Ottawa Travel Guide

As Canada's capital, Ottawa prides itself on being accommodating to all peoples. Whether you are visiting on business or for pleasure, you will be sure to find accommodations that meet your comfort and price preference. It is also comforting to know that Ottawa is a very centralized city with many attractions within easy walking distance of most downtown hotels.

Downtown

Top hotels in downtown Ottawa are the Chateau Laurier and the Westin Hotel. While decades apart in age, they are simply located across Rideau Street from one another. Both hotels are within easy walking distance of attractions along Sussex Drive, Sound & Light Show on Parliament Hill, the Sparks Street Mall and the Byward Market.

If it's history and ambience your after, than the century old, neo-gothic Chateau Laurier is the place to go. But the Westin has the added advantage of being connected via elevated walkways to the Rideau Shopping Centre and the Ottawa Congress Centre. High season room rates for both hotels are expensive, but not staggeringly so.

Elsewhere downtown, somewhat less expensive accommodations can be found at the Quality Hotel, Novotel Hotel behind the Rideau Centre, the Ramada Hotel & Suites and the Delta Hotel. All are moderately priced and within easy walking ditance of many downtown attractions.

Other chain hotels located downtown include the Ottawa Marriott at Kent and Queen Streets, the towering Crowne Plaza Hotel on Rue Lyon and the Sheraton on Slater Avenue near O'Connor Street. All are moderate to expensively priced depending on the season.

Still less expensive but centrally located are the Econo Lodge Parkway Motel and the Downtown Days Inn both can be found on Rideau Street and are moderate to inexpensively priced.

Suburbs

While most of the more expensive and well-known hotels are located downtown, there are a plethora of more affordable lodgings at either end of the Queensway, the city's main east-west artery.

Kanata

Home to Silicon Valley North, Kanata is somewhat lacking in the accommodation department, although several new hotels have begun to fill the void. Chief among these is the Holiday Inn Select just off the Queensway near Terry Fox Drive. There is also a Days Inn on Katimavik Drive near Eagleson Road that offers all the amenities that one has come to expect from the popular budget hotel.

The West End

Fifteen minutes from downtown Ottawa is Bells Corners, which has several affordable hotels that are both comfortable and convenient for travellers visiting the area by car. Situated on the main thoroughfare in Bells Corners, the moderately priced Best Western Baron's Motel offers all the amenities visitors have come to expect from the famous chain. Slightly less expensive is the Days Inn Ottawa West on Moodie Drive.

The East End Affordability is also the name of the game in the eastern part of the nation's capital, where one can find such budget choices as the WelcomInns and the Chimo Hotel grouped together near the St. Laurent Boulevard exit from the Queensway, about 10 minutes from downtown.

Hull Located across the Ottawa River in Hull, Quebec are several excellent hotels, all within a short taxi ride of downtown Ottawa. The two most popular are the Holiday Inn Plaza La Chaudiere on the corner of Rue Montcalm and Taché Boulevard and the Ramada Plaza Hotel, located on Victoria Street across from the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Bed and Breakfasts A bevy of B&B's have also sprouted up in Ottawa in recent years. Most present an excellent alternative to hotel accommodations. Among them are the Albert House Inn on Albert Street and Bronson Avenue, Haydon House on the Driveway near the Rideau Canal, the Rainbow Bed-and-Breakfast on York Street and the Canal View Bed-and-Breakfast. Once again, all are within easy walking distances of most of the major downtown attractions.2008-08-02T07:29:22.000 71