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Lord Elgin Hotel
Category: Event Planning & Services Hotels Hotels & Travel Hotels Hotels [Edit]
100 Elgin StOttawa, ON K1P 5K8
(613) 235-3333
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- Paid
11 reviews for Lord Elgin Hotel
11 reviews in English
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Review from Valerie G.
Montréal, QC
1/3/2012
We stayed in this hotel from the 1st to the 3rd of Jan, 2012. Great location, very spacious rooms (we had a king room), room fridge, (great for hiding snacks and holiday leftovers), attentive front desk, and ....drum roll please...they allow dogs. This was the clincher for us but we were thrilled to have a room that was so nice and well located and we scored on the room rate of just 105$ per night tax in. We did not really take advantage of the hotels restaurant or bar as we were visiting family, but it looked swanky and I was told that it is where a lot of very important politics have taken place. I highly recommed it and suggest you not be deterred by the rates on the website, if you book last minuts like we did (in off time of course), your going to get great bang for your buck.
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Review from Jeff G.
9/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Question: Do you prefer old school authenticity or modern comforts?
If you answered 'old school' then the Lord Elgin might be for you. If you don't mind hollow walls and noisy hallways as long as you're surrounded by Grandma wallpaper and museum-piece furniture you might feel at home here.
If you're not yet connected to the cyber-world and believe that the internet is just a fad, you might find refuge here. Maybe you just don't mind paying the seventeen bucks a day for the wi-fi that many MODERN hotels provide for free with your stay. You can always use the business centre on the first floor which is slightly larger than most closets too if you don't mind confined spaces.
Seriously though, the hotel is loud at night especially if you're near the elevator which we were.
The best thing about the Lord Elgin is it's location, like many reviewers have already stated. It is central to everything you would want to see in downtown Ottawa including the Parliament buildings, the Rideau Canal, the Museum of Civilization, and the War Museum. We had a great view overlooking Elgin Street and the park beside it.
The dining room had extremely friendly staff the night we ate there but the menu is limited.
The Elgin has to stop riding on its historical coattails and get with the program. Just because you're old doesn't mean that you're great. I'm happy for them that the great grandson of James Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin, 15th Earl of Kincardine stayed there (I've never heard of him either) but that doesn't make me want to. Get on the bus or get under it.
The pool is nice. -
Review from Ben B.
6/9/2011 3 Check-ins Here
Ahh the Lord Elgin. It all starts out so nice! The grand lobby, the great location, the vintage charm! Yes, I dare say my expectations were awfully inflated by the time I left the lobby after being told that there WAS, in fact, a room ready for me despite arriving four hours before check-in time (um...awesome!).
Now, before we go any further, I need to be clear - aside from a few notable exceptions, my stay at the Lord Elgin was fine. But we're talking the same way a stay at the Holiday Inn is fine. Except you have a much better idea of what you're in for when you book at a Holiday Inn. Once you get past the classic charm of the Lord Elgin's facade, the rest doesn't really live up to expectations.
My room was all kinds of small...like, 'squat over the toilet to open and close the door of the bathroom' small and there just weren't as many nice-to-haves that are becoming standards at other hotels like nice conditioners and soaps in the shower.
What's worse though, is that some of the basics weren't even up to snuff. Having to scour the room for a free electrical outlet is no good, nor is not being able to both plug in your iPhone and rest it on the bedside table because the one free plug is in the far corner of the room.
The worst part though has to be that there's no free internet access. This could be up there with the seven deadly sins for me. I had to pay a pretty penny (think in the $9.95 range) for each 24-hours of web access, and it wasn't even wireless so working meant having to crouch over a poorly placed workstation rather than sitting in the more comfortable chairs or hanging out on the bed.
Lord Elgin? A few updates would go a long way at pairing your gorgeous, old charm with the modern day perks that we've come to expect. Get that under control and you'd be more than just a-okay in my books! -
Review from Anh V.
10/23/2011
didn't have a choice since my cousin picked this spot for all wedding guests from out of the city. the price was also pretty reasonable.
centrally located, we could walk to quite a bit of the city and eats. the actual street has a ton of fun pubs.
the brekke buffet is ok - nothing too spectacular but a decent amount of choice.
there is a small business center where you find most people checking their facebook. i tried to print my boarding pass but no one wanted to give up their spot. sigh. thankfully, i went early enough that it was ok.
maybe its not the epitome of modernism but it had charm and suited us just fine. -
Review from Tee Jay R.
Toronto, ON
5/11/2011
Passable and forgettable.
I was pleased with the dignified exterior, great central location, and reasonable rates, but less so with the room. The carpets, bedding, and furniture were quintessential hotel ersatz-luxury and only a slight step up from what you'd find at a Westin or Holiday Inn. Crummy tube TV, no duvet, no slippers, no bathrobe, mediocre coffee. No view from my room, and plenty of traffic noise during the day. Good water pressure and temp. Starbucks in the lobby: a big plus.
