Weekend Getaway at the Fairmont Château Laurier

A few weekends ago, I had the great pleasure of staying at the magnificent Fairmont Château Laurier! This hotel is located downtown Ottawa, just steps away from Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, and the ByWard Market. I've always marveled at the sheer beauty of this hotel, so I was incredibly excited to be able to stay as a guest for two nights. Dylan and I packed our bags and headed downtown for a mini getaway within the city that we call home.

Check-in is at 3pm, and we arrived shortly after that. The lobby of the Fairmont Château Laurier is breathtaking - it's exactly what you'd imagine based on the outer appearance of the hotel! The ceilings are incredibly high, and the furniture is fit for a royal. We were staying on the second floor, so we headed over to the elevators (completely with golden doors), and up to our room. The hallways in this hotel are wide, open, and very long and winding. The room key is electronic, so you just tap it on your door and voila! We were staying in a King Room, and let me tell you - this is hands down the most comfortable bed that I've ever slept in! Can I move in permanently, please?

The hotel features:

• 429 rooms including 33 suites
• 1 dining room, 1 lounge, and 1 seasonal terrace
• Health club and art-deco pool
• In-house business center
• 33,600 square-feet of meeting space, including 4 elegant ballrooms, all equipped with the latest technology

Dylan catching up on some reading

The mini bar 

I have a funny story about the mini bar - it's actually weighted! So, be careful if you move items around, because you might receive a surprise bill like we did. This fridge doesn't leave any room for you to add your own items, which I think is a bit of an inconvenience. If you need anything to be refrigerated (baby formula, medicine, drinks of your own, room service, etc.), then you're out of luck. I was able to talk to a lovely lady at reception, explaining that we had moved around some items to make room for our own drinks, and she removed the products from our bill. 

The bathrooms in the Fairmont Château Laurier are just beautiful. I especially loved the large bath tub, and I made sure to take a bath each night that I was there. My only complaint is that the tub does leak slowly, so after about 15 minutes my bath would be half empty. Slightly annoying, but not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. 

A stay at a hotel wouldn't be complete without a dip in the pool. I was surprised to find that I was the only one enjoying this luxury, but I wasn't complaining! The water is heated, which made my time lazily floating around even that much better. The old sign on the wall does state that the maximum capacity for both the swimmers and people on deck is only 10, which seems very odd since the pool is quite large. I'm not sure whether the hotel still enforces this rule, but I thought that I'd point it out!

Both mornings we were treated to a lovely buffet breakfast at Wilfred's Restaurant. The buffet had limited vegan options, but I did indulge in a ton of fresh fruit (watermelon, strawberries, honeydew melon, pineapple, etc.), fresh juice, and a bagel. Other options include crepes, hash browns, eggs, cereal, oatmeal, pastries, etc. The breakfast buffet is $28 for adults, and $14 for children ages 6-12. I personally find this to be quite expensive, but that might be because my options were quite limited, being vegan and all. Dylan did say that it was one of the best breakfasts that he has ever had though!

Dylan and I both immensely enjoyed our stay at the Fairmont Château Laurier, and I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a bit of luxury downtown Ottawa. The King Room seems to start at $309 per night (2 adults, no children), which is definitely a bit of a splurge, but it's nice to treat yourself every once in a while. The location of the hotel makes it incredibly easy to walk around the market at night, visit Parliament, or go skating on the canal during the Winter months. 

Have you ever stayed at a Fairmont hotel? 

A huge thank you to both Deneen and Jessica for coordinating our stay!