The hotel is simply bad on all counts - cleanliness, sleep quality, unexplainable bill charges. But the main thing for me was that the cleaning staff came into our room when there was a “Privacy Please” sign on our door while we were out. I have been traveling for work since 2005, weekly, and the DND sign was always something that ensures your privacy in any hotel, any country I have been to. The funniest thing is that the hotel declared they would not be cleaning the room for the duration of my stay in the pre-arrival email, which made me happy, and then they still came in to clean it, despite the sign. I called the front desk immediately when I saw it, created a big issue, and they told me that the clean-up was requested and SHEDULED by me. I explained it was impossible and how upset I was, and guess what - NOTHING happened to make things better for us, absolutely nothing. The manager did not call to apologize, there was absolutely no reaction to this, pretty big in my opinion, issue. So yes, hotel folks, if you are reading this – I did bring it to the attention of the staff. Compared to that, the rest was not as outrageous, but still quite bad and generally important to the quality of the stay: - Cleanliness: When we arrived, the toilet seat was dirty, there was pubic hair in the shower and the shower gel dispenser was empty. I did not want anyone in my room, so I sanitized all impacted surfaces, decided to use the little soaps for the showers instead of the gel and moved on. Ironically, when they broke in to clean my room, they still did not fill up the shower gel! That made me laugh when I stopped crying. - Beds: As another review here mentioned, beds are terrible. It is like sleeping on a water bed, you can feel every little movement, and between that and the old pillows, you are lucky if you get any sleep at all. - Room charges: Unlike any other hotel, this one did not send the email with the bill on the morning of the departure. Naturally, after what I have been through there, I decided to check the bill before I leave instead of just leaving like we do. I had booked using points, so my bill was supposed to only have parking charges + tax. However, when I got the print out, there was an additional $38 CAD per night charge just called “Room”, which the front desk could not explain. The further the conversation went, the more defensive the front desk representative got, until eventually they angrily removed the charges. Not even an apology or any sign of regret that there was a mistake, but a whole lot of attitude and pushback on the paying customer who happens to also be a platinum elite at this chain. Still remains to be seen what ends up being on the credit card – I am seeing some strange charges in the ‘pending’ status. As I was coming down to get the bill, check it and leave, I was squirming as I was expecting to be asked ‘how was your stay’ as usual, and I would not have known what to say. “I told you how it was la
- Guest User
Hi Carson & Mark, and staff: it's J and E, thanks for making our stay 5 stars! This hotel is perfectly located for a stay in Ottawa, being a short 800 metre stroll to the Parliament Buildings, War Memorial, National Arts Centre, Rideau Mall, and very close to the National Garllery of Art and Byward Market . We stayed in Room 2223 which afforded a breath taking view of the entire Ottawa Skyline - treat yourself to this Executive King Corner Room. Breakfast at Spin in the Hotel was very good, and priced fair. In/Out Parking on site is also fair and convenient. The hotel was built in 1972 but is well maintained and kept super clean. BIG shout out to MARK at the Front Desk who is absolutely so Personable and went above and beyond the call of duty for us. And of course...CARSON, what can I say, he is the Manager that all Managers should strive to be, very very accomodating! Thanks Ottawa Marriott...we'll be back soon!!!
- Guest User