Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa

So I wanted to surprise my girlfriend for our anniversary by visiting Ottawa for our very first time. I booked my room with the romantic getaway package (which includes flowers, chocolate truffles and a personal note presented in the room - which was supposed to be a surprise for my gf). Well, we got there at normal check-in time, 3pm and were given our room. We lugged our bags upstairs, and excitedly swiped the card on our door and swung open it. GUESS WHAT??? To our surprise...THE ROOM WAS A MESS!!! The bed sheets were not made nor cleaned from previous guests!! Our jaws dropped and till this day I have a clear image of what this room looked like. This was disgusting, and on top of that, the surprise chocolates and flowers were not there!!! Furious, I went down to talk to the concierge who gave us our room...she acted like NOTHING WAS WRONG and said "I'm sorry, I'll get you another room". I expressed my dissapointement about the traumatic image of our room and told her the surprise chocolates and flowers with a personal note to my gf were not there . I asked her why I had to come down and ASK in front of my gf where the surprise gift was - she says "Oh...I'll grab one from the back right now"...I told her right there and then "First, you give me a room that was CLEARLY not ready, and second, I didn't expect they would screw up on the 'gift' ". I asked what they could do for me and she proceeds to accuse me of wanting freebies!! I asked to talk to a manager and guess what, she also indirectly accused me of wanting freebies from their mistake by saying "well, there's nothing we can do for you but we can give you another room". I explicitely told her I was not trying to get a free night stay, but that they MUST have some kind of compensation for us... The staff and manager there were utterly useless and rude, and did not understand the concept of hospitality nor own up to their mistakes. They instead accuse us of trying to freeload and turned a blind eye to the fact that they ruined what was supposed to be a surprise for my girlfriend. Well...there is my little rant. So bottom line, DO NOT RELY ON LORD ELGIN's STAFF. And, before you do complain about anything, just know they will NOT do anything to compensate you for their mistakes. Other than that, we had a great stay once we got our new room but solely because we made the best of the situation despite the traumatic image of an un-made room presented to us on our anniversary.

We stayed at this hotel for two nights. The staff were so helpful - we arrived by car and were helped immediately by Mike, who unloaded our luggage and arranged for the car to be parked. Mike waited with us at reception and asked if there was anything in particular we were planning to visit while in Ottawa and picked out some useful maps and leaflets for us while we were checking in. Chris at the reception desk was also very helpful as we checked in and we felt we were treated as individuals and not just another customer as is sometimes the case at large hotels. Mike took the luggage to the room and checked we were happy with the room before going through a map of the area expaining where things were in relation to the hotel which was very useful. All this was done in a friendly and personable manor. Nothing seemed to be too much trouble. The room was lovely and comfortable and had great views as it was on a high floor at the front of the hotel. We did not eat at the hotel as there are many restaurants within easy walking distance, particularly in the pedestrianised area about one block away. The hotel had a nice indoor pool in the basement. The hotel is in a great location and is in easy walking distance of the parliament buildings, the shopping areas and the canal and waterfront. There was free internet access in a room off of the lobby (they just asked you to limit the time to 15 minutes during busy times). We very much enjoyed our stay and would definitely recommend.

The good reviews sound as though they were written by the staff or stayed at a different hotel than i did.Terible service, (except cleaning ladies) didn't get what we payed for, we were charged with suprise fees, and the facilities were far from hygenic. would never go back, and do not recomend it to anyone. I had stayed at the indigo hotel on my last visit to ottawa and would say its a far greater choice

This hotel was amazing good sized rooms, good pool, friendly staff. I loved how close it was to everything. Also it was amassing seeing the guards walk right by the hotel. I will return to this hotel every time I go to Ottawa!

I had vist the Lord Elgin for a night away. I find it was great. Amazing and very friendly staff. The location great..right in the heart of downtown can walk to the attractions. I would recconmend it!!

Beware about discrepancies in rates quoted over the phone and what you are charged once you're there! It took us 3 arguments with 3 separate people to finally pay what we had reserved. Staff was not apologetic. Front desk lacked professionalism and any modicum of warmth or friendliness. The only smiles we received were from the housekeeping staff and the parking attendant. The room was nothing special.

I stayed at this hotel for 3 days in August and it was fantastic. The building is beautiful, the location is great and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. If you are traveling to Ottawa, stay at this hotel. Not only that but it is less expensive than you would expect. A great value.

My sister's and I took a part of our summer vacation in Ottawa. We wanted to be right downtown (close to good dancing was key!)and found this fabulous hotel (Lord Elgin) that we could afford to stay at, but felt like royalty doing it! We had an awesome night on Elgin Street and were very thankful for the killer breakfast buffet at the hotel in the morning :) the service we got and the stellar location will bring us back next time!! Thank you!!

Being within walking distance of Parliment, the NAC, the canal, the market, the business district and on and on was absolutely amazing. In addition, the service was some of the best I ever encountered. From the follow up call after room service to the super friendly doorman I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel to anybody looking for a place to stay in Ottawa.

We haven't been impressed with room 329. The room was small, the air was dry which made it difficult to sleep well. The air conditionning was really noisy, but fortunately we got used to it after two nights. Next time, we'll try another hotel.