World Traveller 73 
Review: Ottawa Marriott Hotel, Ottawa, Canada
With travel resuming after several pandemic years, I was back in Ottawa for a recent business trip. While in Ottawa, I usually frequented other hotels. This time, I decided to venture off my usual hotel choice to stay at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel. The Ottawa Marriott Hotel offered a comfortable but dated stay, offering everything that you’d expect from a full service Marriott property. Read on to see where the property shone over others…
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Review: Ottawa Marriott Hotel, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
“Another old school property with heaps of potential, the Marriott Ottawa is blessed with many room configurations, a good location and great room views of the Ottawa River.”
As a frequent traveller to the nation’s capital of Ottawa, Canada there are a number of business hotels located in the central downtown areas. I’ve stayed at many of these hotels, including The Westin Ottawa, and the Sheraton Ottawa. For this visit, I decided to branch out and try something different. As a result, I booked into the Ottawa Marriott hotel for a five day stay in the area.
Booking The Ottawa Marriott Hotel:
As a government town, and a hotel catering to business travellers, the rates at the Ottawa Marriott hotel are highest mid week and tend to drop off on the weekend. Similar to other hotels in the Centra Business District of Ottawa, the hotel generally offers rates between $250 – $300 CAD ($180 – $215 USD) during the week, with rates as low as $200 CAD ($150 USD) on some Saturday and Sunday nights.
I booked my a base standard 1 King Bed, Guest Room for approximately 264 CAD ($195 USD) on my last 5 night stay. I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, complimentary access to the Marriott Executive Club Lounge, and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel was a Marriott Bonvoy Category 4 prior to the move to variable pricing. As a result, rooms are typically approximately 30,000 – 40,000 points per night, with 23,000 points a night as an average standard. I have did happen to see some 16,000 point redemptions that were available that ranged all the way up to 25,000 on weeknights.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.005 a point, you’d have to spend more than $125 USD to come out ahead for a 25,000 point redemption. While this represents reasonable value, I can’t actually imagine anyone redeeming points at this particular property, since most travellers here are likely on the business travel circuit; much like it’s sister property the Sheraton Ottawa.
Getting to The Ottawa Marriott Hotel:
I arrived into Ottawa International Airport on an Air Canada flight. I picked up a Hertz rental. While I’ve typically gotten great Hertz President’s Circle upgrades at the Ottawa International Airport location, the car upgrade gods were not looking down on me and I ended up with a 2022 Chevrolet Malibu LT which was decidedly boring.
It was a short twenty minute drive from Ottawa International Airport up to downtown Ottawa . The Ottawa Marriott Hotel is located in the western central business district of downtown Ottawa. The drive is mostly through wide four lane city boulevards since there are no freeways from the airport to the city.
Generally, the Ottawa Marriott Hotel is well located for business and leisure needs. The property is located in the western central downtown area of Ottawa. The Ottawa Marriott Hotel is located a short three blocks from the federal Ottawa parliament buildings and immediately next to the Sparks Street Pedestrian Mall that runs the east / west length of the downtown.
There is a Starbucks Coffee Shop located immediately inside the hotel and there is a conveniently located Rexall Drug Store located across the street. It is also short walk to the Byward Market entertainment district, which is relatively easy in the spring, summer and fall seasons, and manageable with a layer of gloves, toque and coat in the winter months.
Checking into the Ottawa Marriott Hotel:
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel was really easy to find. The property has somewhat of an older brown look. Like many of the older Ottawa buildings, the property has a bit of a monolithic look; with brown windowless paneling facing it’s second and third floors.
On arrival to the hotel, I had a little trouble locating the front entrance. I parked in the above “hotel” zone and wandered into the front desk.
I didn’t have to wait in line for check in. I had completed on line check in through the Marriott App. There was no specific Marriott Bonvoy Elite Line. At the front desk, there was no specific mention of Marriott Bonvoy elite status.
I had received a digital key for my room through the Marriott Bonvoy App. I was offered the opportunity to have a regular key, which was provided but didn’t end up working in the end.
At check in, I was explained the access hours for the Marriott Executive Club Lounge hours. Access to the Marriott Executive Club Lounge was complimentary for Marriott Bonvoy members at Platinum level or higher.
Lastly, I was able to get a 1 PM late Check Out as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member without any issues or haggling. This was convenient and accommodated an afternoon flight out of Ottawa, Canada.
Self Parking:
While I wouldn’t normally mention the self parking, I had somewhat of a unique experience staying through the property over five days.
