Sonolux hotel Montreal – photo by Carole Jobin
Montreal’s new SonoLux Hotel offers a seamless entrance to what it calls its ‘living space’, or art hotel. Both names fit.
The discreet experience begins on the street, where only a small sign reading ‘SonoLux’ indicates that you are about to enter a hotel. Sliding doors open into the restaurant area, where video exhibitions by local visual artists, covering the entire wall space to your left and right, begin.
Self-check in counter in the reception area. Photo by Carole Jobin.
Introduction
Behind the restaurant is the self-check-in area where two computer screens await you. This “reception area” is tiny, even if it can be called a reception area at all, since there are only 36 rooms in the hotel.
Why call the hotel a ‘living space’? “Art exhibits, culinary experiences, and musical explorations all invite you to connect with the creations, with other guests, and with yourself,” or so explains the brochure at the check-in. The brochure is as much an art gallery guide as it is an explanation of the eight video presentations, one for each floor.
The hotel, located in the former National Trust Company building, straddles the old financial district and the Old Port of Montreal. It is a fine example of a repurposed building.
One of the 36 hotel rooms in SonoLux. Photo by Carole Jobin
Rooms
The rooms are minimally decorated and chic, with warm earth-tone colors and only a few amenities. I’m talking a nifty Nespresso machine, basic toiletry kits, and a fridge.
Each room has two features not always available elsewhere. First, there is a den facing the windows that can be closed off with floor-to-ceiling curtains. With its own table and two sofa chairs, this provides a private area separate from the bedroom.
The heated ‘Japanese’ toilet, aka smart toilet, is one of the few I’ve ever seen in Canada. Once you’ve tried it, you realize it’s all you’ll ever need!
This feature also reminded me why staying at a hotel is so much fun. You spoil yourself with features unlikely to be found at home.
Your television set displays one of the visual artists’ creations, and as soon as you leave your room, you are confronted by four reclaimed cinema seats inviting you to watch the art video on the screen on your floor.
‘To Soften Our Fall’ by Katherine Melançon. #6892. Photo by Carole Jobin.
Restaurant
Along with the eye-pleasing visuals, taste buds are entertained at the LUMI restaurant, where dinners and breakfasts are served. We enjoyed the self-serve ‘eye-opener’ breakfast, where healthy juices (melon-carrot) were served with excellent pastries, made on site. Non-gluten items were available if ordered a day in advance.
Basement lounge ‘Subterra’ features a listening bar. Photo by Carole Jobin
Cocktails
For audio pleasure, the entire hotel is extremely quiet in a velvety, felty way, but this all changes at the basement Subterra, which the hotel lists as a ‘listening bar’. I understand the designation, but it also could be termed a ‘speakeasy’, where you can get a cocktail, an original creation by barkeep Clément Wallas.
You can reserve a spot, but this isn’t always necessary.
Operating out of the former bank’s vault, DJs visit, bringing in their own eclectic vinyl collections. In fact, the contents of their vinyl is how they are hired! Jazz discs are played on Wednesday and Thursday nights, with the B side featuring popular music from the 60s and 70s. This gives the wrong idea, though. I recognized many of the tunes (rare gems might be a better description). DJ Fred Everything hosts the evening along with a guest DJ.
At the end of my two-night visit, I started to take in the hotel brochure’s claim of ‘stepping into the exhibit, and slowly dialing down one’s tempo, taking time to revisit a piece (of art) and allowing an idea or feeling to deepen.
‘Savage by Lisa Jackson’. #6781. Photo by Carole Jobin.
Final Thoughts
No special packages exist at SonoLux, except that, as an art-immersive hotel, its exhibits change every 6 months, with each floor featuring a different exhibit. On our floor was a visual ‘chat’, and each floor had creations of very different themes.
No animals are allowed, only service animals. The emphasis is on a very discreet experience, touching many of the senses.
There is no gym, but there is an agreement with a guy across the street who lets guests use it free of charge.
Cost
Low season varies between $150-$300 per night. High season prices vary between $350-$600 per night.
Check rates for SonoLux Hotel online at Expedia, Booking.com, Agoda.com, or Hotels.com.
There is no parking, but a covered, public parking lot exists in front of the hotel. I would recommend leaving your car there for the length of your stay. Walk or take the subway with several entrances in the close vicinity.
Nearby
The hotel is near the Museum of Archeology and History, Places des Arts and the Bell Centre. You are very close to the Old Port of Montreal and the Notre-Dame Basilica.
Hotel feature by Quebec City-based travel writer Bruce Sach, Photos@Carole Jobin. Sonolux arranged for his visit to the hotel. As always, his thoughts and opinions are his own.
