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L'Auberge Chez Jean

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Address
4136 rue Henri Julien, Montreal   Map
Price
Location/Contact
Details
Their Description

Features

  • Free Breakfast
  • Kitchen
  • 24 Hour Free Hot Showers
  • Washing Machine (laundry)
  • Lounge / Common space
  • Phones (public or in room)
  • Travel information provided
  • Currency Exchange
  • Bike Rental
 
The Hostelz.com Review
L'Auberge Chez Jean is a hostel made up of a few rooms in an apartment building. It's a friendly, social place, and it really is more like staying in a (crowded) apartment than a hostel.

The Location

It's a five minute walk from the Sherbrooke subway station which will take you pretty much anywhere in the city, and it's a short walk from many restaurants and markets. China town and the Latin quarter are about a fifteen minute walk away, and you can reach Old Town in 30 minutes or so. The neighborhood is quiet, pleasant and safe, only a few blocks away from Rue Saint-Denis, a major street that runs downtown with lots of shopping, some nightlife, and seasonal festivals.

Rooms & Facilities

The rooms are in a few small apartments, each with beds for 5-20 people, in different locations within a few blocks of each other. They walk you from the main location whose address is listed to the others if they put you there. Each location has basic facilities including a clean bathroom and a fully-stocked kitchen (with pots, pans, etc.). They include breakfast with your stay, providing bread, jam, butter, milk, juice and coffee, and you are welcome to use the kitchen for your other meals.

The Social Atmosphere

Many guests hang out at the main hostel facility, which also has a piano for travellers to provide a little entertainment for each other. The hostel is very casual and friendly and the staff is understanding of the often changeable nature of backpackers' plans. They are bilingual (in French and English) although like most of the people in Montreal they usually revert to French first.

Summary

Overall, it is a pleasure to stay at L'Auberge Chez Jean because of the geniality of the hosts and other travelers there, and its proximity to many activities of interest around the city.

-- Exclusive Hostelz.com Review


Your Comments
This is an open forum, and unlike other hostel guide websites, we don't censor out the negative comments.
We do not validate the legitimacy of comments posted on this site—so take what you read here with a grain of salt.
Comment by Denis, France
February 2008
Very friendly place
This hostel is like a second home for me, I went here three3 times and I would come back again if I need. I met here some friends which who I am always in touch. The staff in generally friendly like the atmosphere. It is not the quietest place in Montreal, but the best to meet new friends. Moreover, the price includes breakfast and internet, the couples should stay in private room, for what it is very cheap.
Comment by Ellie, England
April 2007
Do not stay here! This hostel is the worst one we stayed in in our whole year of traveling! To put it into context, it basically looked like a swinger's palace! There were as many beds crammed into every part of Jean's house as he could possibly fit in, some with only sheets hung up to create sections for privacy. There were four of us and we had to share a room with two small double beds which covered practically all the floor space in the room. We stayed for one night and left immediately the next morning.
Comment by Katie In Vancouver, canadian
April 2007
I stayed in this hostel in the summer of '03. It was one of the worst experiences I have ever had traveling. The hostel was totally booked for the International Jazz fest and Jean made an off-handed comment that even he had no place to sleep, so he would be bunking with me that night. I stupidly thought he was joking. At 3 in the morning, Jean climbed into the volkswagon van ("private room") that I was staying in. I was totally shocked. To make a long story short, I would highly recommend not staying at this hostel if you are a single female traveling alone. I am so sorry I did not post this comment earlier.
Comment by amanda
January 2007
stayed in summer '05 and had a great time. this place felt like home and the people staying there were amazing. clean and felt safe. the people who worked there were so friendly and nice. next time i come to montreal i'll definitely stay here.
Comment by Kiwi
August 2006
This place is run so dodgy that there when we arrived there was no signage it was just a big house to which we entered into their "reception" area which was actually a huge open room with about ten beds in it, a kitchen, and the reception. We had a reservation but were told it was full so were then driven to another one of their hostels down the road. This place also had no signage and were taken downstairs into a basement full of matresses on the ground -- at the time it was full of about fifteen sweaty guys and they expected us to pay $40 per night for two people for a scummy double bed in the corner of this stinky room! We refused and were taken upstairs where we had a room with two double mattresses on the floor (not technically beds) and were told to pay in the morning. There was no-one actually running it except for a guy who would casually wander in around 9.30pm each night to collect money. At the time we stayed there were several long term people who also got angry when on friday and saturday nights some of us had a few beers in the living room. The "free" breakfast is just cornflakes or toast, nothing flash. All in all it was completely dodgy -- we also only had one key for our room even though there was four people in it and their reasoning was that we didn't have to pay a key deposit so therefore we can't complain! Do not stay here unless you are ok with everything being very dodgy. Security was not the best either with no-one locking the front door.
Comment by Anonymous
April 2005
Great place! I definitely recommend it. I went to Montreal this summer and was referred to this place. We slept in the van. It was really cool — in the morning there was breakfast and everything! If you drive though, be careful where you park. I parked right beside the church north of the hostel, and was ticketed. But don't let that discourage you; go check out Chez Jean. I love Montreal!
Comment by Aussie Brendon
March 2005
This place has atmosphere! I had so much fun staying at the Chez Jean. Everyone who stays here is ultra friendly and they party all night long. The hostel is located in an interesting part of town with lots of character and culture. Anyone considering Montreal should stay here. Montreal is the liveliest city in Canada and this hostel makes the stay one to remember. If you like socializing, stay here.
Comment by Anonymous
March 2005
This is absolutely, by far, the worst place to stay on the planet. Our night of misery involved nasty ragged sheets, walls as thin as paper and just an overall disgusting atmosphere. The owners have two small children. At 8 in the morning the father proceeded to give his screeching baby a bath for nearly an hour. The baby, who was being washed in the room adjoining ours, never stopped crying. In fact, the baby continued to screech, scream and yell at the top of its lungs from then until we left several hours later. At one point, since there was no way we could sleep, we banged on the wall. The owner then freaked out and yelled at us and told us he was going to "kill us dead." He added a few choice expletives. Later he told his wife that he was going to "punch us in the mouth." Real class act. Never stay here.
Comment by Michaela
December 2004
I had lots of fun at this hostel. It has a great staff. I ended up staying twice over the past summer, and I'm looking to spend a night or two there this winter. If you stay in August, bring a fan if you can. It gets real hot in the rooms (wall-mounted fans are in most of the rooms, but they don't do much).
Comment by Lucas
December 2004
I stayed here for a few day this summer and I had a great time. The staff are so warm and friendly. The location is close to the subway, clubs and great food. I am comming back to Montreal soon and I am looking forward to another stay at Chez Jean!
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