After completing two nights at the Hyatt Centric Montreal, I was on to Ottawa for a two night stay at the Andaz Ottawa ByWard Market. I booked the two nights through Prive as the prices were equal to what was available on Hyatt.com. As a benefit, I received breakfast included, a $100 CAD credit, and an upgrade from the 1 King Bed with View to a 1 King Bed with View Deluxe (the next category up).
The Andaz is a Category 3 property, which means you can book a room for between 9,000 to 15,000 World of Hyatt points. I was able to book a View room mid-week in July for $215 CAD (approximately $160 USD) plus $40 CAD in tax ($30 USD).
Location
The Andaz Ottawa is located in the ByWard Market neighborhood which is the area just across the river from the Parliament. The area around the hotel is gritty. There is also currently a fair amount of construction going on. However, it is a central location. The ByWard Market is a block away where you can find the fantastic Moulin bakery.
Parliament Hill is an easy 10 minute walk. As are most of the museums and other sites.
The closest light rail station is Rideau. From Rideau Station, it is a 5 minute walk to the hotel.
Check In
I arrived in Ottawa by train and took their new light rail to the hotel; arriving around 3pm.
I was assigned Room 1301. The staff member that checked me in (as well as checked me out) was pretty clearly new as she didn’t know that my rate included breakfast. She also had a difficult time with getting my bill correct at check out. For some reason my stay also posted as granting zero night credits for elite status and no points. I had to call in to get it adjusted and even then I didn’t get all of the points I should have.
I also inquired about using my $100 CAD credit for laundry, and was informed it could be used for that purpose.
The elevators do require a room key to access the guest floors.
Room
Room 1301 is a corner room and quite large. I think it could actually have been a suite had they reconfigured it slightly.
You enter into a small hall that turns to the right for the bathroom (on the left) and walk in closet (on the right). There is a wall light and small shelf at the entry.
The rest of the room is straight ahead. The bed is against the wall to the right and it faces a wall mounted TV. There are switches on both sides of the beds to control the lights (including one to turn off all lights in the room). There are also outlets on each side.
Next to the TV is the mini bar and coffee maker.
My room had a Nespresso machine (while the person I was traveling with had a Keurig in their room). As it is an Andaz, the non-alcoholic mini bar items are complimentary. This included two cans of Coke (1 regular, 1 Coke Zero), a can of Perrier, two bottles of water, and a small bag of potato chips. Items are refreshed daily. It feels a bit like this property is going through the motions as there is no “local” vibe to the products.
There is a table with one chair and bench in the window corner.
The room looks out to Parliament Hill. Unfortunately it was quite hot during my visit so I had to keep the blinds and curtains closed for much of the time to cool down the room.
I had a plate of macarons waiting for me as a gift for booking through Privé.
Across from the bathroom is the walk in closet with safe.
Bathroom
The bathroom has a pocket door to be closed off from the rest of the room. There is a single vanity against one wall.
Opposite the counter space is the toilet and glassed shower stall.
The shower has both a ceiling mounted rain shower and a handheld wand. There is no water flow control; just temperature adjustment.
The bath products are in large bottles and one bar of soap is provided. The brand is Byredo.
Gym
There is a small gym located on the top floor (Floor 16). There is a mini fridge stocked with water bottles in the gym.
The gym shares the same floor with the Copper rooftop bar that has both outside and inside seating.
Breakfast
Breakfast is in the restaurant, Feast & Revel, off the lobby. Globalist/Privé/Guest of Honor breakfast includes one entrée, one cold drink, and one coffee.
I had the French Toast one day and the Sunrise Omelette the other day. Both were very good.
Overall
Despite some very minor hiccups (staff training, issues with points/nights posting, lack of local mini bar items, somewhat sketchy immediate area), I enjoyed the Andaz Ottawa. Most of the high end hotels are across from Parliament Hill. Being in ByWard offers a good alternative. Considering that two nights came out to $375 after taxes and included a $75 credit and breakfast, I found the Andaz to be an amazing value. The room I got felt high end and large with great views. Granted Ottawa isn’t necessarily a huge tourist destination for most; if you find yourself in the area I would recommend a stay at the Andaz.
