Hello fellow Fodorites. My pregnant wife and I will be driving to Montreal and Quebec City from NYC for Winter Carnaval 10 days from now. I have a tentative plan, but I've been nervous about it and I'm hoping for some guidance.
Montreal 2 nts--Westin--we would prefer to stay somewhere with more charm, but thought it would be preferable to be in a hotel with a direct entrance to the RESO. Of those that are, this one seems best. I've never been to Montreal before, can you tell me if I'm overestimating the importance of this feature?
Quebec City 3 nts--Fairmont--while I'm told that Montreal has more to do, it will be the weekend of Winter Carnival so we thought that staying here a bit longer would be a good idea. Would love some feedback.
Montreal 1 nt--Westin again, same question. The reason for splitting the time like this is that from NY it's 6 hours to Montreal and another 3 to QC. We want to avoid a 9 hour drive either way.
Another question, if you please, we have a Ford Fusion sedan and thought we would drive that to Montreal and rent a 4wd to go to QC with. Any thoughts on whether this makes sense or whether it would be necessary to rent the 4wd for the entire trip or not at all?
Leaving soon so any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks much.
Hotel in Montreal in February
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The Westin is very centrally locatedin the downtown. I'm not sure if being near the underground city would be my highest priority (it's basically a huge complex of shopping malls). However in winter this could be an option if the weather turns nasty. My favorite part of Montreal is the plateau area, but again if the weather is bad, walking around outside might be trying. I think the Westin would be fine. there are many chain type hotels up on Sherbrooke like the Sheraton, Delta,etc which are also quite nice. montreals old city has lots of charm, but it's a bit isolated in the winter. as for needing a 4wd, I dont think its really necessary providing you have good winter tires on your car. ii see more 4wd cars here in New Hampshire than I do in Montreal. The main highway from Montreal to QC is flat and well travelled, and should be fine.
Thanks for the reply zootsi. Happy to hear your thoughts on the Underground City. I feel less confined in hotel choices. We don't have snow tires on the car, so I think we'll rent a standard car from Montreal to QC. Some have suggested the rail, but it's pretty pricey. Any thoughts on Place d'Armes hotel?