TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The hotel puts that scented air in the lobby like Las Vegas hotels. There are no windows to open so if you don’t have fans blowing or air conditioning on you are going to smell a room that’s similar to a gym locker. On and off I’ve been staying here over 10 years return and it really needs a major overhaul. With all the taxes etc. it came out to $595 Cdn.

The hotel is very beautiful! The staff was exceptional especial Ezekiel. We went to the Shore Club for dinner. I ordered the steak and lobster and glass of Riesling which I sent back because it tasted like vinegar. When the steak came it was well done and the lobster was so tough, I had to use the steak knife to cut it. I tried to eat both and left most of it on my plate. The waitperson asked if I wanted a to go box and I said no because the steak and lobster was too tough to eat. The waitperson apologized and said the restaurant manager would come and speak with us. She returned with the bill, and we were surprised that the only item that was voided was the glass of wine. We waited a few more minutes to speak to the manager but, she/he never came to our table, so we left. We were disappointed that such a high-end restaurant had such poor customer service.

Let me start by saying this, four years ago I visited Ottawa and walked through the Westin Ottawa, which is connected to Rideau Centre. It was such a great location, connected to the shopping area that, when I booked this return trip, we decided to pay the extra to stay in this location. That being said, I will not book here again. Our stay started great with helpful, friendly, wonderful staff. It ended poorly and, based on that, I will avoid this hotel in the future. We arrived on May 19, 2022 for a three night stay. On checkin, Andrea was excellent. She explained all the hotel features, welcomed us as Marriott members, and told us to reach out if we needed anything. We were on the 14th floor, in room 1431. Our room was great. It was very large, two double beds, lovely bathroom, and a nice view. The hotel TV has "stream" services so you can use your Netflix and Amazon accounts. I LOVED this feature because you could watch movies, tv shows, etc for free when you use your own account. Also, on checkout morning, when I turned on the TV, a notice came up saying that if I restarted the TV at that time, it would wipe my account info for the stream services. Another plus because I was anxious about that. Our first night we ordered room service. We were exhausted from our flight, and our flight was not great so we called it an early night. Now, I had NEVER ordered room service before. We both ordered the Steak and Fries, which was $49 per person. It came promptly, with bread and water. Unfortunately, it was not good. The steak was overcooked, and seemed boiled rather than grilled or put in a pan. It was frozen fries, which were not good. I ate the bread. For $120, I expected way more. The beds were great. I slept very well, with blackout drapes. The room temperature was not great. We tried to make it as cold as possible, with the fan on but, several times we had to get up and lower the temperature in the room because it would just get hotter and hotter. Also, the toilet was a real pain. You had to flush anywhere from one to twenty times for it to work. We did call down to the front desk about this but nothing was ever done about it. The shower was decent though, but the shampoo provided was horrible on my hair. I would not use it in the future. The room came with a mini fridge, wine glasses in the bathroom (?), and plastic cups. We also had two coffees for the machine but, word to the wise, if you like coffee, go somewhere else and buy it. It is so weak, it was like drinking water. Our first morning we booked the breakfast buffet at Daley's Restaurant. This was $39 per person, coffee included, and it was excellent. It was well worth the price. it had hot food, fruit, breads, pastries, everything you could think of. We both really enjoyed it and it kept us full all day so we skipped lunch. $39 might be expensive to some people but, since I did not need to then buy lunch because I had plenty to eat, I felt it was worth the price. The next morning we went back to Daley's for the take out part. Two butter croissants, and a fruit plate was $17, with tip. My tip, ask for butter with your croissant because they don't just give it. Also, get the coffee because it is Starbucks. My only real complaint, as I mentioned, was at the end of the trip. So, May 21, our last night in the city, there was something going on with the weather. I am not sure if it was a Tornado or what but it was crazy weather. I was in the lobby making a dinner reservation at "The Shore Club" when the power went out. This was around 3:30-4pm. The lobby was crazy with people trying to checkin during this. The staff told everyone to relax, the power would come right back on because they had a generator. The elevators were not working during the power outage. I walked to the second floor, thinking it might be less crazy. It was not, so I continued onto the third floor. There, by Daley's, there was a