Château Laurier Fairmont Hotel, Ottawa
Expert reviews
“Château Laurier, now run by the Fairmont group, has for more than a century offered luxury accommodations in the heart of the city, just next door to Parliament and the Rideau Canal. Soaring turrets, Tiffany windows and grand ballrooms reflect its heritage as one of Canada’s grand railway hotels.”
Shortlisted in New York Times’ 36 Hours in Ottawa.
“By the Ottawa Locks, the city’s best-known hotel is a landmark in its own right. Built in 1912 to resemble a 16th-century French château, its 426 rooms and suites are predictably large and luxurious.”
“Named after Canada’s seventh prime minister Wilfrid Laurier, Fairmont Château Laurier has dominated the Ottawa skyline since opening in 1912. Its elegant corridors and grand ballrooms witness countless international events and celebrity guests, and the hotel is almost as recognisable as its neighbour, Parliament Hill.”
What guests liked
- Friendly staff
- Beautiful hotel
- Great location
- Comfortable beds
All you need to know
Fairmont Château Laurier is located in the center of Downtown Ottawa, it is in the heart of where all the action happens. It is only a few minutes away from keep attractions such as the Parliament Buildings, National Gallery of Canada, Shaw Center and the National Arts Centre. The history-rich hotel rises above the Rideau Canal and is situated next to ByWard Market. While visiting, activities that can be partaken nearby include snowboarding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, rafting and golfing to name a few.
The hotel staff is friendly, professional and available 24 hours a day every day to help guests in every way including assisting with tour and ticket booking. To make the taste buds sing, guests can visit Wilfrid’s Restaurant for fresh, regional cuisine or newly renovated Zoé’s Lounge for Canadian-themed food. Work off the calories at the health club or swimming pool.
When not exploring the hotel or tourist attractions, guests can relax in comfortable rooms. All rooms include a work desk and windows that open to the outside in addition to having a TV with cable and paid movies, high-speed internet access and luxurious bedding. The en suite bathroom offers luxurious bathrobes.
Hotel Details
— 37 rooms
— Built in 1912
— French Renaissance style
Hotel Features
— Paid WiFi
— Restaurant
— Terrace
— Pets allowed
— Multilingual staff
— Bar and lounge
— Concierge services
— 24-hour front desk
— Express check out
— Business center
— Conference space
— Currency exchange services
— ATM cash machine on site
— Laundry service available
— Private parking
— Spa services including hot stone massages and Swedish massage
— Indoor swimming pool
Additional Info
— Check in begins at 4:00 PM
— Check out ends at 12:00 PM
— Minimum check-in age is 19 years old
Address
1 Rideau St, Ottawa, ON K1N 8S7, Canada.
Hotel deals & lowest price guarantee
We partner with Booking.com and Agoda. Both booking websites offer the lowest price guarantee so you can be certain you will always get the best deal for this hotel. If you have seen a better price elsewhere, all you need to do is contact the booking website and they will refund you the difference immediately. You can price match right up until the day before check-in.
Location
Recent guest reviews
12 July 2025
Very good
Location
Air conditioning not the best and fixed at 21
8 July 2025
Fabulous
Location was amazing
The continental breakfast. Waiting time I bc the line and variety not so good.
7 July 2025
Loved the hotel but would not go back because of the lack of parking
The location The proximity to all the places we wanted to visit
The parking options are terrible for a hotel of that stature
7 July 2025
Good location. Nice room . Fridge would be nice in room.
Location.
Parking very expensive.
6 July 2025
Pleasant
Hotel is in need of updating….now showing signs of wear and tear.
3 July 2025
Very good
The location was great need to have better options for parking, I know that this would be hard.
I am not able to take my dog to the restaurant, and it is not an easy ask, but a separate corner could be options
1 July 2025
Pleasant
The room smelled very musty
29 June 2025
Very good and would go back
Location and facilities
Seemed short staff at front desk although staff were friendly
28 June 2025
Wonderful experience
Very nice
Valet was not as good as it could be, got our car after others who came later
26 June 2025
Pleasant
Location and experience for staying in such a historical building
The price too expensive. The view, the size, the smell of the carpet were not good at first. After complaining I’ve obtained upgraded for a bigger room with a better view. After that, the experience was good.
