These wheelchair access and travel notes refer to the Marriott Chateau Champlain, located in central Montreal just a few blocks from Rue St. Catherine. This is an older building and the rooms have a certain charm as a result.
The hotel is situated in an area with some fairly steep hills so be careful if you plan to do a lot of walking. But it is uphill to the main shopping/dining area so at least you have a downhill ride home!
There are many step to the front entrance. The wheelchair ramp is hard to spot, hidden off to the left and leading to a second door. Inside, the bar, restaurant and shopping mall are all on the ground floor and have level access. There is an elevator straight from the lobby to the metro - but that's not a whole lot of use since the metro is not wheelchair accessible (with the exception of 5-6 stations).
My room was medium sized, not large. Being older, it lacked some of the custom wheelchair touches you would expect, but it was perfectly adequate for me and rated 3.5 stars out of 5 for wheelchair friendliness.
There was plenty of circulation space.
The workdesk was a little small but usable. Electric sockets in the desk lamp (2) were easy to reach. In room wifi (free) was good. TV controls were left in easy reach. Coffeemaker and mini-bar easy to reach also.
The air-conditioning controls were difficult to reach because they were set high on the wall, but were usable.
The bed was a little high but transfers in and out were not difficult. Bedside light easy to reach from the bed, but the room lights could not be turned off from in bed (so remember to turn them off before getting out of your chair!). Closet was a good size and a comfortable height for hanging clothes.
Bathroom was large with plenty of turning space. Toilet was of the raised ADA compliant type. The grab-rails were a little too high and far away for comfort. Sink was also high but with plenty of knee space underneath and it was comfortable to use. My room had a bath rather than a roll-in shower. The shower rose was hand-held and mounted on a rail that was too high to reach when seated in the bath (although would be okay with a shower seat). The bell-boy who .brought my bags up offered me a shower seat without being asked - the first time that's ever happened to me. I declined as I prefer to operate without one. The grab rails around bath are too high for comfort. Towels were placed at a comfortable height and easily accessible. A nice touch is that the bath had an old-fashioned circular thermometer to tell you what temperature the water was at!
The hotel is a full-service hotel and welcoming. Definitely an option for a wheelchair user in Montreal.
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