Montreal Hotel Tips by jadedmuse

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth: Give Peace a Chance Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Review

This is one of the most fabulous hotels you could ever hope to stay in - it's considered one of the top 500 hotels in the world. (I only wish I had a photo of it - though it wouldn't do it justice because from the street, it just looks like any commercial high rise building.)

The QE is perfectly positioned in Downtown Montreal so that if you stay there during the winter and it's bitter cold out, you never have to set foot outside. It has access to the wonderful "underground" city of Montreal which is a shopper's delight. And even if you do want to venture to rue St. Laurent or maybe have a meal on Bleury or Crescent St., it's a quick and easy cab ride away.

Unique Qualities: There is plenty that sets apart this amazing hotel, but for me, perhaps the most noteworthy aspect is this: The John Lennon/Yoko Ono Suite!

That's right - the famous weekend "Bed-In" took place in none other than the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal in May of 1969! Protesting the Viet Nam War, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a peaceful demonstration via their hotel suite which is where Lennon wrote the lyrics to "Give Peace a Chance".

Today, you can purchase the "Bed-In for Peace" package for $500 a night which includes an overnight stay in their famous suite, a souvenir photo of the 1969 event, breakfast for two and a bottle of sparkling wine.

OR you can do what I did (it's kind of unorthodox but I say go for it anyways): ask to speak with the Sales Manager. Express interest in seeing the suite because you are considering staying in it. If the staff isn't too busy and the suite is unoccupied at the moment, you'll be escorted through the suite where you'll see all kinds of memorabilia including photos of the Bed-In, how the room was arranged (Lennon and Ono pushed their king size bed directly under one of the windows facing out over the street where below, thousands of fans and fellow protestors kept a vigil), news articles and all kinds of stuff relating to that crazy weekend.

My husband is a huge Beatles fan so this was a real treat when we spent a weekend in Montreal a few years back. We were completely stoked and even chatted with one of the older bellhops who gave us further details of that weekend - he was on duty when it happened....a living, walking piece of history!

Address: 900 Blvd Rene Levesque West

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: Right across from Place Ville St. Marie and the Eaton Centre, in the heart of downtown

Other Contact: queenelizabeth.hotel@fairmont.co

Phone: 514-861-3511

Price: US$120-180

Theme: Hotel

Website: http://www.fairmont.com/FA/en/CDA/Home/Hotels/AboutHotel/CDHotelHomePage/0,1143,code%25255Ftype%253DMEET%2526property%25255Fseq%253D100101,00.html