23 June 2025
Very good
beautiful old hotel, amazing service, and the food in the gold lounge is delicious
the vintage pool is beautiful, but modernized bathing facilities, like a hot tub for example, could be added
23 June 2025
Fabulous
Exceptional staff, beautiful hotel, comfortable bed, large room and nice large shower. Very little noise from inside the hotel - some street noise at night but not bad. Compared to some other Fairmont locations the prices in the restaurants are more in line with prices outside the hotel. We had a great dinner at Zoe's - the oysters were fantastic.
At a hotel like this the downsides get fairly nit-pick-y as expectations are high. No fridge in room (available for extra charge). It would be nice if the mini bar had free milk for tea and lattes. Window blinds aren't blackout so room is fairly bright in the morning. Valet parking is the only option and at $60 per day is quite pricey, but the service was great. I'm not a fan of beds made with the duvet between two flat sheets and prefer an actual duvet cover but understand it is done this way for ease of changing the linens. To make the duvet come up far enough in the bed I had to untuck the bottom and adjust the sheets so that the duvet was still covered. I wished the bathroom had a nightlight as the only options at night were to use it in the dark or turn on the fully-brightness lights. I would have also liked to have dimmable lights beside the bed. This may be more of a me-issue but I banged my knee fairly badly on the banquette at the end of the bed while getting up in the night. Counter space in bathrooms is quite limited.
22 June 2025
Pleasant
Location was perfect. Beds were incredibly comfortable. Love the Le Labo toiletries.
We could hear a ticking noise the whole night related to the vents.
15 June 2025
Great stay but with some minor quirks
Amazing mattresses! Best sleep in a long time. Climate control in the room was very good.
The room smelled, needed to be aired every day.
10 June 2025
Not as good as it used to be.
Breakfast was quite cheap. Plumbing in the room's bath was not well maintained.
9 June 2025
A fun weekend getaway!
The staff and hotel are wonderful however…. The walls are very thin. I could hear our neighbours entire conversations which was particularly unpleasant at 5am. I couldn’t even drown them out with the tv. Also if you so much as move the snacks or anything in the mini bar in any way they will charge you. We simply opened a drawer then shut it when we saw what was there and they tried to charge us. Luckily we caught it on check out. But seriously, that’s a bit much. If I eat it or drink it charge me. If it gets slightly moved a few millimetres because I opened a drawer and you want to charge me? that’s ridiculous! I enjoyed my experience but there are cheaper hotels in the area that are very nice, better sound proofing and who don’t pull shenanigans with the minibar. 😊
See above
9 June 2025
Good enough
the room the lobby
The pool is cold not really heated
1 June 2025
Nice Hotel
parking kind of too expensive
26 May 2025
Not bad
The lobby, downstairs, staff, location
Room
23 May 2025
Despite its charming design and prime location, the hotel fell short in value for the high price
I loved the historical charm that surrounds the hotel—it adds a unique character you don’t often find. The location is unbeatable. The lobby is stunning, it feels like another world when you step in. The food is absolutely delicious. Communication with the staff was also a pleasure. Also our suite was clean.
You get very little value for the price. The hotel refused to add a crib to our suite, even though their website says it's available on request. Staff wasn’t attentive — they forgot some bags in our car despite me mentioning it twice. Since guests can't access their cars, I had to call the front desk to retrieve them. While the suite was clean and nicely designed, the overall experience felt comparable to hotels three times cheaper. There was no main light, some lamps didn’t work, the mattress was too firm, and the pillows were so thin my head sank straight to the mattress. Slippers were EU size 39–40—too small for most men. The minibar was fully stocked and sensor-triggered, so you couldn’t use it for your own drinks without being charged. Only 330ml of water per person was provided (for free), and the coffee machine had no water in it—so you're left with that small bottle or tap water. No access to movies, music, or streaming services like Netflix is included in the base price. The A/C was also noisy and not very effective.
22 May 2025
Fabulous
Location is great, room was clean and convenient.
The distance from the elevator to our room....
22 May 2025
Beautiful hotel
Accessible
Only 1 chair
20 May 2025
Good and happy.
