Montreal holiday house

We, a family of mum, dad, two kids under five and (young) grandparents, spent a great week in this very cosy and comfortable house in downtown Montreal.

The location couldn't be better - five minutes' walk from St Catherine's and a quick walk to several great restaurants (Chez la Mere Michel around the corner was great, as was the L'Autre Terrace a couple of blocks north). The house is very spacious, the beds are comfortable, there's a constant supply of hot water, and the whole atmosphere is very much home-from-home. The art on the walls and the huge 'lived-in' leather sofas lent a funky, but homely, touch. The kids loved watching the trains right across the road (there is no noise from the track, owing to very efficient double or triple glazing).

Small quibbles would be the ancient dishwasher (which flooded the kitchen - apparently not for the first time - and was then the subject of much intensive care by the fabulous maintenance team over the next day or two - hint, get a new one!) and the lack of a washing machine. However, who goes on holiday to cook haute cuisine, and there is a great laundromat on St Catherine's to take care of that laundry pile.

The staff at the Auberge (just a few doors along the road) were very helpful and friendly, and it was good to know that there was someone on hand to help if something went wrong.

We would, most definitely, stay in this house again - we had a lovely, relaxing holiday. It was our first visit to Montreal and we hope not our last.