Bastien is a great host. He responds promptly to any questions or concerns messages to him, and his responses, in addition to being quick he messages are always friendly and helpful. The apartment is great, layed out nicely with great light and a lovely back patio. It is a quieter neighborhood (much more families) but it feel nice and safe, like a quiet place to come home to after a long day of sightseeing. That being said I had thought it was more centrally located (but before this trip I was only familiar with Montreal from googling neighborhoods to stay) I can now say that Little Italy is a lot quieter than I thought, so if you were looking for more artsy restaurants to be able to walk to within 15 min I would try Plateau Mont Royal. We needed up only returning to the apartment at night but it was a comforting quiet place to come back to at night.
Still the neighborhood is walkable. You’re only 10-15 min walk from the Jean talon metro stop and you can be to most areas you want to check out within 30-35 min. Also Jean talon market is awesome in summer and very close by( within easy walk). Overall I would definitely recommend staying with Bastien if you would like a place in a quieter neighborhood but still want easy access to public transit to other neighborhoods.