Hotel Monville

Montreal is perhaps best known for its picturesque historic district, its cobblestone streets lined with heritage buildings, including the 18th-century structure that conceals the thoroughly contemporary Hotel Gault. For a follow-up, the Gault’s owners have decided to play even more against Montreal’s type with the towering, ultra-modern Hotel Monville, a hotel that’s drawn nearly as much attention for its forward-looking architecture as for its futuristic amenities — specifically, its robot room service.

Yes, you read that right. Room service is delivered by a sort of anthropomorphic Roomba, whose retro styling makes the experience less bizarre than it might otherwise be. Meanwhile the rooms are minimalistic, largely monochrome, but warm and bright thanks to their touchable organic textures and their vast full-length windows. Space is at something of a premium, at least until you get into the suites, but comforts like espresso machines and king beds ensure comfort doesn’t suffer unduly. If, come mealtime, you’d rather not wait for the robot, you’ll find a restaurant with a menu that takes liberal inspiration from multicultural Montreal, as well as a café and lounge that does double duty as a co-working space, and a stylish cocktail bar to cap things off.