Ottawa road trip in March??
I’ll preface this week’s post with an explanation: Ottawa is my second home. I lived in or around Ottawa from 1980 to 1998, and I loved it there. (okay, I did become weary of the winters) But we have friends there and I love to make the drive, so this quick post (with minimal pics, sorry) is about our most recent trip to The Nation’s Capital.
Near the end of our February trip to Antigua, I was starting to feel sad that we wouldn’t be traveling again until May. Fortunately, I saw a post on Facebook that changed everything. The post was announcing that a dear friend of ours was going to be performing on piano in a trio in the newly renovated bar at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in late March.
As much fun as it would be to stay at that swanky hotel, it’s outside our budget. After a few quick clicks on my phone, we had reserved for 2 nights at the Homewood Suites Ottawa Downtown, at 361 Queen, which shares its building with the Hilton Garden Inn. Presto! Something new to look forward to!
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/yowqshw-homewood-suites-ottawa-downtown/
We’ve stayed here before and love its location, view, and the fact that you can walk to most places downtown. Otherwise, there are taxis and Ubers always close by, and the underground parking is only $25 per day.
There’s also an indoor pool, and a great free breakfast. In general, we just love suite hotels – I always seem to be able to book a huge room for the same price (or less) than a regular hotel room, and the property is always quiet, and pet-friendly for when we bring our dog along with us. Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought to take pics of our room, but here’s the link to the gallery:
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/yowqshw-homewood-suites-ottawa-downtown/gallery/
Another great thing about the rooms at the Homewood Suites is that they each have both a desk and a dining table, so we were both able to work. The first night we hosted a friend for dinner at their restaurant, Tulip, and were really impressed with the food, drinks, and service.
Our free day took us across the Ottawa River to Gatineau and some shopping at the SAQ, Quebec’s version of the LCBO. We were able to get some unique gins and wines there.
Our evening at Zoe’s Lounge at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier was so much fun – their bar offerings were beautiful and unique, and the bar menu was fabulous. The music was wonderful, and it was great to reunite with good friends.
After brunch with our friends the next morning, we drove home, happy that we had made the trip. We’ll be back to Ottawa (and another Homewood Suites) in the Fall.
Next week, I’ll talk about trip planning in general and some tricks I use that may (or may not) be new to you ……. Timing is everything!!
Happy Travels!!
#homewoodsuitesottawadowntown
#fairmontlaurier
#zoes.ottawa