Stayed 3 days. Room was good size for 2, great bed, very clean, no complaints there, no noise problems. Location is convenient to the Market, so you can walk down to a nice bakery for coffee and pastries, lots to do in the area.

This is a very expensive hotel (particularly now the US dollar is at par), and honestly I'm not sure it's worth the price. You pay for extras:
- local phone calls cost $1.50 each - why? this is a relic of a distant era. There is NOTHING on the phone to warn you of this charge.
- parking costs a bunch extra - forget street parking, there is NONE in this area

We ordered a special wedding extra for a friend in another room; unfortunately their surprise got delivered to our room by mistake! We discovered it early enough to get it delivered to their room, but it took more than an hour for the mistake to get corrected.

My local friends used to stay here on special occasions; the consensus now is that they prefer other hotels for service, larger rooms, and better price. The Westin does still win for location.

My husband had a conference at the Westin and I took a few days off and tagged along so I could finish my Christmas shopping. We decided to go a day early because a big storm was going to hit on our planned travel day. That created a problem whereby they couldn't join the two reservations, even though we were in the same room. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but on the second day, our key access was cut off and we had to go downstairs and check in again. On the good side, the extra day meant we got upgraded at no charge from where the rest of the conference people were booked. We had a great view of the canal and Parliament buildings during a snow storm, and it was quite pretty.

The room was dated, but spotlessly clean, and the linens were indeed heavenly. Good shower water pressure, even on the weekday mornings. It had the typical amenities, including Starbucks coffee for the coffee maker, and the maid was very generous with extra shampoos, soaps, and extra towels.

There was a lot of heat loss through the floor to ceiling windows, so it was chilly sitting at the desk to work, but the thermostat did work well. The hotel lobby was so cold that when we checked in I pulled my scarf and gloves out of my luggage and put it on. I don't know how their staff stands it. It's like a wind tunnel.

The workout area is fairly small for a hotel of the size and the view is of roof construction, but it's bright and clean and they do have individual TVs on the cardio machines and good extra equipment such as resistance bands and fitness balls. Their spa features registered massage therapists and I had a wonderful massage.

We took one look at the menu of the main dining room and decided that there was no way we were paying $50+ for an entree in a restaurant with so-so ratings. There are lots of good local restaurants in the By Ward Market area and a good fruit store, so we brough stuff back to the room for breakfasts. One night we ate in the hotel bar (Landmarks?) and I had the best Cobb salad variation I've ever eaten and a good onion soup.

My only negative is that we paid $30 a day for valet parking and when we got our car it was apparent that it had been parked outside for most of three days. They have a big underground lot, so that was pretty chintzy of them. It was covered in snow and ice and the water bottles inside were frozen solid. I expect to be delivered a nice toasty car for that price! So, if you get valet parking, make a point of requesting that they keep it indoors.

This hotel was located in the nicest area with great shopping at the Byward Market, and it even had an entrance into the mall thru the hotel. Lots of great restaurants nearby...try Milestones, Kinki, or Aulde Dubliner. The confernece space was very nice and the food was ok at the hotel. The breakfast buffet was way overpriced at $25 per person! Go to starbucks or somewhere nearby instead. Guest rooms were well kept and bed was so comfortable. I would definitly return if I were in Ottawa again.

I purchased my hotel through Travelocity.com and paid for it.
The hotel billed my credit card 3x ..again after I already paid for it through travelocity. So I was officially billed 4x. I am still waiting for the Westin to fix it on my Amex.

Staff was polite, but get them on the phone and they are so inexperience and everything goes right to voice mail.

Room was nice.

Minibar and room service were EXTREMELY overpriced and the menu was less than to be desired. Nice views. Great being next to mall.

Construction on building as of Nov. 2007.