In January? aaah.. dress warm.
To compare hotel prices check:
www.expedia.ca
www.travelocity.ca
www.hotels.ca
You can also try bidding for one on
www.priceline.com Basically you specify an area of the city (I believe..), whether you're looking for 3* or 4* (I think you can select a range) and then bid! You can bid pretty low to start because you could be surprised what you get. The only thing is when you bid, you have to provide your credit card info and agree that if your bid is accepted by one of the hotels, your card is charged right then and there... No changing your mind. I tried once and got a really good deal although I don't like the whole leaving it to chance thing.. lol I like to pick the hotel. But you could get some really good deals if you want to give it a try.
You can also check
www.merc.ca as they have a whole section with threads about every possible hotels with some pros and cons.
I'm not sure if you are planning on pooning but if you are, don't go too cheap on hotels because most of what is available and is good is
outcall only and you won't find incalls like you can here. Not nearly as many and most of them not anything like what you can expect here or if you go for Montreal outcall agencies/indies instead.. Just to let you know...
oh yeah.. Almost forgot my favorite. lol The last few times I went home and needed to rent a place to stay, I went for short term vacation rentals.. Basically like your own little apartment and some of them for cheaper than most hotels.. There are quite a few websites with listings for these, you can do a google search for more, but off the top of my head those I remember:
www.homeaway.com
www.perfectplaces.com
www.craigslist.org also has a section dedicated to these types of accommodations and some pretty good/nice places listed.