During my check in process, I was offered the opportunity to add self parking for $27 CAD a day (with in and out privileges) or the opportunity to park independently with no in and out privileges for $20 CAD a day. Feeling economical and trying to save my company some money, I opted for the pay as you go $20 CAD parking.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that the parking was otherwise $3.00 CAD every thirty minutes. This meant that you’d be at the daily maximum after only parking 3.6 hours. There was one evening that I ended up going for dinner with staff on an impromptu basis. After returning for an MS Teams call taken in the room at 2:30 PM, it was $20 to exit at 6 PM. It was another $20 to park overnight. Had I known about the quick ascent in rates, I might have been more inclined to get the more expensive in and out rate. If you plan on leaving at any time, the $27 hotel rate represents a far better deal.
During check in, I ended up getting directions to self park in the underground, which was located on a corner of the hotel property. The entry to the underground parking was down a ramp, whereas the loading area was accessed through the right hand lane of the lane way.
The parking garage was limited to vehicles six feet tall or under. It was even a little compact for driving the Chevrolet Malibu through. The hotel has some alternate parking for sport utility vehicle drivers, although you’ll have to ask about the arrangements.
After I parked the car, I headed up to the room. I navigated through two sets of elevators to the main elevator bank. The primary elevator bank was slightly raised off the main lobby floor; requiring guests to use a narrow ramp in order to get up to the elevator bank.
The lobby contained a few internet computers, which were located immediately adjacent to the lobby restaurant. I didn’t notice any printer facilities in the lobby at these particular terminals.
The Room: A Deluxe, Larger Guest Room, 1 King, Sofa Bed:
Unlike my stays at the Sheraton Ottawa that only of two different room configurations (Guest Room + Club Level Executive Suite), the Ottawa Marriott offered four different configurations. The ranged from the lowest Guest Room – 1 King, and moved up towards a Deluxe, Larger Guest room (the subject of this review), then 1 King, Sofa bed, Executive, Larger Guest room, a 1 King, Corner room, Balcony, Premium, Concierge level, and lastly Larger Guest room, 1 King, Sofa bed, City view, High floor. At the very least, Marriott Bonvoy Elite member loyalists staying at this location will likely benefit from an upgrade into one of these better categories.
I led myself up to Room #2422, which was a one category soft upgrade from the Guest Room – One King that I booked. I received a Deluxe – Larger Guest Room 1 King Sofa Bed through a pro-active upgrade in the Marriott App that arrived about twenty four hours prior to my stay as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member. My room on the twenty fourth floor was only a few floors down from the top 29th floor.
The hotel hallways pretty dated and could use an update. The hotel is set up in a typical square format, with hallways that run around. There might have been a time when this type of carpeting made a warm impression, but these days, it’s just really looking like an old Marriott hotel.
I located Room #2422, which was located next to a lock off series of two individual rooms. If you were travelling with a family, this would be a great option with kids and is better than “adjoining rooms”.
The Deluxe Larger Guest Rooms are 372 sq feet, which is a fast improvement on the regular 246 – 264 sq feet rooms. which make for a spacious feeling stay.
Immediately upon entering the hotel room, I found myself in a very red Marriott looking larger bedroom with a comfortable king sized bed.
The room featured a small sofa bed, along with a large area and space to stretch out luggage.
There was a dedicated seating area, that contained both the sofa bed couch, along. with a comfortable lounger with foot stool. In addition to the upgrade, my room also happened to face north and featured a Supreme Court of Canada, Parliament and River View.
The room featured a standard sized Marriott desk, along with a small chest of drawers that featured an in room fridge along with a few storage containers. The room contained a standard in room safe, and the usual mini fridge.
Near the desk, there was a standard issue Keurig coffee maker, along with a few Taylor’s tea’s.
While the desk was a standard size, it was a little small for working. By the time you added a bunch of articles, the space got pretty full really quickly as the only storage countertop space located within the room.
Neat the entrance, there was a small closet and a tiny bathroom. Each were consistent with the era in which this property was built; a time when hotel rooms and bathrooms were much smaller and one person environments. The bathroom featured a standard bath and tub shower combination, with toiletries offered by the usual “We Works”
The room offered a solid view of the Ottawa River and the Parliament Buildings. While I wasn’t in the room during the day all that often, as a result of my meeting commitments. Despite this, it was nice to have a room with a view like this.
The rooms also highlighted the hotel’s square format. On my floor at least, there weren’t any suites. My larger guest room was among the largest room configurations on the floor.
The room was reasonably quiet in terms of overall sleep quality. During the midweek portion of my stay, the hotel featured mostly business travellers. While I could hear some hallway noise consisting of conversations and door closing noises in the morning, the nights were quite peaceful.
