This property, known as Les Studios Hotels, is a dorm at the Universite de Montreal that is rented to tourists during summer when school is not in session. While the photos on the website make it look airy and cheery, the rooms are in reality quite grim. I was attending a conference at U de M, and this dorm was recommended.

Upon first checking in I felt I had made a huge mistake. I do not have high standards for hotels, but the room was dark, dank, stuffy, tiny, dusty, smelly, and just plain ugly. There is shared bath. There are ten rooms to a floor with a women's and a men's bathroom on each floor. Each bathroom has only a single toilet and two shower stalls. A single toilet is not enough, and I had to wait in line several times. However, each room has a sink so you can brush your teeth and wash your face in private.

Rooms do not have air conditioning but are equipped with a fan. The biggest mercy is that the windows open. I kept my window open the entire time, which dissipated the unpleasant dank and stuffy smell. While it was hot some of the time I was visiting, I was on the north side of the building and therefore didn't get hot air coming through the window so the temperature was pleasant without the fan.

Rooms have a refrigerator, and each floor has a lounge with microwave.

Internet is wired and available for an extra charge.

The bed is a hard rubber futon-type mattress with a single plastic-coated pillow. Towel and face cloth are provided.

There is no fitness center, but you can pay $8 to work out at the nearby university gym.

Staff is bilingual and willing to speak English (and to put up with my very bad French). There is a dedicated phone to call a taxi in the front lobby area.

The dorm is a five minute walk from two metro stations (Universite de Montreal and Edouard-Monpetit, both on the Blue line), from which the rest of the city is easily accessible. There is also a Bixi bike rental stand at the Marie-Casgrain dorm building.

After a day or two I became accustomed to the room and no longer felt that it was an absolute misery to stay there, and my final rating is that the price ($40/night) made the stay worth it. However, if you have high, or even moderate, standards you will probably not be happy here.

This Hotel was a Dump and about 10 Miles from Downtown Montreal