Rue Saint-Paul in Old Montreal is one of my favourite streets in the entire city. Every time I walk it, I feel like I’m in Paris. It’s adorably narrow, lined on both sides with 19th Century stone buildings and every so often, walking along, I hear the lovely clip-clop sound of a horse-drawn carriage beside me.

It was inevitable that some genius would plonk a hotel down here. Lucky for us, that establishment turned out to be the charming Le Petit Hotel.

Inside Le Petit Hotel

Le Petit Hotel is proof that good things often come in small packages. True to its name, this boutique hotel has just 24 rooms scattered over four floors, but even the smallest ones have plenty of room to stretch out.

Also, compared to most of the other hotels in Old Montreal, Le Petit Hotel is very reasonably priced with rooms starting at $138 low season and $188 in the high season (including continental breakfast).

I was delighted to see whoever designed the place managed to both preserve the building’s 19th Century good looks and give it a tasteful update. The overall style is modern and chic (each room has honey-coloured bamboo flooring, white walls and linens, dark furniture, and a single funky orange lounge chair) but there are also plenty of gorgeous, exposed stone walls, most notably in the lobby.

Impressive Amenities

Le Petit Hotel isn’t stuck in the 19th Century either. Rooms are outfitted with flat-screen TVs, iPod docks and the largest rooms event have Wii Fit systems. I was a bit disappointed to see that there was no bathtub but the multi-jet massage shower more than made up for it.

Some of my favourite touches were the free wifi (I love it when they do that) and the Aveda bath products. I also think it’s pretty cute that the rooms are sized the same way t-shirts are: S, M, L, XL.

The best part? Now, when anyone asks me where to stay in Montreal, I can reply, “Oh, I know this great little place...”