The Metcalfe Hotel by Gray Collection

Friendly note: When everything goes smoothly, the Metcalfe Hotel is excellent in every aspect—prime location, lovely atmosphere, stellar valet team, and a great restaurant! Our stay started well with an early 4pm check-in. We were assigned a second-floor room with a connecting door, despite the front desk knowing we had young children. Around 10-11pm, the guests next door began a loud party—blaring music, shouting, and uncontrollable laughter. With kids trying to sleep, we called the front desk multiple times, but nothing changed; the noise lasted until 1-2am. The next day, we demanded a new room without a connecting door, which they provided. Disappointingly, the front desk seemed indifferent, only waiving two days of valet parking after persistent follow-ups. The valet team, however, was fantastic—I tipped them individually for their excellent service. This could’ve been a 5-star stay without the noise and lackluster response. As a 4-star hotel, the front desk needs improvement. A reminder to guests: late-night noise pollution is inconsiderate!

Walkability: Walkable distance to major downtown attractions.

Service: 3

Superb hotel!! I love the lobby with its sofas, there is a library with several books, it’s cozy. A beautiful skylight in the ceiling which is very high. Beautiful decor. The Cocotte restaurant is excellent. I did a review on this.

Service: 4

Where to start with this one… ended up booking this hotel last min through Agoda, on Agoda’s website they stated that this hotel has free parking, when we got to the hotel they advised us that there’s no free parking and that the cost is a whopping $47/night + tax for their “vallet” service. When we asked them why it’s falsely advertised like that, and if they could honour what’s written online, they outwright refused and took no accountability for the errors and said it’s Agodas fault. After asking if they’ve ever asked Agoda to correct this, they responded that they don’t even work with Agoda… so what they were pretty much saying is that Agoda just stole the hotels information and processed payments on their behalf .. very odd since i’ve used Agoda throughout my stays across Europe and Asia.. extremely laughable. All they kept offering was a card with the managers email who conveniently does not work on the weekend and does not respond to calls. After paying this exuberant parking fee, we went up to our room which apparently had chromecast so we could relax and watch Netflix, unfortunately that wasn’t working as well. When we called reception to check out what’s wrong with it, they sent the vallet parking attendants to take a look at it and ofc after 30 mins of trying they couldn’t figure it out. The next morning we had to leave in a bit of a hurry as my mom isn’t doing well so i misplaced my wallet. When asking the front desk to help us with this situation, Deepak was incredible rude and dismissive towards the whole situation. We asked him to help us in a few different ways but all he could say were words regurgitated from the employee training handbook i would suppose, he offered no real help and called me a liar, stating that he doesn’t even think I left the wallet .. by gods grace the house keeping staff located the wallet, i don’t know her name but she was the kindest lady ever compared to all the incompetent employees at this hotel. Do yourself a favour, this hotel is definitely not worth $200/night and $50/night for parking… pay a bit more and go stay at the Fairmont. At least their staff will be trained on proper etiquettes and customer service. Travelled to 28 countries, stayed in well over 100 hotels, this is hands down the absolute worst customer service i’ve ever seen.

Service: 1

Rooms: Plancher de bois flottant qui gondole...

Service: 4

I recently stayed here with my small dog. We had a nice stay although the day we were checking out I left my dog bowl stand in the room, I sent a hotel a message about it the same day and sent someone to pick it up for me the same day to only been told the next day that they couldn’t find it in the room, how is that even possible.. do they throw it out what happened to keep people’s belongings in the hotel for at least few days or send a reminder that you forgot something behind. Very unprofessional and I’m very disappointing for the way the handle this problem.. I never got the stand back and I never got a respond to my email from them.. it’s also very annoying that I can hear very clearly everything that’s going on in the room beside me .

Update on this review..The hotel just contacted me shortly after I posted this review and they apologies for the situation and compensated me for the inconvenience.
Thanks for getting back to me

Service: 2

Stayed at the hotel for Christmas and it was great. The room was a bit small, but very comfortable. The shower was great and loved the quality of the toiletries and products provided. The rooms are also very quiet, I knew the room beside was occupied but I never heard anything. The staff was nice, helpful, kind. The restaurant is fantastic! Only downside, there is no pool or spa. But, I will definitely be returning in my future travels.

Have stayed at this hotel twice now for work and really like it. Highlights include the very chic and airy lobby / bar / restaurant that is a fantastic place to do some work, great lattes, and mid century millennialish design. Also love that the junior suite has a “window” facing onto the atrium which had a nostalgic 80s feel for me.

