We stayed at Novotel Ottawa in August 2011 - I've been a bit slack with writing the review. Anyway wanted to share that it is a great location - just across the road from the Rideau shopping centre - through the shopping centre you can access the bus to the airport. It is also a short walk away from Byward market - Ottawa is fairly small in the way of downtowns so a lot of hotels will be well located. The lobby area is very clean and stylish. The people at reception are quite helpful in answering tourist questions. The room is clean and well appointed. The aircon unit was pretty loud though. The bed was very comfortable and bathroom clean and well appointed. The room overall was very nice - pretty much all you want in a room - it wasn't anything majorly special but there was nothing wrong with it either. The street that it is on is fairly wide and safe feeling - this is a good feature when you are walking back from the Byward market in the evening. We also got the breakfast in the morning - it is all you can eat so it does keep you going for a lot of the day. Overall it is a good bet for a stay in Ottawa.

First the positive: This is a modern hotel in a perfect location. The room price is reasonable. Its right across the road from the Rideau shopping center, about a 2 min walk to the Byward Market and 5 min walk to the Rideau Canal and Parliament.

However, I have seen reviews on Tripadvisor with the exact same issues we had on our last stay and it is crazy that nothing has been done to improve. The renovations of the front lobby are nice but guests doesn’t stay in the lobby, they stay in their rooms.

I travelled with my family and we are ALL frequent travelers both for business and leisure (across Canada/States/Mexico and Europe), and in all my travels and stays a hotel have I been in a position as ridiculous as I was in at Novotel Ottawa Hotel.

Travelled my father, sister and her husband. We reserved 2 suites. I stayed in one room on the hide a bed, my father had the King size bedroom. Fortunately, we were given the suite we had, it had a sliding door to close off the bedroom and we had an actual door and lock on the bathroom, so there was a sense of privacy. My sister and her husband stayed one floor up, in a smaller suite (small price per night) open concept and no bathroom door.

We had a suites so thought it would have everything we would need, hair dryer, couch (hide-a-bed) ,tv, office desk – but for some no explained reason, there was no bureau in our room. No where to put our clothes besides the small wardrobe in the livingroom when you first come into the room (and I am not going to hand up all my cloths). I am also not going to leave all my clothes in the suitcase on the floor (there wasn't even a metal suitcase stand to place the suitcase on) , so as to not have to bend down each time or sit on the floor to go through my suitcase, as result all our clothes were on the office desk, on the bed, the chairs and coffee table.
The next day my father spoke to an agent at the front desk and explained the situation to him, his comment "well this is more of a hotel for business men" He was insulted. As he habeend in business for over 30 years and never heard of such a thing. The front desk manager came out and acknowledged the crazy comment and stated he could move us to another room that had a bureau. Issues: 1) I am not going to move a room 2) why can’t they move a bureau from this” other” room to my room? 3) Why don’t all rooms have a bureau?

As a business traveler, personally, it makes travelling so much more enjoyable when you can unpack and make your room a haven from the stress and chaos of the day. But when you have no choice but to throw all clothes, all around the room, it does not make it haven.

It was very warm in the rooms and the A/C didn't really cool it down - fortunately, we had lower windows that we could open up to get freash air into the room or I don't think I would have slept.

Then there was the “fire alarm” that went off at 4 AM in the morning!! However, I want to complement the hotel on its security system, with in room speakers giving us information that the alarm went off in basement and not to panic, we don’t have to evacuate and more information will follow. Finally after about 1/2 hour, the night manager came on the speaker, turned off the alarm, stated fire department arrived and all is clear.

The following morning, it would have been nice to get a thank you for your inconvenience, free drink at bar, certificate (percentage off next stay) no just a letter in our room (see attached) sorry for inconvience.

I have stayed in other Novotels but won’t be returning to the Ottawa one.

This is a very modern hotel in a perfect location. The price is very reasonable... In my opinion, one of the more affordable hotels in Ottawa. Its right accross the road from the Rideau shopping center, about a 2 min walk to the Byward Market and 5 min walk to the Rideau Canal and Parlement. The rooms are a little on the small side, but there is enough space. The bathroom doors don't give a huge amount of privacy, so if this is an issue for you, that's something to keep in mind. The hotel has room service, a pool, fitness center and a restaurant... We didn't have a chance to try any, but they all looked nice. I would reccomend this hotel, and will stay there again for sure on our next trips to Ottawa.