Name: Gite Gilbert
Address: 1901 Avenue Clinton, Montreal, Montreal, Montreal, H3S 1L2, Canada
Rating: 6

Location

St. Hubert Airport

Jean-Talon Market

Saint Joseph's Oratory

Jeanne-Mance Park

Mount Royal Park

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Saint Louis Square

Lafontaine Park

Dorchester Square

Museum of Contemporary Art

Cathedral-Basilica of Mary Queen of the World

Complexe Desjardins

Montreal Convention Centre

World Trade Center Montreal

Atwater Market

Champ de Mars

Notre Dame Basilica

Old Port

Bonsecours Market

Montreal Science Centre

Olympic Park

Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport

Mirabel International Airport

Gite Gilbert

Montreal

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

park access

The house is a wonderful nostalgic place located in a quiet Jewish district a bit far from the city center but close to the Mount Royal Park. Also the spacy room is nostalgic. The shower is small but works perfect.
Monica is a real friendly older lady who, although she talks a little much and is all alone, takes care of her guest very well. She makes the best of the breakfast. 
It was a nice stay, but the wifi is very, very slow.

Nostalgic house

The location is good, and the house is beautiful.  My room was very comfortable, and there is a nice sitting room on the upper floor.  The landlady sets a nice breakfast table.

The hospitality was not what I had hoped for.  Breakfast is in the kitchen, where there is seating for only five.  If more than five are staying, you may not be able to eat when you want.  The dining room which is shown in the photographs, and which connects to the kitchen, is apparently never used.

The landlady will talk to you endlessly.  History of the city, random facts about the neighborhood, isn't it nice to see the children outside, some people say ghosts.  One night she knocked on my door and insisted on telling me about the other guests who arrived that day.  She does not stop talking, and the only way to escape is to be rude.

Finally, she takes only cash, and she did not want honor the price quoted on booking.com.  There was a lot of nonsense about taxes which I had to sort out later by going to web sites put up by the Canadian tax authorities.   (Part of the problem was booking.com, which give me a total but did not itemize the taxes.)  At one point she showed me a blank piece of paper covered with numbers---no words---because she "likes to do things by hand."  I can only conclude that the convenience of her guests is secondary to her own convenience and comfort.

If you're very gregarious and want a landlady who is the same, this might be a good place for you.  For myself, even though the location is perfect, I won't be back.

Distractable and distracting landlady

I did a reservation, I called the owner to confirm my reservation a week before; she did not have idea about bookings or upcoming guests, but she said we will be welcome. However we thought it was a serious business with more people in charge, so we weren't worried.

We arrived after a long trip; family, friends and pets, but surprisingly no one was there, no one was in that house expecting guests. 

We were 7 ppl with dogs, surrounded of lots of snow with no hotel or a place to rest.  Montreal has a winter storm few days ago, but that house was full of it; no one has been there for a while! 

What a disrespectful business!! 

We had not WiFi, hotel or knew the city! Traffic was hell! And we expended the whole day trying to find a place to sleep. 

I learned she is an old lady, lonely in charge of that place, but she should just take rest and live her life instead ruining vacations of others!

Unbelievable Nightmare

Im to sure where to start on this review. Were arrived at this beautiful old house in a nice area. Parked on the drive and knocked on the door. An old lady came to the door rather startled and clearly wasn't expecting us even though we'd booked. After i showed her the booking and our passports we were eventually let in. The room was nice with a very small ensuite bathroom. My wife asked her for some towels and we were given 1. 
There was no key for the room although the bed was very comfortable, we seriously considered leaving but my wife didn't want to drive around a strange city in the dark. Breakfast was also a very bizarre affair, with old cereal, strange bread and strawberries. 
We couldn't wait to get out of there and would defiantly not go back.

Strangest place

What a fiasco: I was left with no place to sleep. 
I came into the city to meet up with friends who were passing through. Instead of enjoying a pleasant visit of Mount Royal in the afternoon, my friends spent over one hour sitting in a hot car outside this B&B, while I tried to check-in.

Here is what happened with Gite Gilbert on Thursday:

Two days before I arrived, I phoned the owner, Monica, in order to discuss the check-in time. We specifically agreed that I would pick up the key between 3 and 6pm on arrival day. I was booked in for a room for a single occupancy.

I arrived at Gite Gilbert at around 3:30. Monica did not answer the door, despite repeated tries at ringing the doorbell. The door was locked. I tried several times to call and was shunted each time to a message, which stated that there was no voicemail. We were parked in a hot car in front of the B&B all this time, while I tried to connect with the owner.

