Mixed Feelings
Based on the chorus of rave reviews and high ratings on TripAdvisor I quite expected to be swept away on a tidal wave of love for the Business Inn & Suites in Ottawa, and therefore had high hopes and expectations for my visit to this hotel. After my three-night stay, though, I’ve come away with a mixed bag of feelings.
On the positive side, the front desk staff were absolutely wonderful. They were very friendly, efficient and accommodating, and I was warmly greeted every time I passed through the lobby. The housekeeping and cleaning staff were also very considerate and friendly. The suite I stayed in was large and very clean, although the white-on-white decorating scheme (all walls, ceiling, kitchen cupboards, etc.) did make it feel kind of stark and austere. It was also a bonus to have a good-sized balcony. Yes, the suites are somewhat dated-looking, as other reviewers have mentioned, but they are in excellent condition and they contain numerous amenities. I had an extremely comfortable bed in my suite, which made for some really comfortable nights. Also, it was very convenient to have a computer with high speed access and printer in the room. The hotel seemed to have good security and the building felt very safe; I noticed cameras at many points within the complex and the staff at reception control the door access leading to the suite tower. The breakfast offerings were fairly extensive and the “grab & go” breakfast bags were a real plus and came in very handy during my trip. Also, the hotel is in a great location with most amenities on the surrounding streets, most notably on Elgin Street.
On the negative side, my suite had a communicating door opening to the suite next door. To say that there was sound transfer from next door is an extreme understatement; it was as if the guest next door was actually in my suite – I could hear everything, and I do mean everything, very clearly from next door. If these communicating doors are not in service, can they not be sound-insulated instead of just locked? The Wi-Fi in my suite was extremely slow and dropped connection constantly. I noticed, too, that the suite I was in did not seem to be ventilated properly – late one night I was awakened by an extremely overpowering and unpleasant cooking smell, like meat cooking. The pungent smell seemed to be coming in via the shared kitchen or bathroom vents – it was hard to tell which but it was nasty. Lastly, I stayed in a room directly beside the elevators. While I didn’t notice much sound from the elevator operation itself, I was unfortunately subjected to everyone’s shouted conversations (and on occasion, drunken ramblings) as they hovered directly outside my door waiting for the elevator to arrive. This is certainly not the fault of the hotel, but I think if I had been booked in for a longer stay I would have asked to change rooms because of this.
There’s an odd thing about the Business Inn & Suites. Despite the suites themselves being extremely spacious and well proportioned, I found most of the hotel’s public areas small and claustrophobic. The worst culprit has to be that underground parking garage – what a nightmare! With a full-size car I had only a few inches to spare on each side when entering the garage ramp. Once you do get below, the garage is extremely narrow and cramped with pillars and obstacles everywhere. My car hit bottom both coming and going out of the ramp every time. If you drive even the tiniest SUV you’ll definitely want to book a space in the outdoor parking lot beside the hotel. Secondly, the two elevators for the entire building are extremely small and coffin-like, and there was always a long, long wait for them anytime I needed to go anywhere. When the elevators finally did arrive they would always be heavily packed with guests and hotel staff going about their duties. And then there’s the breakfast room – it was far too crowded and cramped, with everyone scrambling around and crashing into each other while trying to toast their bread and bagels at the same time at the overcrowded breakfast table. This area needs to be configured differently so that the high-demand areas are not all concentrated into one tight spot on the tables. This should help better accommodate the masses of people who show up every morning for breakfast here.
Would I stay at the Business Inn & Suites again? Ummm… probably not. Even though the staff were fantastic and there was truly excellent value-for-dollar amongst so many other positives, I found the common areas of the building poorly planned, overcrowded, cramped and claustrophobic, and I consequently felt annoyed and stressed during my stay here.
Visited: October 2014