flood coming in through the ceiling. Again, still crazy. I walked to the fourth floor. On the fourth, a lovely hotel employee showed me the stairs saying I could walk up to my 14th floor because there were no elevators but assured me they would be back on "very soon". I did this, and realized I should do that more often because it was difficult. Anyway, back in my room, it was announced that the elevators were out and the hotel was working on the situation. In our room, we had no central air (so it got hot), we had no electricity, and NO WATER! Even if you could have flushed our toilet properly, we couldn't use it because there was no water in it. No water in the sink either. Thankfully we had some water in our mini fridge but other people on our floor had nothing. In my opinion, this was unacceptable. The hotel could have, at least, gone around to the rooms with water. I mean, look at what you are charging per night here. So, several hours later, around 6:30-7pm now, we called the front desk to find out an ETA on the electricity. We were told the hotel was informed it would be around 10pm before it came back on. So, we had no food in our room. I mean, no real food. We had junk and, due to a medical condition I have, I needed to eat. The front desk suggested Skip the Dishes, telling us to order and they would send someone up with it so no one had to walk down the fourteen flights, and then back up the fourteen flights. With my medical condition, I would not have made it up and down like that. They also said they would send water up when we told them that we could not even use the bathroom. We ordered Skip from Milestones. Due to the weather issues, it took awhile. I tracked it and, literally, the power came on just as it was being delivered. I ran out of the room to get the elevator to get out food, thinking I would save a poor employee the trouble. I needed not worry. The staff had no intention of bringing our food to us. As I ran, the front desk called to say our food was there and they would "throw" it on the table until we came to get it. When I got downstairs a very rude employee was in the process of actually throwing the bags on a random table. I came up behind them, and said it was my food. She looked me up and down and said "it is about time. It is not my job to cater to you" and walked away. I called after her saying we were promised water, she ignored me. So, power back on, we ate our cold food (again, no ones fault) and went to bed. In the morning, we checked out. At checkout, we asked if anything would be done about the power outage. I realize that it was not the hotels fault. However, not having elevators was unacceptable. What about people with medical conditions? I ran into a poor pregnant woman during that mess who literally told an employee that is she walked to her room on the 20th floor, she might give birth. I cannot imagine her sitting on the fourth floor with her husband for hours while this was figured out. A hotel this size had no backup plan for weather? I find that hard to believe. As far as I was concerned, people were stuck in their rooms during this with no bathroom, no food, and no water. The hotel did nothing to help their guests out. We never got the water we were promised. We were told to our food (or else I could have died) and it was thrown. The rudeness of that employee over my food was beyond words in my mind. I realize it was crazy and not a great situation but give me a break. It was not my fault either. If we had waited on someone to bring our food, as was promised, we would still be waiting. Thanks for that Westin. At the end of this, despite the location, I will not book here again. I definitely will be exploring my options elsewhere when I choose to come back to Ottawa. Like I said, it started great and ended bad. If I want to be treated horribly by an employee (I am sorry I did not get her name; I didn't even see a name tag) I will stay somewhere else for less money. I did not expect this at a high end, expensive hotel. My review would have been 5 stars at the beginning of our stay, and it is now 2 because of this person and whole situation. We felt so disrespected and like we were garbage. Weather is no one's fault but, how you handle it and treat those choosing to stay with you (when there are many other options) says a lot about a hotel.

Great location to sightsee Ottawa. You are in walking distance for all sites. The rooms feel dated and need to be updated. Supplies in the room were very skimpy. We were in a room with two double beds but only had two coffee cups, two plastic cups (no glass or wine glasses), two washcloths. Shampoo was also out. When i requested more supplies the staff was very prompt which was much appreciated. For a pretty expensive per night rate I was expecting more. Parking is also extra ($30 per day if you park yourself, more for valet). Gym and pool were adequate.

Absolutely fantastic hotel. Central location, great views of the Rideau Canal, Parliament building and Château Laurier. It’s also beside the Shaw conference centre which is very convenient if you are there for a conference. All employees were phenomenal and service was top notch.