We review hotels in Ottawa in Ontario, Canada, with the best club or executive lounges along with the best airport lounge at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Lounges YOW. Whether you are traveling as a couple, a family, or a business traveler, by reviewing each of these club lounges, in turn, I conclude which hotel club lounge comes in at the top and which hotel I would select as having the best club lounge in Ottawa.
Canada’s cosmopolitan capital, Ottawa, never sleeps. Ottawa is a small city and easy to navigate on foot. Visit in the summer and enjoy a packed program of musical events, including the RBC Ottawa Bluesfest in July, which features more than 220 international musical acts and welcomes more than 300,000 visitors each year, and Ottawa Chamberfest, the world’s largest chamber music festival, along with the electronic music festival Escapade in June and Music and Beyond in July, the festival which cheekily explores links between classical music and other art forms and cultural disciplines.
In the summer, you can also enjoy outdoor activities and events on Parliament Hill, such as the Changing of the Guard ceremony, Canada Day celebrations, weekly Yoga on Parliament Hill sessions, and the Sound and Light Show, which takes place as per usual on the front lawn of Parliament Hill.
ByWard Market is a new food hall concept at Queen St. Fare and is also worth a visit. The capital’s new foodie destination has been causing a stir since debuting last December adjacent to the new Parliament Station stop on the soon-to-open Light Rail Transit system’s Confederation Line. With a capacity of 390, Queen St. Fare’s offering spans from craft beer and cocktails to international cuisine, from Mexican and Vietnamese to burgers, backed by regular live music events and a robust environmental policy.
If you want to stay in luxury in Ottawa, you should stay at one of the best luxury hotels, which includes the Fairmont Ottawa, which is probably the most luxurious hotel option in Ottawa with a price tag to match, plus it has a club lounge. The Andaz Ottawa and the Westin Ottawa are also your best Hyatt and Marriott chain hotel choices in Ottawa, but neither has a club lounge. It is worth noting that because this is a working city, hotels in downtown Ottawa tend to be cheaper on weekends.
I have compiled a list below containing the club lounges available across luxury hotels in Ottawa. I list the lounges that I consider to be the best of the best. I will be reviewing each of these hotel club lounges in detail in turn so that you know what you’ll get if you book a room with club lounge access or get upgraded to a club lounge for free because of your loyalty status.
1. Fairmont Château Laurier, Ottawa
The newly updated Fairmont Gold floor and executive club lounge, further solidifies Fairmont Château Laurier as Ottawa’s best luxury hotel. Fairmont Gold has been completely re-imagined and renewed at this Ottawa hotel. They have expanded to 69 rooms and suites, all of which are newly renovated, complete with modern details. The luxurious Fairmont Gold Lounge has been updated too.
Your Fairmont Gold experience begins the moment you arrive when you are invited to the private Fairmont Gold reception area located on the 4th floor. Here, your individuality is valued, your room preferences are honored, and your arrangements for a quick and effortless departure are anticipated. In the exclusive Fairmont Gold Lounge, a dedicated club lounge team extends a friendly welcome and will arrange dinner reservations, limousines, and more.
Start your day off perfectly with a healthy and bountiful continental breakfast, including hot items. Throughout the day, you can enjoy Nespresso coffee, tea, fresh fruit, and a fine selection of nuts and candies, as well as an honor bar (you have to pay for drinks). Complimentary canapés and desserts are served later in the day.
Beyond the club lounge, this luxury Ottawa hotel offers valet parking at $45 USD per night, or you can self-park at 700 Sussex, which is an underground garage literally across the street from the hotel. It’s $31 USD per 24 hours and pay and display so you can come and go as you please. But you can only pay for 24 hours at a time, so you need to go back for a new ticket every day.
2. Delta Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre
Delta Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre is a Marriott Bonvoy rewards category 4 hotel costing an average of 25,000 Points per night and is situated in downtown Ottawa.
The rooms here are adequate, but nothing luxurious, and of a similar style to Sheraton Ottawa outlined below. Both hotels are a bit old with poor plumbing, unlike Westin, which is a newer hotel and the better choice if you are choosing between these three Marriott Bonvoy hotels, BUT it doesn’t have a club lounge.
Sheraton recently renovated its rooms, so the rooms there are marginally nicer than at Delta. Still, Delta’s rooms are larger, except for the bathroom, which is incredibly small and tends to have weak water pressure.
The Westin is a category above both the Sheraton and the Delta by Marriott in terms of luxury, but it doesn’t have a club lounge and costs more, so we often find that Delta is the better choice as it can be much better value for the money.
