Frank & Oak.

Photographs by Adrien Williams

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About Courtney Constable

Courtney has over five years experience as a writer, editor and consultant who specializes in architecture and home interiors. She has contributed content to HomeDSGN since 2018 and her work has also appeared on MyDomaine, Archilovers and Apartment Therapy. Learn more about HomeDSGN's Editorial Process.

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