Located across from Parliament, we stay for 4 nights at Chaeau Laurier while covering the NHL All Star Game in January 2012. The staff was as helpful as any, the resources exceeded expectations and was the perfect setting to get around the smaller downtown area. The room was average size for a queen room but we had a great view of Parliament and was cleaned according to our varying schedule.

I stayed at the hotel several times while on business trips but this review concerns my last stay in February 2012.
While my previous experience was good, this stay is probably one of the worst on my list. The hotel is still the remarkable and convenient building from outside but a deteriorated one in terms of service, cleanliness and facilities from inside.
My room was the upgraded to a “nice view” one. It was fairly large and nice from first sight. Then the reality struck - a bathroom probably dating back to the first renovation (whenever this was), stained filthy carpet, toiletry items from different brands, cracks on the walls, an ancient hairdryer (not functioning) and a museum ready “dream machine” – radio clock. I have to admit that the worst was the bathroom – baring all the signs of age and the associated dirt. If you are into a modern clean (even worse – zen) type of bathroom experience – don’t even put your foot inside.
Service – zero. When I was checking out the printers didn’t work, so no invoice was delivered during the night and then they made me wait for one in the lobby without even apologizing (just saying “You need to wait 15 mins”) for 40 minutes! I wasn’t even offered the option of receiving the invoice by e-mail. I guess it was my fault that I didn’t think about this.
While waiting I asked if I could get a coffee in the lobby – answer – NO. What hotel doesn’t offer a possibility of getting a coffee without going to the restaurant?! I was told to go to the restaurant. Well, I did – there was a line up with people waiting to be seated for breakfast and I was still waiting for my invoice… Well, I gave up, went back to the reception and complained about the situation. Afterwards, the receptionist brought a cup of coffee for me. I don’t even know what to say – should getting a coffee be extraordinary in a 5 star hotel?
To sum up – Fairmont Ottawa is way far beyond its good days, stay away if you can.

I travelled to Ottawa for work and generally like to stay in Fairmont hotels. As other Fairmonts, the lobby and common areas are well-maintained and beautiful. My room, however, was old and dingy and greatly in need of updating. Not sure I would return unless they renovate. It was also very noisy in the hotel, which I think is also a problem that Fairmont hotels have prior to being renovated.

I stayed at the Chateau Laurier hotel during a business trip, with two colleagues. I was there for two nights, the room had been booked by the corporate travel agent. We arrived around 7pm and the first thing we know is that two of us have a smoking room, while we're non-smoker. The employee at the reception told us that there had been a request made for a non-smoking room in the reservation, but that the agent had actually booked two smoking rooms. They told us it was impossible to change rooms due to the hotel that was completely full. The only other option that was offered to us was a room with no bed, only a sofa bed. So I chose to keep the smoking room.

The room I stayed in the first night (#187) had a very strong cigarette and air freshener smell. There were two cigarette butts floating in the toilette when I arrived, a towel was on the floor, forgotten by the cleaning personnel obviously. Another detail I found weird was the fact that toiletry products were not all from the same collection, they were mismatched. Also, since the hotel is old and the room had a communicating door, it was very poorly isolated. Unfortunately, I had a neighbour who chatted over the phone for two hours at night; she was not screaming but talking quite normally and I could hear every word she said, just as she had been in the room with me.

The day after I went to the reception to get a new room. The employee at the reception - Nina - did her best to help me out. However, I was told that no non-smoking room would be available during the day. I contacted my travel agent and she told me that a mistake had indeed been made with the reservation and that a smoking room had been booked. However, the hotel personnel obviously saw that even if it was not their fault, it was not mine either and I was the dissatisfied client... They did not offer any compensation whatsoever.

I got a new room on the same floor (#188) and although this one was more quiet (not sound proof, just because of quieter neighbours), the condition of the room was probably worse than the other one. The smell was the same, and on top of that, the room was very dusty. We could clearly see a thin coat of dust on the bedside table, the desk and the glass shelf in the bathroom, and dust floated in the air. The carpet was stained and hasn't been vacuumed properly.

It was my third or fourth experience in a Fairmont hotel and I will not go back again. Not only are these properties old and poorly sound proofed, I was very disappointed with how things were managed this time, I found unacceptable to get a smelly and dirty room, it was clearly not a pleasant experience for me.