Arcadia Boutique Hotel occupies an 1863 greystone, a building whose oversized arched windows mark it as a product of Victorian-era Montreal's commercial boom. The hotel keeps things small: 14 rooms, including a ground-floor suite with its own kitchenette and laundry room, spread across four floors of restored masonry. Rooms face either the St. Lawrence River or the streets of Old Montreal, and most come with king beds, kitchenettes, and workspaces.

The operation leans contemporary in its details, with self-service check-in, a virtual concierge, and free self-serve laundry, while the period architecture does the heavy lifting on atmosphere.