|
|
| |
| |
|
10/6-10/06 |
|
Hotel Gault |
|
449 Rue Sainte-Helene,
Montreal, Canada |
|
Telephone
(514) 904-1616 |
|
www.hotelgault.com |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
ROOMS
Life as lived in your favorite shelter magazine, the one you read
before sleep, so that maybe when you awaken… These thirty rooms
represent all that you want your urban pied à terre to be:
streamlined and chic, immaculate and stylish. A composite of the
best 20th-century internationalist design ideas and everything
impeccably crafted. The hardware, for example: polished and
functional and ergonomically correct. And the built-in oak
cabinetry: drawers which slide like silk on skin, and details such
as a shoe cabinet drawer at the base of the closet. Rooms are
anywhere from 300-1000 square feet, with huge windows or French
doors, leading onto Juliet balconies or fully furnished terraces.
And then there’s that bed: a FLOU bed so comfortable you seriously
consider purchasing one for your own home (and yes, they are
available for purchase).
As for the bathrooms, we’re talking Manhattan apartments, complete
with private toilet and heated floors and a shower stall built for
four and delicious Essential Elements toiletries—and best of all, a
free-standing bathtub large enough for two—but why share when you
can have it all to yourself?
Also a moveable pocket wall—for privacy—and a workstation
ingeniously built into the room divider. And commissioned artwork
from Canadian artists. And lighting on dimmers and a couch in purple
wool and an afghan so fluffy you might wear it to lunch. And
flat-screen televisions, with DVD and CD player and Internet access,
free of charge, and—
To be honest, our favorite room (and no, we’re not telling) is one
that we can imagine living in on a daily basis. In fact, we’d be
perfectly happy to work out a deal… Hello? Anybody listening?
PUBLIC SPACES
Exactly as the Gault itself says, “an urban oasis.” A modernist
refuge in the middle of Old Montreal. A sanctuary, without the usual
hustle one might associate with hotel lobbies. Instead, there’s a
sense of cool calm: a crackling fire in the well-stocked library and
cocktails or coffee at the bar (which also cleverly functions as
reception) in the room’s center. A small restaurant overlooking the
quiet street. These spaces, this level of comfort—and you’re easily
forgiven for imagining life in Montreal on a full-time basis.
BREAKFAST
Served in the lobby while seated on Pierre Paulin’s orange-slice
chairs, a Charlie Chaplin silent film on the plasma television above
the small bar, and the gentle murmur of muted conversations.
Contentment at such an early hour—for the buffet table is laden with
culinary treats: crèpes and caramelized fruits and brioche French
toast and… If that’s not enough, order something else; the kitchen
is there to serve—whatever your palate desires. And best of all:
brunch is served late—as in afternoon late—on weekends. You can
sleep in—and still eat when you finally wake.
PERSONNEL
These people are as splendid as the setting. The sort of people
whose names you want to remember—to include in your letter of
appreciation. Charming and unpretentious—and genuinely happy to be
helpful in a place of which they are so obviously, and with good
reason, proud.
LOCATION
On the corner of a quiet street in fashionable Old Montreal— but
still far enough from the touring hordes. A ten-minute walk to the
river. Just around the corner from the shops of rue St. Paul. A
five-minute cab ride to St. Catharine. A street you might wish to
call your own—each time you step out from the Gault.
OVERVIEW
Isn’t it obvious? This might well be our favorite hotel in all of
North America. The combination of comfort and hospitality, generated
by the warm and personable staff, in a setting so understated and
elegant. A hotel confident of its attributes with no need to
oversell its virtues. The Gault knows what it is and what it is for
a certain type of person is very nearly paradise. |
|
| |
|
|
|
