lose to Downtown and the old part of Montreal, Starwood's W Hotels have transformed the historic Banque du Canada building overlooking the picturesque Square Victoria into a stunning, 152-room, five-star experience. The cosmopolitan city, home to nearly 5m people, many of them French-speaking, is often called the most European city in North America and is a fitting debut for noted hotel group W for their first Canadian property. The eight-storey bank, built in 1949, has been refurbished and had a two floor addition by local architects Lemay et Associes, a multidisciplinary office of designers whose work includes architecture, interiors and historic conservation. Hotel amenities include a unique and tiny bar appropriately named 'Bar Tini' for those looking for a stylish and cosy bar that will feel full after only a handful of guests arrive, and Wunderbar nightclub, which attracts all visiting celebrities, from Hollywood actors filming in the city to models and TV personalities. The hotel also provides direct access to the city's underground pedestrian network so guests can escape the harsh Canadian winter air and go directly to conference centre or city centre.
Visiting the hotel during Montreal's fashion week, the 'Living Room' concept for the entry lobby, a 3000 ft2, double height 'box' - a striking interior space featuring walnut wood wrapping the floor, walls and ceiling - appealed to each of the five senses. With glowing, bright red Corian acrylic check-in and concierge desks, this seductive interior was the most desirable place in the city in which to see and be seen. It is a theatrical experience with three 12-foot high waterfalls trickling over sculptured glass and dramatically oversized 'community sized' lounge furniture for watching the room. Overlooking this space is Plateau Bar, an entirely different interior with a courtyard feel, flooded with natural light via a glazed roof skylight, and featuring an enormous orange acrylic table. The bar/table stretches across the room, glittering with laminated oak leaves inset into the surface, surrounded by contrasting, low, modular seating. This area, formerly exterior, is the space between the bank and a neighbouring building and is accessed via a grand, wood staircase behind a mirror screen wall from the Living Room.
The interiors are the work of young, Paris based, Portuguese designer Miguel Cancio Martins, whose iconic Buddha bar in Paris and Opium bar and restaurant in Soho have established his reputation as a decadent and playful designer with the ability to combine function with originality. A specialist in connecting nightclubs and restaurants with bold lighting and furnishings, the experience at W Montreal begins with the startlingly lit canopy as its entry off the street.
The electric blue of the canopy is echoed in the use of blue in the bedrooms, and Martins varied material palette for the W includes ebony stained ash, chrome, stone, and fur.
The rooms offer a virtual office in every guestroom and there are three two-floor suites with extreme 20 foot ceilings. The standards are typically high throughout as guests enjoy luxurious beds with 350 thread-count cotton sheets, goose-down comforters, and 27" flatscreen monitors.
Large, operable windows overlook the park and although the rooms are generously sized (about 40m2) the layouts themselves are quite standard. Only the 'voyeur shower' - a glass screen offering views from the bedroom directly into the shower - is a deviation from the typical luxury hotel experience. The deep, sculpted bathtubs and sinks are by local designers Wet. Downstairs is the 'Detox' fitness centre and 'Away' luxury spa. The modern interiors contrast elegantly with the stark faŤade and the results are unashamedly maximal, a move away from the often cold, 'minimal' aesthetic that defines the rest of the hotel.
Local artist Axel Morgenthaler, known for his dramatic and architectural interactive lighting sculptures, designed 14 'Light Icon' features for the corridor spaces. Morgenthaler is an internationally acclaimed lighting designer, set designer and multi-media artist. At the W he brings his signature dramatic style to creating an otherworldly, dreamy, fantasy atmosphere that gives the standard corridor spaces an artistic flavour.
W Hotel's signature service approach translates well in Montreal: 'top desirs' or 'Whatever/Whenever' and it is just as remarkable as it sounds.
Guests' every wish can be fulfilled - dog walking, an in-room massage, a bath filled with champagne and strawberries or even a companion goldfish - though not, presumably, all at the same time.
Words by Terri Whitehead
