Hotel Gault by Ken Scrudato

You can’t swing a baguette in Montreal without hitting a boutique hotel, but The Gault is easily the most daring and fascinating of them all. Despite being set in a spectacular 19th Century building, this futuristic homage to concrete and steel follows the Adolph Loos “ornament is crime” philosophy. The 30 loft-style, open-plan rooms are furnished sparely but efficiently with mid-century repros, and are equipped with such 21st Century charms as flat-screen TVs and heated bathroom floors. In the cavernous, and also very concrete lobby, the front desk doubles as bar. It’s sort of prison-chic, except that you probably won’t want to break out once you’re in.