DoubleTree by Hilton Montreal was a very underwhelming stay for our family of four over New Year’s Eve, and unfortunately not what we expect from a Hilton property.
Check-in on 31 December was extremely chaotic. Despite arriving only an hour early, we were asked to return at 4pm, at which point the queues were overwhelming. With only four staff members on check-in, we waited around 40 minutes just to collect our keys. For New Year’s Eve, staggered check-ins or earlier access would have avoided this bottleneck.
Several operational failures followed. We were unable to charge drinks to our room immediately after check-in, which was embarrassing and poorly handled. Retrieving our luggage took over 15 minutes with no staff assistance, and there were no porters available despite travelling with two children and multiple suitcases. Lift queues were consistently 15–20 minutes long.
The most serious issue was being issued a key to an already-occupied room, resulting in us accidentally walking in on another guest. This was extremely distressing. When raised with reception, we were told this was already known, which was unacceptable. Resolving the issue required more waiting, poor communication, and reliance on a service lift just to reunite with our children.
Our room did not match the advertised city view and instead faced building backs and a flat roof. The famous DoubleTree cookies were also cold and hard by the time our children received them.
The duty manager, Dimitris, handled our complaint well and offered breakfast and drink vouchers, but even this became frustrating as the bar refused to accept the vouchers after seating us. Breakfast itself was average, very busy, and service was inattentive.
Overall, the hotel felt disorganised, understaffed, and indifferent to guest experience. While it may cope during quieter periods, it struggled badly during a peak holiday stay. We would not return or recommend this hotel.
