The Ritz-Carlton, Montréal

The hotel stands at the corner of Sherbrooke and Drummond in downtown Montreal, steps from the shops of Sainte-Catherine Street and the restaurants of Crescent Street. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a few minutes’ walk away, and the Old Port is within walking distance. Outside, the building keeps the glamour of the 1910s, and the hotel still shows its own lion crest by the door.

Our junior suite sat at the end of a fifth-floor hallway, with a hardwood foyer, a wonderfully comfortable king bed and a marble fireplace in the corner. The fireplace warmed the whole room, and we spent the evening beside it. The windows look onto the hotel’s interior garden and its water feature.

The bathroom has double sinks, a bathtub big enough for two and a separate rain shower, with heated towel rails and plush robes and slippers.

Maison Boulud, Daniel Boulud’s restaurant, is one of Montreal’s most popular, so book ahead, and request the terrace in summer. We would come back in winter just for breakfast in its greenhouse.

The Palm Court, the lounge facing the entrance, serves afternoon tea, and its bar stands against backlit marble lined with bottles of Dom Pérignon. Beyond it, the ballroom opens onto the garden, a calm pocket in the middle of the city.

The saltwater pool looks out over the city, with a terrace beside it for a sunny afternoon. The front desk team greeted us every time we walked by, and we found it one of the best hotels in Montreal.