Hilton Garden Inn Ottawa Downtown

I made an obvious booking mistake and called within minutes to cancel and ask for a refund. I explained several times that I’d meant to book another hotel and never intended to stay here, but they still refused, with no empathy or willingness to make an exception. That’s a poor way to treat customers when a genuine error is caught right away. Double-check everything before confirming, because if something goes wrong, don’t expect help or basic understanding from this team. I’d avoid the hotel if fair treatment and reasonable flexibility matter to you.

We had a fantastic weekend here for a hockey tournament. The hotel was modern and clean, with large spotless rooms, helpful service, and friendly staff. Parking took some effort with our larger vehicle since the closest lot was two blocks away, but we managed. There was one small pool maintenance issue: a loose skimmer cover bruised one of the kids’ legs when they fell into it. Apart from that, we had a great stay. There’s plenty to do and see in Ottawa, and I highly recommend catching a Senators game.

The stay itself was fine, but I’m extremely frustrated with the service afterward. The hotel printer was broken at checkout, so I couldn’t get a paper receipt. I came back that evening and still couldn’t get one because the printer status hadn’t changed. They promised to send a digital copy the next day, but nothing arrived. I followed up with Guest Services twice over the next two days, then emailed the reservations team formally, and got no response. Now I’ve had to ask a colleague in Ottawa to go to the front desk in person and retrieve the receipt because the staff couldn’t email a copy. I travel often and always ask for a digital backup, but I’ve never seen this level of incompetence over a simple folio from such a reputed organization. It shouldn’t take a “desperate” email and someone else’s intervention to get proof of payment. Extremely disappointing follow-through.

My mother-in-law has mobility problems and stayed here for a few nights. The larger accessible room was helpful, and the rooms are nice with a helpful front desk team. The drawback was that her accessibility room was on a high floor, far from both the elevators and stairs. Some other hotels nearby put these rooms on the main floor, so in an emergency there isn’t as far to go.