Bedding Down Bizarrely: Unusual Places to Stay in Montreal That Will Make Your Friends Question Your Judgment

Five Categories Of Unusual Places To Stay In Montreal That Will Raise Eyebrows At Your Next Dinner Party

Montreal’s accommodation scene has evolved beyond predictable hotel formulas into something resembling an architectural fever dream. The following unusual places to stay in Montreal represent the city’s most characterful, occasionally bewildering, overnight options—places where checking in feels like joining a secret society dedicated to sleeping strangely.

Holy Sleep: Converted Religious Buildings

Le Petit Hôtel in Old Montreal stands as a temple to commerce converted to comfort. This former 19th-century bank building wasn’t technically religious, though its 17-foot ceilings and cathedral-like windows suggest otherwise. Starting at $189 nightly, guests sleep surrounded by exposed stone walls dating from 1867, when Canada was just learning to crawl as a country. The historical ambiance comes without historical plumbing—a crucial upgrade for modern travelers.

Located a mere two-minute walk from Notre-Dame Basilica, this hotel offers breakfast that approaches religious quality—featuring Montreal bagels so fresh they make New York’s finest seem like yesterday’s communion wafers. American travelers familiar with Boston’s Liberty Hotel (a converted prison) will appreciate this space’s similar historical gravitas without the unsettling legacy of incarceration. The original bank vault now serves as a wine cellar, representing perhaps history’s most agreeable funds transfer.

Float Your Boat: Water-Adjacent and Floating Accommodations

For travelers seeking gentle rocking that doesn’t involve questionable nightclub decisions, Bota Bota spa-sur-l’eau delivers nautical slumbers on a converted river ferry permanently moored on the St. Lawrence River. Day passes start at $45, while overnight packages from $275 include unlimited access to five decks of Nordic baths—hot tubs that remain 102F even when winter temperatures plunge to -13F, creating steam clouds visible from shore like some mystical floating fortress.

For the insider advantage, book weekday appointments for 30% lower rates and significantly fewer fellow bathers. The ferry’s panoramic windows frame Old Montreal’s skyline with postcard precision—a living gallery of 18th-century architecture impossible to appreciate from conventional hotel windows. Unlike Seattle’s houseboat communities where neighbors can practically pass coffee through adjacent windows, the Eco Lodges on Lac des Deux Montagnes (30 minutes from downtown, $150-220 nightly) offer floating isolation that makes you feel like Quebec’s last survivor.

Time Travel: Retro and Themed Hotels

Hotel Épik’s Carriage House transports guests to the 18th century—an era before internet connectivity became a human right. This former stable once housed horses for Montreal’s elite; now it houses tourists for $175-250 nightly. The stone walls are thick enough to have withstood centuries of Montreal winters and sufficient to muffle the sounds of modern Old Port revelry. Its proximity to Pointe-à-Callière Museum places guests precisely at Montreal’s birthplace, sleeping atop layers of archaeological significance.

For different temporal displacement, the Montreal Casino’s hotel features themed rooms based on different decades—from 1920s Art Deco to 1970s disco nightmares, priced between $240-400 nightly. While conceptually similar to Las Vegas themed properties, these rooms have “significantly fewer people wearing fanny packs” and design elements reflecting Québécois interpretations of historical periods. The savvy traveler books Sunday through Thursday for 40% discounts and specifically requests corner rooms, which offer double the windows and escape routes from chronological confusion.

Sleep With Art: Artist-Designed Accommodations

Hotel10’s Artwork Suites transform sleep into a gallery experience, with rooms designed by local Québécois artists who apparently reject restful color palettes. Priced from $195-350 nightly, each space features purchasable artwork—allowing guests to literally buy pieces of their vacation experience and ship them home as oversized, expensive souvenirs. The hotel sits at the crossroads of the Plateau and Downtown, Montreal’s equivalent to New York’s SoHo before corporate retail discovered it.

Within walking distance, over 300 wall murals decorate the Plateau neighborhood, creating an indoor-outdoor art continuum for aesthetically minded travelers. Alternatively, Alt Hotel’s rotating gallery rooms ($150-215 nightly) change artistic themes quarterly, ensuring repeat visitors never experience déjà vu. Insider tip: request rooms facing away from Boulevard René-Lévesque for 50% noise reduction, as Montreal traffic sounds are among the city’s least appealing artistic expressions. These unusual places to stay in Montreal offer cultural immersion that standard hotel art—typically selected to match sofa upholstery—simply cannot provide.

Eco-Dreams: Sustainable and Green Stays

Zéro Hôtel operates with self-righteous carbon neutrality that somehow avoids becoming insufferable. Priced reasonably at $120-180 nightly, the property’s rainwater collection system saves 1.2 million gallons annually—approximately one day’s worth of tears shed by environmental scientists reviewing climate data. The solar-powered amenities and locally-sourced bamboo bedding create guilt-free comfort for environmentally conscious travelers.

Boxotel’s modular micro-hotel rooms ($145-210 nightly) deliver minimal environmental footprints alongside minimal square footage. Comparable to Portland’s tiny home hotels but with “French Canadian flair and fewer beards,” these spaces maximize efficiency while minimizing wastefulness. Book their rooftop garden rooms for private urban greenspace—a luxury in densely packed Montreal where summer sidewalks overflow with humanity seeking sunshine after hibernating through winter.

Both properties offer convenient access to Jean-Talon Market, North America’s largest open-air market, where locavores can calculate food miles on their fingers rather than calculators. The proximity to Montreal’s extensive Metro system (4 of 5 unusual stays sit within 10 minutes of stations) further reduces environmental impact, as rental cars become unnecessary expenditures rather than travel requirements.

Practical Considerations For The Impractically Housed

Montreal averages 83 inches of snow annually—a measurement that sounds less threatening until you’re standing in it. These unusual accommodations have adapted accordingly, though floating options occasionally cancel during January ice floes that would challenge polar bears. Most historic buildings have retrofitted heating systems that prevent guests from becoming attractive but temporary ice sculptures.

Language considerations matter when booking directly with French-speaking owners. Learning phrases beyond “bonjour” and “merci” pays dividends, particularly “Y a-t-il un fantôme dans cette chambre?” (Is there a ghost in this room?)—a legitimate concern in 300-year-old structures. Most unusual places to stay in Montreal aren’t listed on major booking platforms, requiring direct contact through individual websites or, occasionally, actual telephone calls—that ancient communication method involving real-time conversation.

Accessibility concerns plague many historic buildings, with narrow staircases and uneven floors challenging mobility-impaired travelers. The eco-lodges and newer conversions typically offer better accessibility options, though even they struggle with Montreal’s topography—a landscape that seems specifically designed to challenge wheelchair users and anyone who’s ever twisted an ankle.