Since traffic is quite heavy in Montreal and we were now into rush hour, I really wanted to proceed with the check-in that we had agreed upon, instead of returning later to try my luck. This, after all, was a confirmed booking with an agreed-upon arrival time.

I called customer support forBooking .com asking for help, while still in front of the B&B. The call center rep tried reaching the owner and was only getting the same voicemail message as I did. After several tries, she got through and spoke with Monica. Monica told the rep that she would open the door for me.

Monica, the owner, was confused as to who I was. I told her and reminded her of the phone call about my arrival. Then she said "yes, I know that you were arriving". I told her that I had been trying for at least a half hour to get in (although it was actually more than 45 minutes). Her response made absolutely no sense - about not being near the phone, not being home, not hearing the doorbell, and of being 'on the phone'. She was dressed in soiled clothes and was dishevelled. 

Starting right then, I got the impression that the state that she was in was not because I had interrupted some task or even a nap, but more because of advanced-age senility - a "bad day".

When I stepped into the home, an overwhelming scent of dog pee permeated the place. I told her, uncomfortably, that the house smelled strongly of urine. She explained that she has an old dog with kidney problems and I was told that I "should be understanding about this".

I asked to see the room and explained that I would not stay if the room smelled like the rest of the house. We were still standing in the stinky foyer. The conversation became even more surreal: she wanted to know who the people in my car were, then kept assuring me that "there is no smell at all upstairs" and that "you could see the room when you come back later". 

I had a very difficult time getting her to show me the room upstairs. I finally told her that I would be really stuck without a place to sleep that night, but that I had, by now, serious doubts about staying with her. Only when she realized that I was serious about not staying, did she agree to show me the room.

We went upstairs. To be fair, the room with a double bed was OK, with only a musty smell. Since I was really stuck, and only needed a place to sleep, I figured that I would skip breakfast downstairs the next day. I could come straight up later, then straight out the door in the morning. I thought that I could handle the dog pee stink, if I just rushed through the smelly downstairs on the way in and out.

So I agreed to take the room, while we were standing in it. We discussed the price of $96 with taxes, which of itself was another bizarre conversation (she collects sales taxes, above the agreed on room price of $80, but does not issue receipts). 

I gave her $100 in cash (Monica does not accept credit cards). She again tried to engage me in conversation (about my friends), and again I told her that they were waiting in the car outside and that I really must get going. I asked for the key that I came for.

She diverted the question with a ramble about giving me my change. I told her the change could wait until morning. I asked again for the key. Then she asked about were my friends were staying. I said that they were staying with other friends nearby. I asked yet again for the key and, by then, was regretting the $100 still in her outstretched hand.

She finally told me that she would not give me a key. I said to her that we had talked about this over the phone: I was supposed to pick up the key, so that I can return later that evening after having dinner with my friends. She explained that she waits until all the guests have left to sort out the keys. That she hadn't sorted the keys yet. That she was planning on sorting out the keys during the evening.

I had no patience left. None. 
I had been in this senile woman's company now for over 20 minutes.

I said to her: "Are you kidding me?? You expect me to pay you, not get a key, then hope that you will open the door for me at 10pm???" 

She told me that she was always home and that it would not be a problem for me to get back in, because she would open the door.

I told her that I could not count on that. That it had been a circus just trying to get in already. That, no, I cannot count on her to open the door. That I fully expected a key, because I did not want to be stuck at night, alone, without being able to get in. That we had already agreed that I would come by to pick up that key.

I had had enough. 
I literally snatched the $100 out of her hand and headed down the stairs and out the door. She was still yelling at me as I left.

I felt horrible doing this. But her senility and incontinent dog are not my problem. I am a client of a B&B, where I expect a certain standard of cleanliness, a decent sleep, where I can feel safe and not uncomfortable. It is past the time for Monica to quit the business. I feel ashamed that she forces guests to feel guilty about her situation.

I am an older woman and a seasoned world traveller. This is the worst experience that I have had with a family-run operation, ever. I am ashamed that such an "establishment" operates literally in my backyard. Online booking agencies should also be ashamed of endorsing this B&B, through the simple act of listing this property.

I would seriously also question the food safety aspect of the breakfast that she serves, if she is having a "bad day". My mother is getting to be exactly like Monica, and my brother and I regularly check her fridge, because we have to...

Do not reserve this place. Monica should retire for good.

Gite Gilbert

Location

Available rooms

Location

Conditions of accommodation

Conditions of accommodation

Additional information

Payment

Payment

For corporate clients