Château Cartier Hotel & Resort Gatineau - Ottawa — Hotel in Gatineau

I recently stayed here for four days during a work trip with my fiancé. While he was working, I had the chance to explore and enjoy what the chateau had to offer. After my experience, I can confidently say it's best suited for a one- or two-night stay. The highlight of the chateau was definitely the spa. It was a beautiful, clean, and relaxing space with four hot pools at varying temperatures and two cold plunge pools. However, the staff were very attentive, to the point of being intrusive. For example, when I briefly put down my water bottle to put on my robe, I was told I couldn’t leave it there. They were also quick to remind guests to keep their voices down.

Personally, I didn’t find the location ideal, especially since I didn’t have a car. There wasn’t much to do or see nearby within walking distance. The hotel has two restaurants: Kato, a Japanese restaurant, and ONO, which serves more standard fare. Kato was the standout— the food was incredible, especially the flank steak, which I ordered twice. ONO was fine; I preferred their breakfast and lunch menus. The Musiel Bowl and pulled pork poutine were delicious, but the dinner options were just okay. My chicken breast was average, and my fiancé’s burger was quite bland.

Service throughout the hotel was painfully slow. It didn’t seem to matter how busy the restaurant was; they always took a long time to serve us. The best service we experienced was at Kato on Wednesday, September 25th, where our waiter, Loic, was fantastic—attentive, friendly, and personable. He really made an impression, and we even told him he was the best waiter we encountered during our stay.

When I first arrived, I was impressed by how many staff members were bilingual in French and English. However, I still encountered a bit of a language barrier. For instance, I would request something from the front desk, and it would either take over 20 minutes to arrive or they would bring the wrong item. I found myself calling multiple times to follow up. Eventually, after the second or third call, the staff would show up promptly. Additionally, the hotel does not offer room service, which I found frustrating. One night, after being told by the front desk that room service was available, I called the restaurant, and they rudely informed me it wasn’t an option. A simple apology for the miscommunication would have sufficed, but instead, they made a snide remark about expecting a server to leave the restaurant to bring food to my room. I believe room service should be a standard offering at any hotel.

The room cleaning service was also really slow and delayed. I checked in on Sunday, but my room wasn’t cleaned until Wednesday. I had to constantly call for towels and coffee, and whenever the maids came by, I had to remind them to empty the trash.

Overall, my experience was pleasant, but I would recommend this chateau for a short stay—just a day or one night. I am only giving it a 3 star just for the purpose of...

This place was an amazing getaway. Stayed for one night with breakfast and access to the spa. Best deal for sure.

Food: There are two options for food. The Onô and kaTO. Both are reasonably priced for the quality you are getting. The KaTO is Japanese inspired dishes while the Onô is more traditional mid-upper class food. The Onô is accessible through the hotel or the spa. Other food services like delivery are available. You can expect anywhere from a 25-45 min delivery time.

Service: Being a resort, the staff are VERY service oriented. The cleaning staff are very friendly and the front of house very professional.

Location: The resort is located close to Gatineau and Ottawa's Downtown core (5-10min drive), without being too close to any of the cities hassles and noise. Forest on the front side, golf course on the back. It's very quiet and surreal.

Kōena Spa: This was the highlight of the trip. If you get this included with your stay, you will have access to the spa the day of your arrival and until check out the next day. So check in as early as possible to take full advantage of this. There are several indoor and outdoor services. Seriously, check out the website for all the details.

The rooms: This is the reason why I could not give them a full 5-star review. The hotel is an amazing historical site. That being said, their are certain things a good face-lift can not change or get forgotten. Our room had a few issues. Although most of the room felt modern, there are obvious signs of age in some places. The beds and furniture were fine. The living room area had a nail or piece of pipe poking through the laminet flooring. I stubbed my foot on it twice and had to move the table over it so I would not do it again. The door in the room was very hard to open. It's not because the keys didn't work (those were fine), but you had to play around with the handle and force it up, then slam it down hard to open the door. The cleaning staff told me it was OK to use a lot of force on it as the handles were old and got stuck sometimes. Had this been another regular door, I would have been afraid to break the handle. The bathroom.... that was the real sore part for me. Leaking bathtub fosset, grime in between tiles dated tub and toilet paper holder falling off the wall. The sink area and floor were fine. But when you get there and compare it to the rest of the style and updates done to the place, it feels like they forgot to do the tub and shower area. It was a letdown compared to the rest of the hotel itself. You can tell that they have modernised the rest.

The only other complaint is the TVs. Felt like these could have been swapped a long time ago with smart TVs. Just regular cable and no Netflix access felt like a step backward in time compared to other resorts and hotels.

Food, Spa, services and location 👌 Amazing....

My best friend and I go there each year to have a spa and celebrate our birthdays together. They have a limited amount of balconies and they will not let you book them in advance. They will put the request on the computer for you but there's no guarantee. What is the point of a reservation if you cannot book it in advance. We had to arrive earlier in the morning just to plead to them to give us the balcony because we like to be able to sit and have a glass of wine in the evening and we were looking forward to that ambiance. The front desk staff was very standoffish at first, and then we started talking and telling them of our annual celebration and they loosened up a little bit. We finally did get the balcony room, but it was still a battle to request it. The staff we did deal with ended up being awesome and she worked with us in every way she could. It was very much appreciated. But why can we not reserve it in advance? Is that not what reservations are for? Very frustrating!

Parking as hotel guests was an absolute nightmare. The spa is extremely busy and those patrons take all the parking spots from the hotel guests. If the hotel is separate from the spa, why is there not a designated lot just for hotel guests? We had to park in the back 40 and walk up which I thought was unacceptable. Hotel guests appear to be secondary to any spa goers.That alone turned me off to ever wanting to go back again. Control your parking lot by issuing parking passes at check-in for a designated lot that accommodates your guests. Not rocket science! ...And you don't piss off your patrons.

We also had dinner in the restaurant at the spa. I understand that it is a separate entity to the hotel, however, the service was absolutely brutal and the food was terrible. We sat for 15 minutes before somebody even acknowledged our presence and ask us if we would like a drink to start. From there it went downhill. The food was very bland, my hamburger bun was stale, and food was overpriced. We had to ask for water three times before we got it. If the hotel wants to associate themselves with the spa, they should be making some requirements that they step it up to meet a higher standard. It appears that it doesn't matter if you make a complaint to somebody as far as the restaurant and service goes because they don't do anything about it.

It was disappointing in many ways, but my friend and I always make it the best we can and still...