Hello everyone,

I would like to share with you my experience after visiting the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Laurier. I had the pleasure of visiting Ottawa on a sunny April weekend. As a Hotel freak, my dream was to visit this beautiful fairmont property in Ottawa.

While walking around Ottawa’s downtown area you are able to see this hotel from far away. It simply looks like a caste that you would see somewhere in Europe. The building was designed in a French Renaissance and Neo Gothic combined style, matching the Parliament Buildings (located on the other side of the Rideau Canal).

From the first step in the lobby I felt like I was in a dream. Everything inside is so chic and classy. Every detail makes this hotel beautiful.

How important are details ?

Usually while reading Hotel reviews we can see general points of view (check my other posts:). This time, fascinated by history, I decided to present the little details which make this place worth any price. Especially, that while constructing this property at the beginning of th 1900’s no one was saving money to make the most luxurious hotel ever. Those details can make your stay unforgettable or your meetings held in a good atmosphere. Well, if you want to feel like a princess/ prince go to the Fairmont Cheteau Laurier. I’m sure you will find your perfect room out of the 429 rooms they have.

Welcome to Fairmont Ms. Blogger:)

Here, I would like to describe my adventure in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. I was walking around the lobby taking pictures when someone from the hotel’s staff came up to me and asked if I was staying here or just visiting. I was a little bit stressed (oops, “this is the end of my pictures” I thought) when I said that I was taking pictures for my blog. To my absolute surprise he offered a tour around hotel….. Wait, what? a Tour ? I was so happy that I can’t even describe it (thank you, Michael G. You made my day!). He took me around the hotel showing different conference, meeting and ballrooms they had to offer.

Some old history

I was so impressed by their furnitures. Some of them were looking really antique. June 1st, 1912 is an important date for Canadian Hospitality. Sir Wilfrid Laurier (seventh Prime Minister) officially opened Fairmont Chateau Laurier. What is the most shocking for me, is not that building this hotel cost $2 M dollars (I believe that in 1912 it was a lot of money) but that the the price of a room was only $2 per night!!! Sounds incredible for me. Especially that nowadays we can pay from $200 up to $500 (depending of the season).

This Hotel has had the privilege to host a lot of important events and accommodate many important politicians and people. King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Charles de Gaulle, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, presidents of different countries, and me 😉

Ballrooms, meeting rooms, conference rooms.

I had the pleasure to see some of the most sophisticated and beautiful rooms in my life. If you’re looking to organize an event in Ottawa, you should definitely choose the Fairmont Hotel. Not because it’s so fancy and expensive, but to spend a nice time being around history and beautiful objects as well as decorations on the walls or on the cellings.

While staying at luxury hotels, I was always wondering  how may people clean and take care of the carpets. Basically, in the Fairmont, carpets are everywhere. As you can see on the picture below, they always have beautiful decorations and represent different styles and colors (according to the room where they are).

Here are some details from my favourite Blue room! Reminded me of a life on a boat or under water. If I have to choose, I would like to have a wedding reception in this ballroom as the colors are delightful and royal.

Something that I learned during my tour is that all the elevator doors are made of Brass and that there is only one person who takes care of these doors, polishing each one of them all day every day.

At the end of the tour, Michael took me to his favourite room. It was smaller than other places we have seen, but definitely is one that had the best atmosphere and is perfect for smaller and more intimate meetings. Gold details around the walls make this room very prestigious.

The last look of the lobby area before I left this luxurious property. The Lobby in Ottawa’s Fairmont is much smaller than in the Royal York in Toronto. They are both built and decorated in a similar style. Toronto’s hotel is much bigger (1,365 vs. 429 rooms in Ottawa) but it is very hard for me to say which one looks better. I would say I prefer Royal York as I admire their interiors more, but Fairmont in Ottawa has a much nicer building and location.

Thank you Michael, and Hotel Fairmont for the tour and letting me take so many pictures. I hope to see you again, during my next trip to Ottawa.

 

Basic informations:

Fairmont Chateau Laurier – http://www.fairmont.com/laurier-ottawa/

Fairmont’s Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/FairmontChateauLaurier/?fref=ts

…….and Twitter – https://twitter.com/fairmontlaurier

Sign up for their newsletter – http://www.fairmont.com/promo/signup/

Prices stars by $219 per night and go up to $679. But as a hotelier I know that prices always change according to the season.

Sources: http://www.fairmont.com/laurier-ottawa/hotel-history/

 

Thank you for reading,

Kasia Walkow