Magali was out of town when I was in Montreal, but she made sure to keep in touch regularly and sent me an e-mail during my stay to see how things were going. (Sorry I forgot to reply!)
There was a bit of a miscommunication when I arrived in Montreal as I couldn't get in touch with the person giving me the keys.
But it was no big deal and once I got in, everything else went smoothly.
I didn't realize there were two other people staying there as well, so I was little shy about spending too much time in the bathroom or making too much noise.
That said, my fellow guests were very nice and we got along well.
While it's no fancy hotel bed, the air mattress in my room was comfortable enough and I slept well.
Magali's flat is clean and I love the decor and the back garden.
I can't say enough about the location too. It's pretty much perfect if you're looking for 'authentic' Montreal. It's in a lovely residential area, close to restaurants, bars, cafes and grocery stores. And it's a fairly short walk to beautiful Parc LaFontaine, as well as Mile End and Mont Royal.
If you want to hit the tourist spots, her place is one block from Mont Royal metro station, which makes it easy to zip around town.
I'll definitely see if her place is available the next time I'm in town.