The biggest disappointment was that internet cost $10.00 / day, was painfully slow, and was ethernet-only. Guys, it's 2011 -- time to splurge on some LCD TVs, a high speed internet line, and a bunch of routers.
The staff were generally friendly and helpful, but allow me to share a small anecdote re: service. I left the tag on my door to order breakfast. In the morning, room service called up to clarify something. When I answered, the young fellow on the other end kept addressing me as "man" -- as in "Hey, man!", "Cool -- thanks, man!", etc. I don't stand on ceremony and he could have called me "el duderino" for all that I cared, but given that he had never met me and had no way of knowing I wasn't a middle-aged Senior VP of a major software company, calling me "man" from the get-go was probably a bad idea. -
Review from Susan S.
11/6/2009
This hotel is old world in the sense it is one of the oldest or oldest hotel in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.
The room we stayed in was small but nice and we were quite comfortable sleeping in in the beds and the hotel stafff was quite pleasant. It was walking distance to Parliment where we saw the daily "Changing of the Guard" and walked to nearby shops and restaurants.
If and when I return to Ottawa we will definately stay there again. -
Review from Darren M.
Ottawa, ON
12/3/2010 1 photo
I think there are really two reasons to stay at the Lord Elgin and maybe only two reasons -- the place has been around for many years and has name recognition and the location is great.
Otherwise I find the hotel and the rooms especially to be rather underwhelming. Unless you manage to score a street view room on the upper floors you won't have a view of anything.
You may think you'd have to worry about noise because it's located on a busy street and between two transit way streets but really you don't have to worry about noise because the windows are teeny tiny!
Anytime I've been in the rooms I've never found that the temperature can be controlled very well and the rooms aren't exactly sprawling.
The main level of the hotel is lovely and there is a pool, a restaurant/grill and a Starbucks is attached.
If you are planning a weekend or time in Ottawa with little reason to stay in your room (and why would you spend all of the time in your room?) the Lord Elgin is a decent choice because of it's perfect location. -
Review from Tom K.
9/2/2009
Located across the street from Confederation Park and a five minute walk to the attractions of Parliament Hill, the Lord Elgin was a strategically positioned base for our explorations of Ottawa.
Our room was on the second floor and therefore lacked any view besides that of the parking area for buses. The bathroom was stocked with shampoo,conditioner, soap and lotions from Gilchrest and Soames.
The toilet was not of the low flow sort, the shower head was powerful and warm when required and the sink area had enough space for two.
The room was functional. In other words, I wouldn't want to spend much time in it besides sleeping. There was a small desk and one nightstand with an alarm clock. Two nightstands for two people would have been appreciated. The carpeting seemed a little old but that's a minor observation.
There's a pool and fitness area in the basement which I did not use.
Given that we were on the second floor we thought using the stairs would make sense. Finding the stairs in the lobby that led to the 2nd floor was a challenge. After going through several doors in a dimly lit area we finally accessed the staircase. We wound up using the elevator at other times and became the bane of the other riders.
The breakfast buffet was a bounty of carbohydrates, proteins and sugars. (Pastries, eggs and fresh fruit). For $15, inclusive of coffee/tea and juice, the buffet gave us enough sustenance for most of the day. Pancakes and french toast were joined by a make your own waffle iron. Sausage, bacon and toast were also available in addition to muffins and bagels.
The Lord Elgin happens to be on the route of the marching guard who parade about town from Parliament Hill. Our waitress informed us of their arrival so we snuck outside for some photos of the beefeaters.
There is also a business center with PC's and printers, useful for printing out boarding passes in advance.
Checkout on Sunday morning had a long line but the staff handled every one in a timely manner. There is also a taxi stand in the front of the hotel.
Once again, the Lord Elgin was situated ideally and had enough amenities for a pleasant stay. -
Review from Sunny G.
Mississauga, ON
12/12/2011
Its clean, comfortable, great location, and reasonable rates.
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Review from Tim M.
6/8/2011
This is an excellent hotel. Rather old school but very central to what is happening in Ottawa, whether the theater, museum, parliament, the canal or very good restaurants.
I was there for 5 days and found the staff very nice and helpful. I never ate inside the hotel but good food is nearby.
You have to pay $17 for wifi which is a bummer.
The beds are large and firm, TVs old, bathroom and water power very good.
I would definitely stary here again -
Review from Chavah A.
9/23/2010
The Lord Elgin was a decent place to stay when staying in Ottawa. It didn't really have any special qualitites and the rooms were pretty standard. Nothing really stood out to me. Even the staff seemed very standard (no genuine real greetings or anything out of the ordinary, just business as usual). I did like the location, though. Parliament, the canal, shopping, eateries and everything were within walking distance. If you want a hotel close to everything but wont really be in the hotel much, this is a good choice for you. If your hotel experience is really important to you, keep looking...
