Overview
Located in the center of Downtown Ottawa, Fairmont Château Laurier is minutes away from its biggest attractions including: The Parliament Buildings, Rideau Canal, Byward Market, National Gallery of Canada, Shaw Center, and the National Arts Centre.
Check in
4:00 p.m.
Check out
12:00 p.m.
Rooms
426
Inclusions
Rooms
Amenities
Location
Reviews
Horrible front desk but otherwise great
Scarlett C (Red Deer, Canada) on Mar 20, 2024
Unfortunately I must give a low satisfaction rating given my interaction with the front desk clerk Jessica. I expect a very high caliber of employee at the Fairmont resorts and she is the type of front desk employee who belongs at the Holiday Inn. There was a mix-up of room bookings for our group as we were traveling with the University of Alberta for a law school competition in Ottawa. When we realized there was confusion and one too many rooms had been booked, we attended at the front desk and spoke to Jessica about canceling one of the rooms. Her initial response was polite and she said that she would have to speak to her manager and came back shortly thereafter. Based on what the manager had said to her, she said we could cancel the room but would get no refund. I said this makes no sense. She then became argumentative and simply said she would check me out of the extra room. I became frustrated with both the situation and her attitude and asked her why I would cancel the room I paid for. She said I told her there were more rooms than needed and therefore I can't have an empty room, but also I would be stuck paying for it. At this point she and I really began arguing as I asked why would anybody cancel a fully paid room???? I'd sooner keep it as a spare bathroom or suitcase storage then pay for something to hand it back to the hotel. Fortunately a manager was present and stepped in and rectified the situation by allowing me to cancel two nights of the three might booking so that we wouldn't have the extra room for 3 days. It's interesting that Jessica initially needed management to approve any sort of cancellation, but when she began arguing with me she said "I'm telling you, you cannot cancel and get any refund". Then, ultimately, the manager came in with actual authority to allow a two night cancellation. My students and fellow adjunct professor from the University were in attendance and witnessed this interaction and all are in agreement that her conduct was completely uncalled for and unprofessional, even if my reaction was overly heated in the moment. Later, when we exited through a side door to the hotel, we ran into Jessica smoking with two other staff members right by the door. She rolled her eyes at us after a side glance and stepped away from the door as we exited. Professionalism and the ability to stay calm is necessary if you are going to work at one of the best hotel chains in the world. I regularly stay at 5 star hotels all over the world and have witnessed numerous encounters between disatisfied customers and hotel staff. I have never seen staff respond in this manner at the Fairmont resorts until now. At places like the Holiday Inn, sure. But this is the Fairmont. I expect staff to be better trained than this. Were it not for this one interaction my rating would actually have been a 10. All the other staff I encountered at the hotel were lovely and the hotel was very well kept and clean. The beds were comfortable. The cleaning staff wre amazing. However the fact that they employ somebody like Jessica automatically drags the entire franchise down in my view and makes me reconsider any future bookings I may plan for with their properties.
Wonderful iconic hotel
Michelle G on Mar 18, 2024
We were at the Fairmont attending a real estate conference for two days. The Fairmont was one of the two host hotels. It is such an iconic hotel and I was happy to stay there. Everything was great, I just didn't get a chance to enjoy all the amenities. The beds were comfortable, the rooms very clean, the robes plush and the slippers perfect. The toiletries are luxurious all in all it lives up to its name and prestige as a Fairmont. Hopefully on my next visit I will get more time to enjoy it all. Great central location as well surrounded by wonderful architecture.
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