The executive club lounge at Delta Hotels Ottawa City Centre gets mixed reviews with reports of empty fridges on weekends and no snacks or food of any kind on the weekends.
While the hotel is reasonable, it can be a great deal on weekends and very cheap, but we cannot recommend upgrading to club lounge access on weekends as the 25th-floor club lounge does not serve breakfast or have a happy hour on weekends. You can access the lounge during the weekend and pick up soft drinks and snacks during the day, but you will be allocated breakfast at the main restaurant buffet and appetizer coupons for the evenings as the lounge is technically shut for food at the weekends.
That said, the buffet breakfast here in the main restaurant offers a very good selection of fruits and berries, including strawberries, smoothies, and hot and cold buffet options, as well as cereal, pastries, etc.
Strangely, Platinum guests and lounge guests actually benefit from the lack of lounge food on the weekend as the main breakfast is very good and better than the breakfast in the lounge, and Platinums are also sent to the hotel bar. They can pick one dish (per person) from a free “Platinum menu” along with free soft drinks. The hotel bar is nice, and the dishes are of a decent size, so these extras on the weekend may be considered by some to be a better deal than the lounge.
3. Sheraton Ottawa
Sheraton Ottawa is a Marriott Bonvoy rewards category 4 hotel costing an average of 25,000 Points per night, and it has more recently refurbished rooms than the Delta Ottawa but the rooms at the Sheraton tend to be smaller. Both the Delta and the Sheraton are a better choice than the Marriott in Ottawa.
Set in downtown Ottawa’s heart, Sheraton Ottawa Hotel welcomes guests visiting Canada’s capital city with superb service, newly renovated guestrooms, and thoughtful amenities within minutes from Parliament Hill and can easily explore ByWard Market, the Shaw Centre, and Carleton University near the Ottawa train station.
These pet-friendly redesigned hotel rooms are fairly basic and feature the Sheraton Sleep Experience, as well as flat-screen TVs, small marble bathrooms, large work desks, free standard Wi-Fi, and the use of a printer. Club-level rooms grant access to lounge benefits. The club lounge has been nicely refurbished and offers a pleasant environment, and the continental breakfast is decent. Appetizers are served later in the day, and alcoholic drinks are available for purchase.
The Westin hotel by Marriott in Ottawa is a better choice, but there is no club lounge in this Westin hotel.
4. Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau
Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau is located by beautiful Leamy Lake, 5 minutes from downtown Ottawa and interconnected to the theatre and the Casino du Lac-Leamy. It has 5 tempting restaurants, including the award-winning Le Baccara, indoor and outdoor heated pools, a fitness center, spa, and just 25 minutes from Ottawa International Airport.
Executive Rooms at Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel Gatineau-Ottawa feature one king or two queen beds on a private floor. Continental breakfast in the club lounge includes yogurt, cheeses, fresh and canned fruit, bagels, pastries, and cereals. A nice selection of evening snacks and Canapes are served early evening, but you must pay for alcohol as they have an honor bar.
This private club lounge is for guests 18 years of age and older only and has concierge services, complimentary Wi-Fi, a Nespresso machine, and a coffee/tea maker. Club rooms are located on the hotel’s upper floors offering spectacular views either from the guest bedroom or private terrace.
5. Ottawa Marriott Hotel
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel is also a Marriott Bonvoy rewards category 4 hotel costing an average of 25,000 Points per night. This is your worst Marriott Bonvoy choice in Ottawa.
The Marriott, the Delta, and the Sheraton are built-in original 1970 buildings. Some of the rooms have been renovated, but the bathrooms are small, and the plumbing is poor. While the staff here are good, the hard product isn’t, and many reviewers have described this Marriott as “the most dismal Marriott property in Canada”.
The rooms here are dated and rundown making the Delta across the street and in our number 2 position a far better option. Rooms are about the same size but have been fully refreshed, and they have a smart TV system with Netflix.
There is, however, one major bonus of this Marriott. Their executive club lounge is open on weekends. Breakfast is decent with hot and cold dishes. The hot dish is scrambled eggs, and the cold dishes include smoked salmon, cold cuts and cheese, bread, patisseries, and cereal.
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Lounges (YOW)
How about Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW). Are there any airport lounges that I can make use of in this airport? Yes, the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge at Ottawa Airport.
Services & Facilities include both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, newspapers and magazine printers and copiers, as well as snacks. However, the snack selection is very poor, mainly muffins and yogurts. This Maple Leaf Lounge access is not available for flights to the United States when departing from Ottawa.
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