Château Cartier Hotel Review

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Château Cartier Hotel Review

If you’re planning a trip to Ottawa and looking for a budget-friendly hotel, the Château Cartier Hotel & Resort in Gatineau is one of the most popular options. In this Château Cartier Hotel review, I’m breaking down what you can expect from the rooms, the onsite restaurants, other amenities (like the Kōena spa), and how family-friendly the hotel is.

Prices at this four-star hotel drop as low as $125/night during non-peak times, and the onsite thermal spa makes it stand out compared to other Ottawa and Gatineau hotels in this price range.

While the hotel does appear very luxurious in pictures, it isn’t quite so glamorous in person. The rooms are a bit dated, which is reflective of the price, but they are still clean and comfortable. While the amenities are what truly make the Château Cartier Hotel stand out compared to other budget Ottawa hotels, it should be noted that the pools you see in the pictures online are for the spa only; there is no hotel pool for children.

We stayed here for the first stop of our three-week East Coast road trip, and it ended up being my favorite hotel of the entire trip—mainly because of the room layout and the spa access. We stayed in the Ottawa area for three nights, spending one day checking out the sights and another at Calypso Waterpark before heading to Quebec City.

My Château Cartier Hotel Review:

Overall Rating: 8/10

Château Cartier Hotel Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Spa access
  • Two-bedroom layout
  • Price
  • Free parking
  • Quiet location

Cons:

  • Not walkable to attractions
  • No pool for kids
  • Dated rooms
  • Dim lighting

Château Cartier Hotel Location and Parking

Rating: 7/10

The Château Cartier Hotel is located in Gatineau, Quebec. While it is not conveniently located within walking distance to many attractions for an Ottawa trip, I didn’t mind not being near the downtown core. It provided a much quieter and more relaxed setting. Since it was a short drive to the tourist areas, we chose to just stay parked and take an Uber to avoid dealing with downtown traffic or parking. For $20 plus a tip, it was well worth it.

Parking at the hotel is self-serve and free. The parking lot is large, and we had no problem finding a spot that wasn’t too far away. The parking lot sits a bit downhill from the lobby, so I recommend pulling up to the front door and unloading your luggage onto a cart before parking.

Nearby Points of Interest:

Check-In, Lobby, and Staff

Château Cartier Hotel

Rating: 9/10

As you walk through the automatic doors, a gorgeous but dim lobby welcomes you, featuring a large chandelier. A bit of seating fills this main area: a couch and four spaced-out chairs, set around a large double-sided fireplace. The other side of the fireplace offered a cozier vibe, with another couch and three chairs placed closer together.

To the left of the main seating area is the check-in counter—an elegant black counter with a wood-paneled wall framed by vines behind it. To the left of that, you’ll find the vending machine, as well as a water bottle refill station.

A small business area, complete with a computer and two more seating areas, all glassed-in for privacy, is also available. Down the hallway to the right, you’ll find more seating leading to Mālama. To the left, you’ll find KaTO, one of the hotel’s two on-site restaurants, and a longer hallway that leads to the other restaurant, ONŌ.

We arrived at 8:00 PM, so there was no line-up to check in, and plenty of empty seats for Grandma and the kids to wait in. Check-in was quick and easy; the staff at the desk were welcoming and helpful, letting me know how spa access worked and giving me clear directions on how to get to our room.

The Rooms at Château Cartier Hotel and Resort

The Rooms at Château Cartier

Room Types

All rooms include Wi-Fi, Chromecast on the TV, a coffee maker, a safe, and a mini-fridge. Connecting rooms are available.

  • Standard Room with Two Double Beds
  • Standard Room with Queen Bed
  • Standard Accessible Room with Queen Bed (with a private balcony)
  • Two Room with Queen Beds (Each queen-sized bed is in its own room, separated by French doors)
  • Queen Suite (with a double sofa bed in the living area, a queen-sized bed in a separate bedroom, and a private balcony)
  • King Suite (with a double sofa bed in the living area and a king-sized bed in a separate bedroom)
  • King Suite with Kitchenette (with a double sofa bed and kitchenette in the living area and king-sized bed in a separate bedroom)

We booked the Two Room with Queen Beds. It was only about $40 more per night to upgrade to this room from a standard with two double beds, and for us, the extra space was worth it.

The first room contained a queen bed with a bedroom bench at the foot. Across from it sat a dresser with a mini-fridge and safe inside it, and a coffee maker and TV on top. The bathroom and closet were located off that room. Through French doors beside the bathroom was the second bedroom. It also featured a queen bed with a bedroom bench at the foot, and across from it a dresser with a TV on top and an attached desk with an office chair. The second bedroom had a window, with ours having a front view, so we could only see the parking lot.

Room Review

Rating: 7/10

As soon as you walk into the hotel room, you can see why the prices are so decent despite it appearing to be a luxury hotel.

The rooms are older, with dated furniture; however, they are still well-maintained. The wood floors looked updated, the white-painted trim and doors still looked pretty fresh, and the walls were free from any major stains or peeling. While the furniture could use some updating, it was still functional and in good shape. The bathroom looked more modern and had likely been updated more recently than the furniture.

The room was clean, with fresh linens and a spotless floor. The only negative was the lighting. Without any sunlight shining through the window, it is pretty dim. While this is typical for many hotels, this one was darker than anywhere else I’ve stayed.

The bed was comfy, with soft linen and plush pillows. While I didn’t have any issues falling asleep, the room is not very soundproof for lighter sleepers. Since it has an optional adjoining room, there is a door leading to the room next to us that allows the noises from that room to seep into ours. Luckily, with the second room being away from that door, lighter sleepers can be further from potential noises.

