The Westin Ottawa

This was a little solo getaway and the room / view did not disappoint. The bed was super comfortable and had the little touches I expect. I will say however that the pool and "whirl pool" need some serious upgrades. This was very sub-par. The whirl pool barely had any jets (yes, I did find the on button) and was luke-warm at best. The tiles were chipping away and the water really wasn't that clean.

Great location and view but hotel needs to be upgraded. Beds and linen are not comfortable, toilets don’t flush well and hot tub downstairs barely has any power and is very old.

Shocked at the quality of the towels, bedlinen and overall cleanliness of shower and walls in room. See photos.

Long winded if you’re interested. We booked initially for NYE weekend. Unfortunately a medical issue caused us to postpone but we were booked for February before the end of December. (Definitely book early at the peak of the skating season!) Our children have never stayed in such a large, grand hotel or even such a large city and we wanted to make this a special trip so we booked a king Junior suite. As Marriott bonvoy members I know that they are generally quite accommodating. I called in advance to ask if it was possible to get a room on one of the higher floors. I absolutely understand that this is not guaranteed but I was told by the staff member that the suites were all on the higher floors so I should be fine. We arrived and were greeted warmly, check in was definitely easy and appreciated after a busy day in traffic. The city and the hotel were very busy being a holiday weekend AND winterlude. ~ Unfortunately we could not but If your schedule permits I would recommend you plan a weekday during winterlude for sure! ~ so we are given the room key and she says 8th floor…… this hotel is 24 floors. I thought I misheard and asked 18? Nope. 8. I’m not going to fuss in that moment. It was, as I said, quite busy and the last thing they need is someone fussing and causing a hold up because they don’t get what they hoped. We moved on and the kids were none the wiser so it’s ok. We get to the room. Next to the elevators but with fan running on high you didn’t hear it much so that was a plus. Online/researching it says king Junior suite has a bathtub, separate shower and large double vanity. We had a large walk in shower, no tub, and a very tiny sink with no vanity. Tough with 3 ladies. It was Likely an accessible room. We were thankful for ample cabinet and desk space in the room. Again no one but me realizes and I keep it that way. It’s ok. The view, meh. We were just above the roof of what I believe was rideau center. It was ok. Not so grand but, ok. The plus is location if you’re coming for ice skating cannot be beat! Definitely the most easily accessible and that was wonderful. The restaurants were fantastic and we did get a 10$ voucher for Daly’s at check in for opting to forego room service during our stay, also great! (Get the breakfast buffet you won’t regret it) the shore room steakhouse had wonderfully kind staff and good food, not inexpensive but a nice treat, would consider eating there again for a special occasion. Leftovers found us playing Tetris in the very mini mini fridge in the room. Another thing that was ok, once we took out the shelves. The next day we realized, no microwave to reheat and enjoy the leftovers. But, it’s ok it was checkout day. Checkout was easy and was at noon which is very nice so that you can get in some more morning skating or even a dip in the pool. It’s cold, but that’s ok the hottub is warm, the jets don’t really jet but it was ok. If you plan to come and skate the canal the location is absolutely the best! Just maybe don’t spend the extra for the suite. It is not really worth it. If we ever get to return I think a regular room would probably be just as good. Thanks for reading! Hope this helps someone. Happy hotelling.

I love the Westin and have stayed here many times. Conveniently located only 25 minutes from the airport, across the street from Rideau Canal, connected to the Rideau Centre mall and within walking distance from Parliament and many of Ottawa's tourist attractions. Rooms are clean, updated and quite comfortable. You can even get rooms with a view of Parliament. Underground paid parking, nice restaurant and quick snack area as well.