Ottawa Marriott Hotel — Attraction in Ottawa

The first night was not great as the room was like a goldfish bowl and didn't meet expectations. I actually felt disrespected that they put me in a room like that. Perhaps because I was a woman alone they thought I was a hooker. But it didn't look like the pictures. The "sheer" curtains were dirty and stained with make up (?!) It actually seemed like the room hadn't been cleaned properly due to a large stain on the carpet. The coffee maker was broken. ||The second day, after I asked, and complained, they moved me to another room which was much better than the first and had a good view. I appreciated the help from the man at the desk. I overheard him saying: She paid for it -- I assume his superior was trying to move me to a substandard room again, but I had paid for a balcony corner room||Loved the big bottles of shampoo, conditioner, soap provided on bathroom wall. Loved the detachable hangers and the provided slippers branded Marriott.||One problem was the desk chair was too low. Comfy as a chair but too low for working at a laptop. ||No screen door on the balcony, so impossible to leave the door open for air. I chose the hotel largely because of the balcony and the possibility of opening the door, so it was really annoying not to be able to avail myself of fresh air. ||While the hotel does a good job of keeping its eco footprint relatively small (no tiny shampoo bottles etc, but the big kind attached to the shower wall) it is very odd that instead of a china mug in the room, Starbucks paper cups are provided. Not very suitable for drinking coffee while working. Fan in bathroom was broken and there was a stain in the bottom of the bathtub. Also small yellowish stains on the ceiling.||The spinning restaurant on the top of the hotel is permanently closed except for special events. That was not good. The food at the hotel restaurant on the ground floor inexplicably called Spin because it doesn't spin (and the formerly spinning rooftop restaurant is closed) is good and totally edible unlike some of the local restaurants. The caesar salad is great (but ask for it without kale unless you find raw kale edible). ||There's a Starbucks in the hotel and one down the street. The latte in both are terrible. Overpriced and basically lukewarm milk with a splash of coffee in it for color for about $4.50. The latte at Spin was the same (not sure if they get it from the Starbucks). ||I also found the Kuerig coffee in the room to be weak, so I bought some President's Choice coffee capsules and some cream and used that. I figured out it was $1.25 a cup based on the receipt from the grocery store. ||Check the hours on the Starbucks and the restaurant. Both close earlier that you would expect for a city hotel. ||Liked the patio on the restaurant with lots of beautiful flowers. Fun to sit on bench outside hotel. ||Liked two tables located outside Spin restaurant in the hotel foyer (Didn't like that these two tables had "reserved" signs on them.) ||All the staff in the hotel were super friendly and helpful. ||I borrowed a bicycle when I was there and they kindly kept it in a store room for me. Cycle thieves are rampant in Ottawa, so it was very much appreciated. (The last time I was there I rented one from the cycle shop on Sparks Street and they didn't give me a proper lock, it was stripped of everything removable in broad daylight and I had to pay for it. They acted as though it was my fault but they should bolt the seat etc down and provide proper locks for everything.) ||Looks like the pool is popular, but I didn't go there. I think the pool is over promoted/a downside if you don't want to use the pool. The first couple of nights I was there, the hotel was overrun by teenagers and children who were having fun going up and down on the elevators and hanging out in the corridors, which on the one hand was great for the teenagers and their parents, but for others it was annoying. ||Didn't provide receipt the night before as I asked and then never received it even though they said they would email it. They can't do anything with the reservation either apparently. All has to be done online.||And if you drive check the cost of parking. I didn't drive, but had a friend who wanted to while we went for dinner and there is a flat rate of $29!! They told me it is city parking, but it's as if it is part of the hotel, so it is strange.||To watch films it ends up being $25 each, although it says $22 (I think). It also says the films are still in the box office, but not all of them are -- be forewarned. Some of them -- like The Shining, for example, are quite old. I could not figure out how to make the closed captions appear, which was frustrating.||The rooms are also not soundproof be forewarned.||Overall though, given some of the nightmarish experiences I've had in hotels around the world, this was a very...