The shower was decent, but nothing special. It was a good size, with good water pressure and no fluctuations in temperature.

The layout of the Two Room with Queen Beds was the highlight for us. It’s very spacious and perfect for a family of four with teens who want their own space or younger kids who go to bed early. This worked well for us since Brie was ready for bed shortly after we checked in and likes it dark to sleep. Since I still had some unpacking to do, Zen and I took the first room so I could have light, and Brie could go to bed in the further room.

Château Cartier Hotel and Resort Amenities

Château Cartier Hotel Amenities

Kōena

Rating: 8/10

While Château Cartier Hotel and Resort does not actually have a pool, the thermal spa, Kōena, is great for parents looking to unwind after a long day. It includes hot/warm pools, saunas, steam rooms, cold dunk pools, a salt scrub shower room, a Himalayan Salt Room, a Meditation Room, and tons of areas to sit or lie down and relax in. It is not free, but you do get a discount as a Château Cartier Hotel guest, and it is cheaper than other thermal spas in the area (see the prices here). Plus, the price is a bit lower from Monday to Thursday and after 6:00 PM.

We tried out Kōena on our second night at the Château Cartier Hotel, after a day of sightseeing around Ottawa. I had been wanting to try out a thermal spa, so this was the Ottawa activity I was most looking forward to. The spa allows teenagers 16+ with an adult, so both kids were able to join me. They both stayed for about an hour and a half before deciding to go up to the room, but I enjoyed it so much that I stayed until closing time.

I have so much to share about Kōena, I wrote a separate Kōena spa review to share everything you need to know before you go. It does get busy and crowded in the evenings, especially on weekends. When we first got there, it had more of a social party vibe than a relaxing spa vibe. The pools are used by groups to socialize, and many people do not respect the clearly marked “Quiet areas.” However, it did die down toward the end of the evening. By 9:00 PM, it was far more relaxed and quiet than it had been when we arrived at 7:00 PM.

Traditional Spa Services

Kōena also offers traditional spa services, with a variety of massage options and body treatments. For facials, hand care, foot care, and other aesthetic treatments, you can head upstairs to Mālama.

Other Amenities

Château Cartier Hotel and Resort also has an 18-hole golf course. We didn’t golf on our trip, but from what I read on Golf Pass, the reviews aren’t that great. The overall rating is 2.5 stars, but all the reviews are from 2020 or earlier, so it may have improved. For someone like me, who has never golfed, it would be worth trying out on our next trip, but more experienced golfers may want to look elsewhere.

There is also a 24-hour fitness centre. I didn’t use the fitness centre during our stay, but I did take a peek at it while walking by. I was impressed. It is much larger than the majority of hotel fitness centres I’ve seen and contains a good variety and amount of equipment.

Dining at Château Cartier

KaTO

The Château Cartier Hotel has two on-site restaurants.

KaTO

We didn’t get a chance to try out KaTO, the Japanese-Korean restaurant, but I did take a look around while it was empty.

The décor in KaTO is very modern, with white and gray seating matching the lobby’s luxury vibe. A large wrap-around bar sits at the entrance, with a row of seating out in the hotel lobby. Inside, there is plenty of seating, with some bar tables, booths, lots of tables and chairs, and another bar at the back of the restaurant.

ONŌ

Rating: 7/10

On our second day there, before we visited Kōena, we did get a chance to try out ONŌ, the American cuisine restaurant.

ONŌ is connected to the spa, with dining areas for the spa separate from the rest of the restaurant. The main dining area in the hotel part of ONŌ looks like a banquet room, with a couch and a couple of lounge chairs on a dance floor beside the entrance, and tables with green upholstered chairs on the carpet. Across from this area is a long bar with white chairs. Past the bar are more tables and chairs, with an outdoor patio dining area on a green turf to the right.

We chose to sit outside since the weather was nice.

The menus had English on one side and French on the other. I was impressed to see several gluten-free options marked on the menu. Brie chose to just get a burger on a gluten-free bun, while I tried the pulled pork tacos. The food was good, but nothing special.

The service, however, was very slow. Both servers that were working the patio were friendly, helpful, and apologetic, and I don’t blame them at all for the speed. I could see them both running around, working their butts off, so it was obviously an issue of being short-staffed.

Ready to book your stay?

If you’re planning an Ottawa or Gatineau trip and want a hotel with spacious room layouts and access to the Kōena Spa, this is one of the best-value options in the area.

Check current Château Cartier Hotel rates here.

If this hotel isn’t the right fit—especially if your kids need a pool—you can explore my other Ottawa hotel recommendations below:

Château Cartier Hotel Review Summary

So, is the Château Cartier Hotel & Resort worth it?

For a budget traveller, this Gatineau hotel is well worth the price. We had a great stay, and I hope we will be able to stay here again on our next Ottawa trip. I was more than impressed with Kōena.

The Château Cartier is a perfect Ottawa hotel for parents with older kids (who can be left alone in the room for a few hours), looking to relax alone after a day of sightseeing around Ottawa with kids. Even parents with younger kids could take advantage of the spa by taking turns staying with the kids.

But, with no pool for kids 15 and under, this may not be the best place for all families. While Brie and Zen were both old enough to come to the spa with me so they could still enjoy soaking in the pools, had they been younger, I would have considered other options. But, for families who don’t care as much about swimming, the rooms with two separate bedrooms would still make this hotel worth it.

While it’s not the best hotel near Ottawa for families, it is my top recommendation for kid-free trips, whether it’s a girl’s night away, a valentine’s trip with your spouse, or just a solo trip for mom to recharge.

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