On Friday, my family and I were invited to the Ottawa Marriott to play tourists in our own city and check out the hotel for a blog review. The hotel contacted me to help spread the word about how family friendly they are, and since we travel a lot with our young children, it was a chance to see for ourselves.
Our stay included one night in a deluxe room (king bed plus pull out queen bed) and breakfast in Spin restaurant.
After spending the late morning/early afternoon in downtown Ottawa, checking out Parliament Hill and walking for ice cream with the kids, we checked in. I have to note that the location was so close to Parliament Hill. It was an easy walk and we felt really close to everything.
Before we checked in, here’s what we knew: That the hotel had a pool and kids’ area. From pictures online, my son knew there was air hockey and mini golf which meant he was incredibly excited.
We checked in and discovered a very stunning room with stunning views. The room was quite spacious, without the couch pulled out yet there wasa lot of room for the kids (note: this room wasn’t the standard room, but having a deluxe room is sometimes the best way to go for size we have found)
After settling in, and grabbing a Starbucks which is part of the hotel, we were ready to check out the games room.
There were two rooms – one with toys and video games, the other with sporting activities like air hockey, ball hockey, mini golf and billiards. The kids were in heaven.
The toy room had lots of options from trains, to dolls, to cars and even a slide, although it was a bit high and enclosed so my kids were hesitatant with it. Having a small toddler slide would have been more their speed. There were also 5 televisions with Wii and Xbox systems.
In the other room where air hockey, mini golf, billiards and more was set up, my son was beyond excited. My daughter gave ball hockey a try and we were able to spend a lot of time there before going to the pool.
Having a swimming pool at hotels has become a perk the kids look for now.
Some hotel pools have slides, however, my children aren’t old enough to go on them anyway so it’s not really a big deal at this stage for us. We had a great dip and were able to head back up to the room to order room service for supper. We decided to order room service to check out the food and prices first hand – both of which we found very good.
The kids meal came with the choice of main (we chose grilled cheese which was kid friendly) and 2 sides – we chose french fries and fresh fruit (salad was also an option) and to be honest this was enough for both to split. It also came with ice cream.
Andy chose and open faced smoked salmon sandwich (he loved it) while I had the pasta of the day – a mushroom and beef combination with pappardelle noodles. What it lacked in colour (it was very brown) it made up for in taste. Delicious.
When we pulled the extra bed out, there was still plenty of space in the room. It was a great room for a family of four.
In the morning, we enjoyed more time in the games and checked out. Our staycation was over, but the kids talked about it all weekend long.
Highlights:
Incredible location. Right downtown with easy access to a lot of major attractions like museums and Parliament Hill.
Very large room
Pool
Kids area – two rooms for playing including toys, video games and sporting games. Also, the kids rooms open at 6:30 am. Excellent for those of us with early risers.
Delicious food at very reasonable prices.
Exceptional service – from the check in, to wait staff, to maintenance staff we ran into in the elevators, they were smiling, polite and engaging with the kids.
Starbucks on site.
What would I change?
This is the tricky part, because really we had such a great stay. We’ve stayed at a lot of hotels with the kids so it was easy to compare.
I do like having the breakfast package option that could be used as a credit towards room service rather than buffet. With kids this age, they are sometimes hard to keep at a restaurant meal for too long, and with a buffet you want the option of going back for more.
Having said that, I’m glad we went to the restaurant to experience it. The kids found a lot of breakfast options (not always the case) and we found the buffet to be one of the best hotel buffet breakfasts we’ve ever had. (note: this was part of our package, but buffet is $17 each adult, $14 for children 6-12 and $7 for children under 6. We certainly got that value out of it).
Another recommendation would be to have a Family Stay information sheet in the room at check in – as part of the other information like room service menu etc. The reason being is that it’s nice to have, all in one place, when the pool and games rooms open, what’s available etc.
Wrap up
My overall comment is that I highly recommend the Ottawa Marriott as a place to stay. It’s one of, if not the most family friendly hotel we’ve stayed at.
If you live in Ottawa consider heading to Spin Kitchen and Bar just for the food, or, plan a day of fun activities and take the family for a staycation this summer and save the gas money.
If you live out of Ottawa, plan a visit and come stay. Ottawa is a beautiful city to visit with lots of exciting activities to do plus you know that you can keep the kids busy at the hotel.
Side note: My son can’t stop talking about the hotel and games he played.
Want to know who won the Ottawa Marriott giveaway on my blog from last week? Update is on the post here. Thanks Ottawa Marriott for the awesome giveaway!
Thank you Ottawa Marriott for the stay and breakfast as part of my blog review. All opinions expressed are my own.
sounds nice! We have been considering a staycation this year since our schedule doesn’t leave room for much more than a day or two away. You have a typo at the top that made me laugh “That the pool had a hotel and kids area” cause really, the pool is the most important part of all isn’t it 🙂
haha, Chantal that made me laugh too – see how important the pool is? 😉 Thanks for the catch
Wow, look at that kids room! And the ball hockey room – my Hubby and Son would go crazy for that. Thanks!