The Real Deal: Stay one night and get 50 percent off a second night at 25 area hotels; rates start at $108 per room for the first night.
When: Through Dec. 31, 2008.
The fine print: Does not include taxes of 16 percent. Based on double occupancy; single occupancy rates vary based on hotel. Breakfast is included at most properties. Requires a two-night minimum stay. Note that the 50 percent discount on the second night will appear only on the final invoice you receive upon checking out and not on your reservation confirmation. Some hotels will require a promo code; be sure to check with your choice of hotel before booking. Read these guidelines before you book any Real Deal.
Book by: No deadline; based on availability.
Contact: Tourisme Montréal, 877/266-5687, tourisme-montreal.org.
Why it's a deal: Rates start at Can$127 per room per night, which at press time was about $108. The Can$127 rate is for the Quality Inn Downtown and brings the total for a two-night stay to about Can$191 ($162). You'll save $51 through the Sweet Deal promotion, as a two-night stay would otherwise cost about Can$251 ($213).
Trip details: The Sweet Deal package is available through Tourisme Montréal.
Of the 25 participating hotels, the Quality Inn Downtown is the least expensive. The hotel is close to the Casino de Montreal and the Centre Bell, a concert venue. Daily continental breakfast is included.
As part of the Sweet Deal promotion, some hotels—including the Quality Inn Downtown—are offering other perks: a special gift upon arrival—most likely Sanguinelli Orange and Fennel Purifying Hand Wash (valued at Can$20)—two passes to the Casino de Montreal (a Can$40 value), and discounts for shopping and other area attractions.
Prices per room per night for Sweet Deal hotels go as high as Can$215 ($182) for the Hotel Nelligan, which offers daily breakfast and a nightly wine and cheese cocktail hour.
There's a lot going on in Montreal's art scene this fall. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is showing "Warhol Live", an exhibit that explores the roles of music and dance in the artist's work (through January 18, 2009). The Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal has the conversation-starter "Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967", which examines the relationship between avant-garde art and rock music during the past 40 years (through January 11, 2009). And beginning November 30, the Foundation for Contemporary Art will feature an exhibit by Christian Marclay called Replay. The collection is all video works; its centerpiece is "Video Quartet", an audio-video collage on four screens that strings together clips of old Hollywood films to create new songs.
Montreal's temperatures in the fall will vary between the mid 40s and the low 20s; be sure to pack layers. For more ideas on what to do, visit Tourisme Montréal's events page.
Getting there: In a recent Kayak search, we found the following round-trip airfares to Montreal in early November: $347 from New York City (Continental), $375 from Dallas (US Airways), $469 from Philadelphia (US Airways/Northwest), $475 from San Diego (Delta), $594 from Nashville (United), $621 from Portland, Ore. (United/Air Canada), and $665 from Atlanta (United).
