As the host hotel for numerous editions of Divers/Cite, as well as BBCM’s Black and Blue, the Gouverneur has been, for many years, the command center for all things gay. To stay at the Gouverneur during a circuit weekend or Pride festival is a little like being on an all-gay cruise, where breakfast is a feast of table-hopping and eavesdropping, as everyone conducts post-mortems about the night before.
If these walls could talk – which is one good reason why the hotel’s 352 rooms are newly-renovated. The four-star Gouverneur looks better than ever – and particularly the 59 rooms on the Business floors.
Located on the private executive floors (you must key the elevator) atop the thirty-story building, the Gouverneur’s Business Rooms are spacious, modern aeries, with massive movie screen windows overlooking the city or the St. Lawrence river. The hotel’s west side affords a bird’s eye view onto the Parc Emilie-Gamelin (site of Divers/Cite’s Sunset Party and Le Grand Bal) directly below – and at night, Montreal’s skyline shimmers like a disco ceiling.
Not to put ideas into your head, but the walk-in glass shower could easily hold six. Don’t linger too long – or you’ll miss the hearty breakfast buffet served at the Gouverneur’s in-house restaurant, le Vignoble. If you park yourself at a table overlooking Sainte Catherine Street, you’ll be witness to the Walks of Shame of all your friends crawling out of Stereo at ten a.m. Bring your camera and cackle with delight as you fortify yourself with fresh fruit and pancakes, as well as baked beans and fried potatoes, for another day of Montreal music.
There’s also a fitness center, as well as a pool, which enables you to exercise (and ogle) to your heart’s content.
The staff at the Gouverneur is friendly and helpful (and easy on the eye), working to insure that you feel as comfortable at the hotel as you would at home – or on a gay cruise, for that matter. Perfectly located at the entrance to the Village, the Gouverneur is as welcoming as the rainbow flag.
