Fairmont Chateau Laurier

I own a travel agency & only write bad reviews when I absolutely have to. Horrible customer service 40 min on hold to reach front desk. Rude reservations department. The gold experience is not any better than the regular tower/hotel complete rip off & over priced. Somebody’s charger was in my room. The fridge was dirty & empty. No drinks or snacks. Everything looks damaged & chilled away like a motel. It is nothing like the photos!

We were booked into the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa for three nights in August whilst touring mainly around Quebec. This was our last stop of our holidays so we thought we'd stay in somewhere iconic for our last hotel. We were met by a valet who helped us to unload the car and parked it to one side while we checked in. We then drove to the car hire company to drop off our car and returned to the hotel by taxi. Car valeting at this hotel is quite expensive so we managed to avoid it. We knew we would not need a car whilst in Ottawa as the hotel is very centrally located for the old touristy venues. The luggage was then taken to our room for us, room 146. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very large room and we had a problem of where to set our rather large suitcases. Saying that, it was a comfortable and traditional room, but a little dated. We had just come from the Fairmont Mont Tremblant where we had a large, modern room with lots of extra touches and complimentary items, even though I am sure it cost less that the Ottawa Fairmont. Our room had a large wardrobe with a shelf, a room safe, iron and ironing board. There was a mini fridge in the room plus a coffee maker, kettle, dressing gowns and complimentary slippers plus a bottle of mineral water which was replenished daily. The room had air con and free Wi-Fi. The bathroom was rather old fashioned but clean. It had a shower over the bath surrounded by an old fashioned shower curtain. Toiletries via dispensers, hair dryer, nice thick bath towels and towelling flannels (which many UK hotels do not provide these days). The grand lobby and public rooms downstairs were very grand and plush. We had cocktails in Zoe's bar which I understand is where breakfast is taken in the morning. We saw that there was always quite a queue for their rather expensive breakfast each day. Instead we went round to Cafe Laurier within the hotel who did a great range of breakfasts 'to go' which were at great prices and which we took back to our room or ate at a seating area just outside the café. Our room faced the road and was reasonably quiet at nights except for a few boy racers speeding up the road outside causing a real racket but thankfully it didn’t go on all night. One problem we had was that the bathroom door, which had swollen so badly you could not close it. They need to get maintenance in to sort it out as a single occupant in that room could get stuck in the bathroom unable to pull the door open. All in all, it seems a very grand and impressive hotel to stay in and I wouldn’t want to put anyone off. We enjoyed our experience there even though I feel our room wasn’t that brilliant. It really needs updating. The hotel certainly looks imposing and impressive from the outside and I’m sure you would have a great time if you treated yourselves to a night here but I don’t feel it is as friendly or as comfortable as the Fairmont Mont Tremblant hotel or some of the other hotels we stayed in while touring Canada.

I took a short trip to Ottawa with my teen son, during which we stayed at the Faimont Château Laurier for 3 nights. The hôtel is stunning and amazingly located, with mant Ottawa attractions at walking distance. The staff were friendly and professionnal. We were offered an upgrade to a larger room at check in, which was terrific. We enjoyed the stunning art deco pool, which was rarely too crowded. Everything was clean and beautiful. We were very happy with our stay, and would definitely book here again.

Unfortunately, our experience at Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa has been extremely disappointing from the moment we checked in. When we entered our room, we immediately noticed several issues. There were stains around the desk area, the desk chair was badly torn and worn out, and most importantly, the air conditioning was not working properly and the room would not cool down. Later that evening, we ordered plates and cutlery so we could have our meal in the room. They were never delivered. The situation became much more serious during the night. My wife is eight months pregnant, and because the room was so hot, she woke up multiple times during the night feeling extremely uncomfortable. We specifically informed the hotel that she is eight months pregnant and was suffering badly from the heat. The hotel’s solution? Bring two fans to the room. I find it unacceptable that the solution for an eight-month-pregnant woman struggling with the heat in a supposedly luxury hotel is simply to place two fans in a room where the air conditioning is not functioning properly. On top of that, we discovered even more maintenance problems: the sink faucet was broken, the shower head was broken, the main room door was not closing properly, and the toilet/bathroom door was also not closing properly. At this point, this is not one small inconvenience. It is a combination of poor maintenance, poor room condition, poor service, and a disappointing response when a guest raises a genuine health and comfort concern. I chose Fairmont because I expected a certain standard of quality, service, and attention to guests. I certainly did not expect a room with damaged furniture, multiple broken fixtures, malfunctioning air conditioning, doors that do not close properly, a service request that was completely ignored, and two fans being presented as the solution for my eight-month-pregnant wife in an overheated room. For a hotel carrying the Fairmont name and charging premium rates, this experience is simply unacceptable. I sincerely hope management takes this feedback seriously, because this room should never have been provided to a guest in this condition in the first place.

I get no pleasure in writing this, but take away the hotel’s history and setting and you are left with a relic, which really needs to consider what its role is. We seemingly received an upgraded room, which had me chuckling with its ancient tiny bathroom, its ancient, shabby decor and in Room one a pair of dogs howling away to put the tin lid on things. The duty managed was red hot in moving us, but the next room was a mirror image. The reception area and concierge desk were clearly far too small for the numbers there, and the queues were a standing joke. As I’ve said before, when a shabby chic hotel loses its cachet, it’s just shabby. Steer clear. I wish we’d gone to the Germain.