The apartment was very clean and bright as per the pictures. We did not meet Julie as she was away but she was very responsive to emails and arranged everything ahead of time. We did enjoy our stay. *** Just a few extra notes for travelers which may not be obvious from the description. ***

A note for more than 2 guests: there is only 1 read bed. Other beds are in the form of a hideaway bed in the sofa (in the middle of the apartment), and a foldable mattress. That didn't pose a problem as we only needed a small mattress next to the main bed for our child, which Julie kindly arranged ahead of our arrival.

There is no washer/dryer in the apartment; these are in the basement and must be accessed through another apartment. This greatly decreases convenience, and we gave up on using them though it was an important point for us having very young children which requires frequent change of clothes.

The kitchen is well equipped with everything we would need, although we didn't use it.

There is a flat screen TV but we had to do some problem-solving to get channels working.

Note the apartment is one level up from the street. The stairs are narrow and steep (typical of many buildings in Montreal). Something to consider if you have heavy luggage, a baby stroller of difficulty climbing stairs.

Whether this is the best neighborhood in Montreal is debatable and subjective. It could be considered in the "Plateau" area, but that area is very large. This is more specifically in the "Petite Patrie" (see Wikipedia entry). The popular Jean-Talon market is maybe 15 minutes walk away. The section of the Plaza St-Hubert closest is not the hippest one. Not a vast choice of restaurants nearby to suit all tastes, and not really many bars nearby (though there is one with a vast choice of craft beer 4 minutes walk away).

Going downtown will require either taking the subway (metro) which is 10 minute walk away or a USD 15-20 taxi ride one way. There is also a self-service bicycle (Bixi) stand nearby.