Convenient location for site seeing and evening walk and food.
Too much line up for breakfast, less amenities. They didn’t change the toilet roll and less coffee, tea bags and cream.. also the prices for the beverages and snacks were not found in the room
20 May 2025
Comfortable Stay at a Historical Property
Location, History, Royal look and feel. Overall comfortable.
Rooms not upgraded, indoor pool water was cold, long line ups for check in and check out. Not all counters working.
15 May 2025
Good service. Bad food choices and dirty room
Location excellent. I've been staying at chateau since 1970s. Love the ambiance
My room was really dusty. Not well cleaned. I was moved to new toom next day. Service manager was excellent in resolving problem. I had reservation at Zoes which is a beautiful location but was seated outside in dark reading room. Really disappointing for my guests. Restaurants should have gluten free and vegetarian choices. I remarked on this when I stayed there last year But menu was worse this time. One of my guests was limited to olives and nut for lunch.
14 May 2025
As 5 stars hotel , when I was under shower shampoo bottle was empty , I have to request to bring shampoo to my room.we t
Nice
Pool wasn’t warm enough to swim.
12 May 2025
Pleasant
Location and ostentation
Parking is a bit difficult
12 May 2025
Acceptable
Situation in Ottawa.
Personal very disorganized
10 May 2025
An excellent base to explore Ottawa
Quality hotel and location
We were surprised that there was only one place to eat and then this restaurant had a limited menu of five main courses too. The restaurant was fairly empty which does not say much for a hotel with so many rooms
9 May 2025
Great service, great gym and pool, great staff and great location
Great service, great gym and pool, great staff and great location
9 May 2025
Very good
The location was superb and the hotel building was very cultural. Clean and well presented rooms, no issues with the accommodation. Not much in the way of complimentary drink or snacks which is unfortunate for a hotel of this calibre.
The valet parking was a complete shambles on the way out. Took over an hour and a half to get our car. Wouldn't say it is value for money and the valet staff were pretty uncommunicative.
6 May 2025
Fabulous
Almost everything 😊
Breakfast should be included for the price.
6 May 2025
Great stay overall, but valet service needs improvement
We had a lovely family stay at the Fairmont Château Laurier. The location is absolutely perfect — right in the heart of Ottawa, close to everything. The hotel has a vintage charm but is very clean and well maintained. We especially enjoyed the breakfast buffet — delicious with lots of great options for everyone. A memorable experience overall!
I wasn’t impressed with how the valet service was managed, the wait times were too long and they didn’t seem to be serving clients efficiently. On top of that, the staff forgot to attach my key to the ticket number, which made it hard for them to find it. I ended up waiting over an hour and a half.
5 May 2025
Very good
Spacious room. Very good location.
4 May 2025
Great location
A beautiful hotel in a great location.
It all felt a little dated. Also, I want happy to be charged for internet access on a daily basis, when I complained, it was removed from the bill on checkout, apparently it was “an error,” though I wonder if the charge would’ve been removed had I not complained.
1 May 2025
Family of five stay in Ottawa
Location was fantastic - walking distance to most things. The common areas of the property and the facilities are lovely. The staff were very accommodating.
The rooms we stayed in are showing their age a bit. Parking was a bit expensive.
29 April 2025
Pleasant
Location , staff
Majority of the sockets did not work in the room - only the bathroom.
22 April 2025
Super visit to Ottawa
Great breakfast
Likely not in your control. We booked a van to get to airport through conceriege & it didn’t work out/ happen. Not sure if that could have been avoided ???
20 April 2025
Nice stay but not worth the price. Staff is nice though!
Location! Nice staff. Good pool & gym.
The fridge is loaded with paid items they're trying to sell you. So you can't use the fridge. The furniture seemed beat up. The room views was terrible for my room. There's a loud AC vent right in front of the window. Coffee cups for room coffee were tiny. I made 3 coffees each morning. No free coffee in the lobby.
8 April 2025
Fabulous
A sweet gesture: we got complementary desert at Zoe's.
There was no fan in the bathroom. The room was small, so, the humidity would build up and have no escape.
