my original review is at the bottom, because Tripadvisor does not allow edits to reviews or updates (seems ridiculous to not have that feature) I wanted to update. Review is still not perfect as they are still doing renovations and the actual exp I had but once renovations are done this will be a great place to stay 5 stars. management contacted me and was very apologetic about the stay and offered wonderful incentives to make up for the experience I had. they are very open and fair and will try to do the right thing to correct a situation. should you experience something unfortunate at this hotel know that management will take it seriously and truly cares about making things right. I now trust this place completely and feel comfortable knowing anyone I direct here will have their expectations met. I can't mention enough about the staff! Other hotels should start poaching these employees or figure out the training they go though or management techniques. It is NOTICABLE how switched on and caring the staff is. You'll have to go to find out what amazing staff this place has they truly make you feel welcome and seem truly happy to be working there. -original review After a long drive to get to a hotel room that has a horrible musty smell is one thing that could be tolerated. I’m not a fancy person and was debating if I could just deal but when my partner stepped on some spikes from the carpet that was enough to be done. The protector ***** that normal places have from the room to the bathroom tile was missing. Further to that I scraped my hand on one of the exit doors that had some rusty metal from previous holes that were made in it. I would not think this place is safe for kids at all based on how much danger seems to be everywhere. If you must book considering they were doing renovations demand that you are put in a renovated room or don’t go. Fine if desperate to not sleep in your car but it literally is the bottom of the scale of what one would expect from a hotel.
Stayed at the Novotel for a week in early Feb 2023 while attending a conference at the nearby Westin. I booked for a really low rate through hotwire. After a pleasant check in I was excited to come into a very large on the 8th floor with a separate seating area and a very large TV. Room was pretty clean although when packing up before check-in I found some items under the bed that did not belong to me. Location was perfect, right across from the Rideau Centre and the Westin/Conference Centre and within a short walk to the Parliament Buildings, Sparks Street and Byward Market. My only compliant is the walls must be paper thin as I could hear the ding of the elevator and conversations in the hall from my room. I was also there a four hour during a power outage in the evening. I assume the outage was unscheduled but there was a lot of confusion and no one at the front desk when it occurred. The hotel shares a building with a DND office which made it confusing leaving the building by the stairs as the stairway lead to a entrance that read ”DND property alarm will sound”, it took awhile to figure out how to exit by the stairs.