Romain and Pauline's apartment is really lovely. There is a lot of sunlight in the bedroom and living room, and in the summer I often left the front door open to the street to chat with neighbours passing by, or just to people watch.
Romain and Pauline (and their son) are even lovelier. They were responsive and quick in response to minor repairs that came up. They were always welcoming and helpful. They were wonderful neighbours to have upstairs for my stay.
I was in Montreal for 3 months to take some woodworking courses, to get to know the city by bike and to work on my long lost French. I was mostly there alone (just me!) but also did have 1 or 2 friends come to stay from time to time for a weekend (but did ask ahead of time and got Pauline and Romain's approval. In those cases, I slept in the living room and gave my guests the Queen size bed. I found the layout perfect for those short-term extra guests because the kitchen and bathroom were accessible from both sleeping areas without disturbing the other person.
The kitchen is well equipped: full-sized stove and oven, full-sized sink, lots of counter space and a decent sized fridge/freezer (not just the little under counter fridge). They had so many kitchen gadgets that I didn't use at all, like a European style coffee maker, blender, toaster (ok, I used that), milk frother, etc, so I just tucked them away in the spacious under counter storage area.
I was able to store my bicycle inside the apartment every night, along one wall in the living room. Pretty awesome because everyone worries about bike theft.
Occasionally I would have a car rental and parking on the street seemed extremely complicated - until I figured out how to buy a "local resident permit" for one night at a time at the PharmaPrix / Shoppers Drug Mart on St. Laurent. After that? Easy-peasy. I also bought a membership with Communauto, a car sharing service, so car rentals were super cheap (like $25/day instead of $150/day) and there was usually a car available within walking distance when I wanted to bring my bike out to the countryside.
The location is top-notch. You can't get closer to the best croissants, smoked meat, affordable quality groceries and vintage clothing stores. It's walking distance to the Place des Spectacles where I saw the Roots and Bran Van 3000 for free, and caught many other awesome free shows. The Just 4 Laughs comedy show I went to was less than a 5 minute walk away on St. Laurent. And there were so many ice cream and gelato places - too many to try.
If you get a chance to stay at Pauline and Romain's place in the Plateau, it is definitely worth it! Oh - and the mattress is very comfortable! And having a washer/dryer unit inside the apartment was ever so convenient!
Elise