Ottawa Hotel Tips by Bwana_Brown

We were invited to an October wedding in Ottawa and a block of rooms at Les Suites had been set aside by the organizers as the place for the wedding guests to stay, so that is indeed where Sue and I made camp for four nights! It turned out to be a great location, with friendly staff and within easy walking distance of many of the main attractions in downtown Ottawa.

The hotel web-site was very helpful in guiding us through the streets of Ottawa, directly to their doorstep. Upon check-in, you are issued a red plastic card to swipe your way into their attached multi-level aboveground parking garage. It was easy to use and there was never any problem finding either a place to park or a nearby elevator for quick access to our 7th floor room.

Unique Qualities: The hotel has a small ground floor restaurant serving meals all day long. As we found out when we had to help with child-minding duties for two of our grandchildren, there is also a very nice swimming pool and adjoining hot tub located on the 3rd floor.

I was very surprised to find an impressive statue of South American hero Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) perched on a pedestal outside the hotel entrance. The inscription on its base said that he was the founder of Bolivia and liberator of Columbia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela. Due to close connections between the Venezuelan ambassador and the mayor of Ottawa, the statue was presented to the City by the Venezuelan government in October, 1988.

The quoted rate for our room was C$139 (US$128) but with a small tax and C$13.60/day for parking charges, my total daily cost was C$157, not bad considering the location and quaility of the suite itself (see next tip).

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$40-80  » Currency Converter
Phone: 613-232-2000
Address: 130 Besserer St, Ottawa, ON K1N9M9
Directions: Almost at the western end of Besserer Street and just a block from the corner of Sussex and Rideau
Website: www.les-suites.com

Our suite was quite nice, with lots of room to spread out in the dining room/living room area. It had a small desk in the far right corner where I set up my laptop using their wireless internet service and there was also a sliding door out onto the balcony which overlooked an interior courtyard. The living room couch also doubled as a fold-out bed. Just inside the main door was a small separate room with a clothes washer and dryer stacked on top of each other.

There was a TV in both the living room and the bedroom, but we only actually used it on our final night when our daughter finally had some time to herself and came down to watch a regular program with us. The bathroom was quite nice, but the temperature of the shower water was a bit difficult to control, not initially responding to a turn of the fawcett but then quickly getting colder or hotter a few seconds after you thought you were in the clear!

Unique Qualities: The kitchen came equipped with dishes and cutlery, as well as a toaster, coffeemaker and salt/pepper. We made use of a nearby supermarket to stock up on a few supplies for our fridge, so we were able to make our own breakfasts and light sandwiches for lunch. It was also nice to have cheese and crackers on hand to go with the bottles of wine we had purchased.

Our daughter's room was on the same floor at the far end of the hallway, so it was convenient for us to either go to their room or bring their two children to ours whenever she and her husband were involved with the preparations leading up to the wedding. The housekeeping lady was very friendly and we had some great conversations with her in the course of our stay.

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Theme: Hotel

Address: 130 Besserer St, Ottawa, ON K1N9M9