I checked my Apple map. This seemed to be the right place. But where was my hotel?
My wife and I were booked for two nights at Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame in Old Montreal. Our Uber driver stopped on Rue Notre Dame, just steps from Notre-Dame Basilica, but I didn’t see our hotel. I know enough French to understand Le Petit means small hotel, but I literally couldn’t see it.
Finally, I spotted a small (ahem) sign in a window of a building on the north side of the street that said “Petit Hotel.”
We got our carry-on bags and pushed the door open. But, instead of a hotel lobby, we have stepped into a coffee shop. There was a shiny espresso machine at the end of a long counter, and I could smell the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee.
“Sorry,” I said to a young woman behind the counter. “Can you tell me where I’d find Le Petit Hotel?””
“This is it,” a nice young woman behind the counter answered. She waited a split second.
“Don’t worry, it happens all the time.”
It turns out that the lobby of this gem of a property in Old Montreal is both a coffee shop AND a hotel check-in counter. It’s a great feature, but you don’t have to be connoisseur of cappuccino to appreciate this stylish, super-intimate 17-room hotel in the heart of Old Montreal.
The coffee bar/check-in desk at Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame in Montreal, Quebec. Jim Byers Photo
Located a stone’s throw from Notre-Dame Basilica, the hotel is part of the Gray Collection, which includes the swanky and superbly designed William Gray Hotel, Auberge du Vieux-Port and other boutique properties in the old part of the city. They also own a handful of restaurants.
They’re all run by the Antopoulous Group, which was founded by brothers Costa and Tony Antonopoulos shortly after they arrived in Canada from Greece. Their holdings gradually expanded, and Costa and his children created the Gray Collection brand in 2022.
Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame is their latest offering. Rooms feature exposed brick walls from an historic building that formerly housed shops and a small factory.
“We painstakingly cleaned the bricks one by one,” an employee told me on a tour.
Some rooms face the street, but others are tucked towards the back of the building. One room we spotted at the back had a particularly wide and long entrance and more space than ours did, but didn’t have the view.
Our fourth-floor room (rooms come in “small, “medium” and “large” and range 220 to 375 square feet) had large windows looking out on Rue Notre Dame. There was no closet, but we had plenty of hangers in an open storage area, as well as a mini-fridge, a large-screen TV, and a lovely Bluetooth speaker that I used briefly to crank up a little Leonard Cohen.
The small bathroom was well arranged and featured high-end Le Labo bath products. The shower features four or five nozzles arranged vertically. The hot water came on immediately, and the shower has considerable oomph, which is both fabulous and rare. Just watch where you aim those nozzles.
A room at Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame in Montreal, Quebec. Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame Photo
There’s no room for a big desk in a boutique hotel like this, which is tricky for a guy who uses his laptop a few hours each day. But they have a nice breakfast room with plenty of room to work, and a small lobby area where you can plug in (and drink a free latte).
This being Montreal, breakfast is included in your bill. In addition to the great java, guests enjoy Montreal bagels, fresh fruit, yogurt, deli meats and other treats in the morning. You can order a glass of wine in the lobby of the hotel at night.
The aesthetic is very European, and it’s understandable that they don’t want to cram too much into small-ish rooms. But the drinking glasses were borderline tiny, and the waste baskets in the bathroom downright Lilyputian.
Still, the warm staff, the cool design and the superb location make this a terrific option for a couple nights in one of the world’s great cities.
“One reason we love doing work in Old Montreal is you have these old buildings,” Dimitri Antopoulous, the unassuming president of the Gray Collection, told me in an interview. “You take advantage of the natural beauty; the brick walls, the stone walls. We try to mix that old feeling with more of a modern feel. We only have one small painting per room as we don’t want the design to take away from the building’s natural beauty.”
The lobby at Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame in Montreal, Quebec. Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame Photo
The family also prefers smaller, boutique properties.
“I tell my team that at the end of the day you have the advantage of saying ‘hello, good morning, good afternoon,’ to every guest and to ask how their day was. That’s what people are looking for.”
Antopoulous told me he’s not sure where the lobby coffee bar idea came from, but that he might have seen it at a hotel in New York City.
“I love coffee. I used to love Nespresso machines (in a hotel room), but now that doesn’t cut it for me,” he said with a laugh. “So, I like the idea of a coffee bar in the lobby.”
Not only is at a nice feature for guests, it helps bring nearby workers or residents into the hotel and creates a local connection.
Given potential surprises and building code issues, it’s not always easy building a hotel in Old Montreal. But the family is building another inn just down the street a few meters. They also own Hotel Metcalfe in Ottawa.
Antopoulous said he wouldn’t rule out other cities.
Dimitri Antopoulous, Gray Collection.
“We might do more in Ottawa; perhaps Quebec City. Toronto has every expensive real estate. I wouldn’t say we’re close to any opportunities there right now.”
STAY asked Antopoulous about the hotel’s target audience.
“At first we thought it was a younger market,” he said. “But we soon realized it’s not a matter of age. It’s more about what the customer is looking for.
“I think intimacy is the key. It’s that extra level of personalized service. It’s not like we take the staff aside and say, ‘Okay, here’s your clients today; say their names three times.’ It’s more of a natural, unscripted type of service.
“Because we’re so small, we definitely want our staff to be extra welcoming and make sure they talk to everybody. That’s what people come back for.
“After we had been open a while (the hotel opened its doors early in 2025) we searched online comments. What kept coming up was ‘I’ve never had this kind of service.’ I’m not saying this to brag, but that’s what people are excited about. They like the coffee and the rooms and the showers and the breakfast, but what kept coming up in their comment was the service.”
Terrasse restaurant at the William Gray Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Jim Byers Photo
The Gray Collection is a decidedly family affair. Three of Dimitri’s sisters are involved in the business and handle sales, guest experience, marketing and other tasks. Their Dad, Costa, also remains involved in the business and is often seen poking his head into the company’s restaurants and hotels.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
A new courthouse is being built next door to the hotel, so there will be some construction noise for a few more months, or perhaps longer. But I didn’t hear any hammering until later in the morning, and workers seemingly put their down tools by 5 p.m. or so.
Le Petit Hotel Notre Dame guests can use the gym and spa at the William Gray Hotel.
There’s no on-site restaurant, but there are tons of places to eat a short walk away. We had a lovely dinner at the Gray Collection’s Gaspar restaurant one night, including nice cocktails a small but perfect order of duck confit. The other night we dined on the patio at Terrasse, the stunning rooftop restaurant at their William Gray Hotel, where we enjoyed very good steak frites and tender sea bass.
There’s free coffee in the lobby, but a guest can order a Nespresso machine from the front desk if they wish one in their room.
GETTING THERE
I flew from Toronto Pearson to Montreal Trudeau Airport on Air Canada, with high speed, reliable Wi-Fi all the way (free for Aeroplan members).