Docking a point for a few flaws: no water or towels in the gym area (as other reviewers have noted, should be an easy fix…), normal rooms have low ceilings (go for the junior suite for an extra $30), slightly noisy HVAC system.

Service: 5

This hotel is, without a doubt, one of the most incompetent places I’ve ever stayed. Upon checking in, I made it abundantly clear that I needed my electric car charged immediately. The front desk assured me—multiple times—that it was being taken care of. TEN HOURS and two follow-up calls later, I find out my car wasn’t charged at all. When I confronted them, they threw out a flimsy excuse, calling it a ‘miscommunication,’ and claimed I hadn’t told them to charge it right away. Absolutely laughable. I couldn’t have been clearer, and their lame excuse is nothing but a cover-up for sheer negligence and total disrespect for guests’ requests. If you want to stay somewhere that actively ignores you, lies to your face, and couldn’t care less about even the most basic requests, this is the place for you. Complete incompetence and apathy—avoid this place like the plague

Nice hotel but the corridors are very echoey. The room was clean, the bathroom renovated, the bed and bedding very comfortable.l

Service: 4

During my recent business trip, I had the pleasure of staying at this classy hotel. The beautifully decorated rooms and comfortable bed made for a pleasant stay. On the main floor, the hotel featured a stunning lobby and a welcoming restaurant/bar.

However, a few issues did arise. The newly renovated bathroom, although tastefully done, had a non-detachable showerhead with unchangeable settings, resulting in a low-pressure dribble that left me a bit unsatisfied. In addition, the internet speed was incredibly slow. For over $300 a night in downtown Ottawa, I expected better performance, yet I struggled to even load Netflix while on the Wi-Fi.

Overall, the hotel offers a charming and elegant atmosphere with quality accommodations, but improvements in the bathroom design and internet speed would significantly enhance the overall experience.

Food and drinks: The food and drinks here were incredible, the steaks were the best we’ve ever had. Ever.

Service: 5

Am staying here for the second time this year and have to say I'm always unimpressed when a hotel demands top dollar in addition to the fee charged, for internet merely fast enough to watch Netflix. That plus asking for tips at the check-in desk, is truly class. Disappointing as so much else here is well done. Charge enough to pay your staff well and provide all guests with top internet, there are enough two star places in this town already.

Service: 3

Our daughter’s wedding was held at the Metcalfe on Oct 10’24. Where to begin to describe what a wonderful experience this was! The hotel itself is just lovely. It’s a boutique hotel with a warm cozy vibe from the moment you walk through the door. The downtown location was very convenient and all of our wedding guests were very comfortable there.
Carmen, a sales manager at the hotel, managed the wedding arrangements and was our daughter’s main contact for the wedding. We live in another province and therefore couldn’t be as hands-on as we would have liked. Our daughter had told us how wonderful Carmen had been with all of the planning and when I met her in the lobby on the morning of the wedding, I could certainly see that for myself. Carmen, you were so professional, friendly and helpful. I instantly felt so relieved that the arrangements were in your capable hands. Carmen made herself readily available throughout the day and went above and beyond to ensure that everything went smoothly.
The food was delicious. All of the menu options were wonderful and our guests were so pleased with their choices.
Every member of the team from housekeeping to wait staff to the director were so supportive, enthusiastic and kind. They all treated us as if our daughter was a family member of theirs and that her wedding was just as important to them as it was to us.
Thank you so much to all of you. The wedding was perfect and we’re so grateful to all of you for the huge effort that you put into it. Several staff members had mentioned to us that The Metcalfe does a lot of weddings. We can certainly attest that they have it down to a fine art. Thank you.

Service: 5

Don’t ever stay at this place!!!!

Service: 1

The property itself is very nice and conveniently located from many landmarks and places to dine. The staff was also excellent, particularly the housekeeping staff who were quick with a smile, a greeting, and to ask if there was anything you needed. It's possible there may have been been some renovations going on, but the gym seemed to be an afterthought. There was enough equipment to get a workout in, but astonishingly, there were no towels (though it appeared something might have been a towel rack) and no water available. With a few minor changes, some updating and the addition of more equipment it could be a nice space. Just was underwhelmed given the rest of the property seemed so well-appointed.

Service: 5

$42.00 for parking!!