Ottawa Marriot... Went for May Long weekend. We went to check in around 2pm hoping our rooms (2) would be ready. Only 1 room was ready. Check in was listed as 3pm, checkout listed as 12noon - not even a full 24hrs in the hotel. Cost $300/night. Checked in - counter people were very nice and checked in smoothly - gave us a Corner Room with Balcony - not sure if that is what we booked as I did not do the booking. Checked in with the Concierge regarding parking - I have a Truck which did not fit in the Underground Parking - the "extra" spots for Trucks were all full at the time of check-in - was told to park in outdoor parking lot across the road diagonally from the Hotel - $6 for the weekend. Sorry no photos of the room - King Bed - too soft, Pillows were useless unless you used 2 or 3. Nice view - balcony gave us a wonderful view of the parking lot for my truck! NO WATER in the room. NOTHING in the Mini Bar, yet they took a healthy security deposit for the room. After a day of exploring and dinner, we arrived back at the room around 10pm. Found there was no Water in the room - some hotels have pre-poured water in bottles and some have water bottles - nothing here. Called down to front desk to ask about having water - they said we could pay for it but there was water in the taps we could drink. When I spoke out about the cost of the room and there being no Water - the front desk clerk said "you can drink the water from the tap" and hung up. Obviously he was "offended". I did call back, and after numerous rings, I got a different person - I asked to speak to the duty manager and he identified himself as the duty manager - when I voiced my concerns, I was told the same thing - I could drink the water from the taps. It was then that I discovered the bed was like quicksand. TOO soft! and the Pillows, down? not sure - but folded around me head and offered no support. I did not sleep well, had to keep adjusting the AirCon. Curtains did not close properly and Hotel Rm door had a big gap in the bottom and let in too much light. Next morning - shower was good, lots of hot water. Went to the pool - very basic - shallow end/deep end - no diving. Towels supplied - smelled clean. Water was a good temp. Back to the room for a quick change and then went for Breakfast - they push the Buffet - not very good $30/person - should have checked the menu for a prepared breakfast - it would have been hotter and cooked properly or went out somewhere to eat. Waitress was bubbly and energetic and very pleasant - hostess, not very. Food was barely adequate for me, for the cost. Check out was smooth - day staff were very nice. Room - very clean Bed - not good for the cost of the room Pillows - not good TV - worked fine - no issues Shower/Washroom - very clean and water hot - tap water tastes like Tap Water - should supply water bottles. Pool - water nice temp - towels supplied - very clean - they have tubes etc in a bin for customer use - good for kids. Lobby - very clean and bright. Restaurant - looked clean, nice and open and bright - seats by the window available as well. Buffet - 3/10 - food dry and lacked flavor - some things overcooked - eggs runny. Overpriced. Front Desk - day staff - great! Front Desk - night staff - poor customer service. Overall - 2.5 - 3 out of 5 Would I return - NO. Why? For $300 a night - i want a better bed/better pillows, water in the room and a stocked mini bar that I can purchase things like beer/wine or snacks. Funny how when I travel outside of Canada - the other countries seem to really know how to treat tourists well and for much cheaper too!!! Marriot dropped the ball on this one! Balcony - nice view of the parking lot...

It has been 9 days since Ottawa Marriott responded to my first review stating that the Director of Rooms Operations is "In contact and remains available" but I have since found out that my case is CLOSED (I was never notified.) So I deleted my old review and will be posting an updated one with the new information I have now.

TLDR I found a bedbug in my room Housekeeping calls to tell me it is not I am told via email that their inspector is "almost sure it is not a bedbug" I get it ID'd by an external source who is able to confirm it is a bedbug This is never addressed and the hotel denies responsibility.

First things first. I stayed at the Ottawa Marriott from August 2nd-August 4th. We had no issues until the morning of the 4th when we were getting our things packed and we saw this bug crawl around on the mattress before ending up on the backpack that had been leaning on the bed where we then took this picture. Note the bag never left the hotel all weekend.

We get this picture, bring it to the staff, and we get a call about 10 minutes later from the housekeeper stating that it is not a bedbug, and there is no need to clean or isolate our belongings. We were offered a free breakfast which we declined and checked out shortly after.

I sent a picture to the email on the business card the receptionist provided with the picture of the bug below with a follow-up since we were told they would get an ID of the bug and get back to me. Well, the response I got was a report that the inspector did not find any presence of bugs in the room. Great, but what about the bug that I found? Well, apparently it is "not their inspectors job" to identify dead bugs BUT they were "almost sure it was not a bedbug"[3rd pic]. Interesting, so I reached out to Orkin Canada, pest control, and they were able to positively identify the bug as a bedbug. [4th pic]. Great development, considering neither housekeeping nor inspector were able to tell me what it was or wasn't, BUT since the inspector "did not find any evidence of bedbugs in the room" they concluded that it did not come from my room and therefore was not their responsibility.

I raised concerns about their Inspector failing to positively ID the bedbug I provided to them, and concern that if they could not accurately ID the one I gave them then their report finding others may be inaccurate, but was given a similar response that their inspector did not find anything and it was not their responsibility. I have not heard anything since.

The Marriott staff misled me TWICE regarding the bedbug I found, and did not respond when I tried to inquire about whether or not finding a bedbug from the lobby or other common area would follow the same logic of no room=no responsibility.

Be aware. They do not treat your concerns seriously or with respect. They could not even tell me my case was closed and left me waiting for a...