Four hundred and twenty-six rooms inside the 1912 château-style grand hotel directly opposite Parliament Hill, a National Historic Site of Canada, and the establishment address of the capital.
"The capital's defining building that you can also sleep in. One hundred and fourteen years on, it still functions as the unofficial press room of Canadian politics, and the rooms are quietly the best work the Fairmont group has done in a generation."
The Château Laurier opened in 1912 as the eastern terminus hotel of Charles Melville Hays's Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, commissioned alongside Union Station across the street as a pair. The architects Ross and MacFarlane built it in the high French Renaissance Revival idiom (Indiana limestone, copper turrets, a steep slate roof) that became known as the Canadian château style and that the Fairmont group has used as its corporate visual signature ever since. Hays died on the Titanic three weeks before the hotel opened; his portrait still hangs in the lobby. The building was designated a National Historic Site in 1981 and sits on the most consequential address in the country, directly opposite Parliament Hill with the Rideau Canal locks dropping away to the Ottawa River below.
The 426 rooms and suites occupy the original 1912 structure and the 1929 east wing addition. Standard Fairmont and Deluxe Fairmont categories run 27 to 32 square metres in the original building, with the period proportions that the chain has wisely refused to demolish, generous ceiling heights, deep windows, original mouldings, and quietly contemporary furnishings layered inside the heritage envelope. Signature, Junior, and Specialty Suites stretch from 45 to 110 square metres and include the famous Parliament Suite on the seventh floor with a 180-degree view of the Centre Block and the Peace Tower from the writing desk. Every room has a work desk with extra power, a Nespresso machine, a bedside charging hub, and (a rarity in this category) windows that open.
The food and beverage offer is consistent with the property's role as the meeting room of the capital. Wilfrid's, the lobby-level dining room, runs a modern Canadian menu with a clear view onto the Rideau Canal and is the political breakfast room of Ottawa from Monday through Thursday in season. Zoe's Lounge, set inside the original 1912 conservatory under the iconic blue and white awning, is the long afternoon reading and meeting room of the building and the city's most photographed afternoon tea. The Hub bar adjacent runs a cleaner-lined cocktail service for the evening. There is a 24-hour in-room service and a small business floor breakfast that doubles for the executive level guests.
The wellness floor is the most underrated component of the property. The Health Club holds a 25-metre Art Deco swimming pool installed in 1929 (the oldest in any Canadian hotel and one of the most photographed swims in the country), a separate sauna and steam room, and a complete cardio and weights floor that runs 24 hours for in-house guests. The spa is small but serious. The conference floor adds 17 meeting rooms including the original Adam Room and the Drawing Room, both regularly used for state functions. The location is the property's other unrepeatable feature: Parliament Hill is across the street, the National Gallery is a four-minute walk, the ByWard Market begins immediately behind the hotel, and the Rideau Canal skateway runs from the foot of the building in winter. Service is grand-hotel calibre, formal in the lobby and at concierge, warm and conversational on the floors.
The Château Laurier is the establishment business hotel of the Canadian capital. Cabinet ministers take breakfast in Wilfrid's, lobbyists hold meetings in the Drawing Room, and the corporate floor breakfast on Eight is the most useful 15 minutes of the day in Ottawa from Monday through Thursday. Book a Deluxe Fairmont on a Parliament-facing floor for a two-meeting, two-night trip; the writing desk, the opening window, and the bed are the right configuration for two-meeting days; the Rideau Centre concourse runs directly into the lower lobby for transit and the airport YOW shuttle stops at the entrance.
An Ottawa anniversary at the Château Laurier is the cleanest answer to the question of how to mark a milestone in the capital. The Signature Suites give a couple a properly heritage room above the Rideau Canal; the Art Deco pool and the in-room dining service handle the quiet evening; Zoe's afternoon tea is the city's best slow afternoon, and dinner at Wilfrid's with a window onto the canal closes the day with a view that no other Ottawa hotel can match.
For an Ottawa proposal at the most theatrical setting the city offers, the Château Laurier is the booking. The Parliament Suite with the 180-degree view onto the Centre Block and the Peace Tower is the most photographed private window in Ottawa; the concierge runs a discreet proposal package with a private terrace bookable at sunset; the canal at the foot of the building gives a walk-out ten minutes after the question. The kitchen will assemble a private dinner in the suite with twenty-four hours notice.
1 Rideau Street
Ottawa, ON K1N 8S7
Canada
Directly opposite Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal locks; below-ground concourse to the Rideau Centre; OC Transpo Rideau station at the corner
426 rooms and suites
Fairmont Rooms from CAD 369/night
Deluxe Fairmont from CAD 485/night
Signature Suites from CAD 825/night
Parliament Suite to CAD 4,200/night
Check-in: 4:00 PM
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Opened 1912; 1929 east wing addition; National Historic Site of Canada; Fairmont Gold corporate floor available
1929 Art Deco swimming pool (25 metres) with sauna and steam
24-hour Health Club
Wilfrid's dining room, Zoe's Lounge for afternoon tea, The Hub bar
17 meeting rooms including Adam Room and Drawing Room
Fairmont Gold executive floor
Complimentary WiFi throughout
From CAD 369/night. Parliament-facing rooms and Signature Suites book four to six months ahead for the spring Parliament sitting (April and May) and the autumn sitting (September through December), and a year ahead for Canada Day weekend in early July when the hotel is the official press hotel.
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Last updated June 11, 2026
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