On the weekend, the hotel turned into more of a family environment with a bit more family noise from kids playing floor hockey in the hallway (seriously) along with people coming and going at different times. This may impede some who were looking to sleep in. Overall, it was about “as expected” and I didn’t have any challenges getting a great night’s rest.
Around the Hotel Property:
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel is a full service hotel property. While it may not be the newest of properties, it has every feature you’d expect from a full service hotel.
The property brands it’s pool and gym area as the Kent Club. Despite this, I didn’t get the impression that the property offered access or gym memberships to outside people. Access to the Kent Club was offered twenty four hours per day.
Kent Club – Indoor Pool:
The Kent Club’s indoor pool was located on fourth floor. Given the weather in Ottawa, the pool is an indoor pool.
Kent Club – Fitness Center:
The Kent Club also featured a hotel gym that ran the length of the hotel pool. The gym was reasonably well equipped for a hotel level gym. Both were available by using a hotel key, and there was no additional charge for the gym or pool facilities.
For whatever reason, the cardio and elliptical cycles were in terrible shape. Of the two elliptical cycles, one was broken (and unsigned) and the other made grinding noises when I used it. The machines were also really dirty, despite visiting during the tail end. of the pandemic.
Usually, gyms are really good at providing sanitizing cleanser around gyms, but aside from dry towels, there wasn’t anything to clean off the machines at this particular gym.
The gym itself offered a lot of natural light for a hotel tower. The gym also offered high ceilings, which made for a good workout environment for an inner city hotel stay.
Food and Beverage:
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel offered a combination restaurant / lounge, and an Marriott Executive Club Lounge. Much like my other Marriott experiences, they are more on the utilitarian side than aspirational.
Spin – Kitchen and Bar:
Spin Kitchen and Bar is the hotel’s lobby restaurant and lounge space. It’s located next to the lobby computer terminals. The decor was pretty standard Marriott fare. Despite the hotel being located next to many independent restaurants, the Spin Kitchen and Bar was always pretty busy.
Marriott Executive Club Lounge:
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel offered a Marriott Executive Club Lounge located on the twenty sixth floor. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member entitled to a breakfast benefit, I was offered breakfast in the lounge (as opposed to the restaurant).
In a strange twist, and one that particularly benefits Marriott Bonvoy Elite members, the hotel appeared to have opened the Executive Lounge only for Marriott Bonvoy Elite Members, and did not happen to be selling Marriott Executive Club Level rooms.
During my visit, the Executive Lounge hours were as follows:
- Breakfast: 6:30 AM – 9:00 AM
- Evening Snacks and Beverages: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Somewhat inconveniently, the lounge was completely closed outside of these time periods. This meant that there was no ability to escape your room to get a late night snack, or perhaps to do some work outside of your room in the Executive Lounge.
Access to the lounge was provided through key card door access. There was no immediate host at the door, and upon entering, I was made to feel welcomed by friendly staff.
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel Executive Lounge occupied a spread out area across the north eastern corner of the hotel property. With several smaller rooms, there were several windows and a variety of places to sit.
The lounge offered an interesting view of Ottawa’s Parliament Buildings and the Ottawa River.
In addition to the views, the lounge offered the usual wall mounted flat screen televisions which were broadcasting the usual sports and news channels.
During my five stay stay, I had a breakfast snack in the lounge. Those looking for a full breakfast would likely be a little on the soft side, there were meats, smoked salmon and a limited variety of north american cheese.
There were also scrambled eggs, potato patties and, on some days, sausage links.
The lounge was pretty comfortable. Although, not having it open outside of food service hours made it a little less convenient. I have to applaud the Ottawa Marriott Hotel for offering a lounge for what appears to be an exclusive basis for its’ Elite members. I suspect that the Ottawa Marriott simply preferred to have it’s elites eating breakfast somewhere else, other than in the hotel’s Spin Restaurant & Bar.
Checking Out of The Ottawa Marriott Hotel:
On departure day, I used the Marriott App to check myself out of the hotel. With a short line at the front desk, I went with the electronic route which was easier than battling a line.
I had no surprises on the bill with everything as expected. The check out was instant.
My Marriott Bonvoy points posted to my account within 72 hours as promised.
The Bottom Line: The Ottawa Marriott Hotel
The Ottawa Marriott Hotel easily caters to business travellers looking for a convenient stay in downtown Ottawa.
While the hotel interiors are looking a quote dated, the property has tremendous potential due to it’s location and size. As a larger property than the Sheraton Ottawa, the hotel offers a number of upgrade opportunities, which many Marriott Bonvoy travellers will appreciate.
Aside from the complications with a few unexpected parking charges, and some tired gym equipment in the hotels’ gym, I had a terrific stay.
World Traveller 73 
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