7 April 2025
Classic hotel, excellent location and outstanding service
Classic hotel, excellent location and outstanding service
7 April 2025
Fabulous
Got an upgrade to a nicer room for my anniversary so that was lovely! Overall staff was super friendly and caring. Beautiful hotel with a great view from the room 🙂
4 April 2025
Aside from the restaurant, everything is wonderful!
The service is exceptional! People are nice, receptionists are okay. The place, history, and other details are amazing. Their breakfast buffet is very average, no where close to the price and not at all a 4-star restaurant
3 April 2025
Beautiful romantic stay.
The hotel is beautiful, the room was huge and comfortable. We didn't try the breakfast because of the price. Zoe's lounge was stunning and great service.
Our check-in was not satisfactory. We arrived an hour before the 4pm check-in and was told our room wasn't ready but they would put a rush on it. We then sat in the lobby until 4:15 with no contact from the front desk. We went up to inquire with a different person and he was very apologetic and got us a room right away.
28 March 2025
Fantastic service and staff !
Like - location, service, staff, food and drinks, ambience Dislike - room was dated such as the shower.
24 March 2025
Very good
The pool has a lot of old world character but the temperature was not very warm, changing facilities were basic. Too bad there is no hot tub or sauna.
20 March 2025
So comfortable
location is great
16 March 2025
Great location. Wonderful staff
Central location. Comfortable beds.
Could use a refresh. Stained chair.
15 March 2025
Iconic, and a Must for one night in Ottawa
The room with a view looked over the Parliament buildings and bridge to Quebec. Corner King Deluxe room very spacious with a great bed, living room area, large closet and lots of big windows. Staff was accommodating to extend the late checkout. Door Man was wonderful and so was the valet staff. The lobby bar staff were great too. The building itself is iconic and absolutely stunning. I wish we could see more, stay longer than one night, and explore the gorgeous Chateau Laurier Hotel.
The bathroom was outdated with a glass shelf that was sloped down towards the front - a fear and worry that things would slide off, or it may fall off. The bathroom definitely could use a refresh. The body soap dispenser in the shower was empty. I reported it to the front desk on check out and she was very apologetic and was gong to report to the manager. The rooms windows very very bright through the night so take care to draw the blackout blinds before bed...we did not realize until the next day that there were blinds behind the curtains. Parking is non existent so use valet parking but be prepared...$64!!!!!!!! but worth it.
Hotel facilities
Food & Drink
- - Restaurant
- - Bar
- - Breakfast in the room
- - Special diet menus (on request)
- - Kid meals (additional charge)
- - Wine/champagne (additional charge)
General
- - Room service
- - Non-smoking rooms
- - Facilities for disabled guests
- - Family rooms
- - Lift
- - Safety deposit box
- - Heating
- - Allergy-free room
- - Non-smoking throughout
- - Air conditioning
- - Designated smoking area
- - Paid WiFi
- - Pet basket
- - Pet bowls
Business facilities
- - Meeting/banquet facilities (additional charge)
- - Business centre (additional charge)
- - Fax/photocopying (additional charge)
Reception services
- - 24-hour front desk
- - Express check-in/check-out
- - Currency exchange
- - Luggage storage
- - ATM/cash machine on site
- - Concierge service
- - Invoice provided
Activities
- - Fitness centre
- - Massage (additional charge)
- - Indoor pool
- - Indoor pool (all year)
- - Back massage
- - Neck massage
- - Foot massage
- - Full body massage
- - Fitness/spa locker rooms
- - Walking tours (additional charge)
- - Bicycle rental
Outdoors
- - Terrace
Cleaning services
- - Laundry (additional charge)
- - Dry cleaning (additional charge)
- - Trouser press (additional charge)
- - Daily housekeeping
Pool and wellness
- - Swimming pool
- - Swimming Pool
Miscellaneous
- - 24-hour security
- - Key access
- - Key card access
- - Security alarm
- - Smoke alarms
- - CCTV in common areas
- - CCTV outside property
- - Fire extinguishers
- - Breakfast takeaway containers
- - Delivered food is securely covered
- - Thermometers for guests provided by property
- - Face masks for guests available
15 July 2025
Location excellent and a good buffet breakfast