Embrace the cold, hit the hot tub, repeat. That's the point of a winter trip to Canada. We had no…read moreproblem embracing the cold...but we forgot to bring the hot tub with us to the mountain. Having just come back from a Colorado ski trip a few weeks prior to this trip, we were just here to tube. There weren't very many people on the slopes, presumably because facial frostbite sets in halfway down the hill if you aren't smart enough to bring a gator (we were not), and there were even fewer on the tubing runs. Mingling amongst a handful of tiny puffy children, we were able to get up and down a few times without issue, however, it was after that point that the magic carpet became much less magical and we had to walk up. That was less fun. Whilst tubing, unless you are wearing snoveralls, be prepared to probably get snow in your pants on the way down. No matter how much I tucked in, the sitting angle + the speed = snow up my back and down my pants. I'm usually a face-first tuber, but that angle is frowned upon here. We paid for two hours and stayed for one. When the magic carpet was as magical as advertised and I was going too fast to care about the snow making its way through all of my layers, it was fun. Not something I'd do all day, but for $20/ea, it's not a bad way to spend an hour or two.

My go to hill in the Ottawa region. Sommets Edelweiss had it all:…read moreTerrain for every level of skier. A great terrain park. High speed quad lift (giving you 6 runs per hour). Great staff. What's more, it is only 30 min from downtown Ottawa!

Wakefield is this charming, sleepy little village and Les Trois Erables is the perfect place to…read morestay! This gorgeous old house is huge, and the gardens are really pretty, too! I've stayed here 3 times, and breakfast is always interesting and never the same. EX: Moroccan Citrus Salad, omelette with goat cheese and spinach, baked apple flowers.... One piece of advice though - stay for 2 nights so that you can really explore the village. My next trip will be a whole weekend, not just one night. :)

This is a newer hotel. While it's hard to give it a great rating, it's also hard to give it a good…read morerating as well. This hotel is one of those clean, budget hotels like Hampton Inn, Courtyard etc. The hotel itself is 4 floors, clean and provides great service. However, the gym is quite small (4 cardio machines) and it is just a continental breakfast and the dinner options are basically frozen/instant food, however there is plenty of fast food options and bars in the surrounding area. Verdict: If you're midway between Ottawa and Montreal, it's a decent place to stay for one night.

Solid clean hotel. Lots of parking just off Highway 417. Free breakfast clean rooms. Staff…read moreExcellent and bilingual

Nothing wrong with our stay at all. Clean room, clean bathroom. Room comes with a coffee maker,…read moremini fridge, and microwave. Comfortable bed and pillows. Friendly staff and workers. Complimentary breakfast includes waffles, sausage and/or bacon, oatmeal, danishes, breads, yogurt, juices, etc. you can also drink and eat at the bar they have downstairs. There is also a gym, meeting room, and small pool and hot tub. This place is only a half mile walk to the Canadian tire Centre, so it's a good place to stay if you're from out of town and want to catch a game or concert at the arena.

My stay at Fairmont Le Château Montebello was 100% fantastic!!! My family and I went for my…read morebrother's big birthday, a place where they all had been 11 years before. Didn't know what to expect with the world's largest log cabin, but it was a visit I would recommend for anyone seeking to enjoy 5-star service level in a extremely beautiful, historic facility that allows you to go "off the grid" and appreciate the analog recreational activities that this hyperfast digital world tries to crowd out of your bandwidth. From the moment entering the main gate diving through the forest, you recognize this massive western red cedar log cabin château will be something different, and nothing like my original preconception that it would be like the Biltmore in Ashville. Entering into the stupendous great hall lobby with stone central fireplaces at its core, no matter how tall and majestic, Le Château Montebello immerses you in a cozy, human scale. My room, with period-design furnishings, log wall, and window facing a green courtyard and glimpse of the Ottawa River, reminded me of my childhood Adirondack and Appalachian vacations decades ago. The bright, updated, modern, sleek bathroom however kept with the times. Should you need it, there was wifi and TV, but my focus was to allow myself to break away from the outside world, taking advantage of time with my family and what this true resort had to offer. Every day started with their amazing breakfast buffet, included with our room, that provided wonderful freshly prepared food, including local specialties. We regularly sat in the windowed section with its river view. During the day I took advantage of what the hotel included with my room - so many different options to spend your time: a spectacular indoor pool hall with hot tubs and sauna, a gym, a bike, an outdoor pool and hot tub, plus (my favorite) the mini golf course. (My real golfer family, who also played a round on their main golf course, laughed about it until they experienced it was tougher than it looked, but all around fun and perfect for kids of all ages!) Note - There are board games in the great hall, everything that will make a memorable experience for a family with kids. You'll notice throughout the hotel people walking around in the Château's white guest robes, given the many amenities to help you relax. Did take advantage of a massage at the spa (an extra charge), which really enabled any stress that I had to melt away. Must add, outstanding staff!!! They did everything to make this trip incredibly special. I wanted to give a surprise photo of my brother and me on his special birthday, which landed on a Saturday, and the only place nearby with an instant photo printing service was in Papineauville, but I didn't have access to the car. Understanding my predicament, the concierge arranged the hotel van take me there to make it happen! (Again, big thank you, guys!!!) The hotel offers wonderful events as well. The two I enjoyed were food related (of course): exhibit of wonderful local food businesses, which allowed delicious tastings and a filming of a finale of a Quebec TV's MasterChef Junior kid cooking competition. Every night, we met up at Bar "Le Foyer" in the great hall. allowing us time to together to appreciate the experience. We also had several dinners at the Château's various restaurants, as well as a lunch there outdoor. (Will separately review dinners at their Aux Chantignoles and The Grill BBQ and lunch at Le Riverain. Check out all my other Montebello food-related and outdoor activity reviews, too!) Come expecting to be transported to a way enjoying the quality of life disconnected to today's attention-grabbing, frenetic world and connected to those more simple, time-tested pleasures that endure and provide a well-deserved reprieve. Everything about my stay with my family provided one of those incredible memories of a lifetime! Cannot more highly recommend Fairmont Le Château Montebello!!!

TLDR - Chateau Montebello is luxurious and pricey, yet I find it a good value for a staycation if…read moreyou can make use of the many outdoor and indoor activities, most are included in the resort experience fees. It might be too costly if all you want is to relax, eat well and watch TV. The Chateau Montebello is a loghouse hotel with a gigantic fireplace right in the middle of the hotel. Many Medieval style chandeliers are hung in the lobby. The atmosphere is unreal. While it is more rustic than modern, I personally found this lobby beyond compare. Hotel Room We stayed in a room in the Frontenac wing. The room was a good size for 2 people. The pictures on the website correctly reflected the furnishing of the room and the bathroom. In terms of complaints, I wished the TV would allow casting of videos from my phone, but I guessed the hotel management wanted people to rent on-demand movies from them instead. Recreation Facilities The hotel is full of recreational activities. The sport building is free of charges to hotel guests. There are many outdoor activities, too, but because we visited in winter, we didn't get to experience them. The indoor swimming pool is a must visit. The swimming pool is in a separate sport building. There is an underground tunnel connecting the main loghouse and the sport building, so that guests can travel between the hotel and the pool in warmth in winter. The pool is approximately 12 meters long and 5 lanes wide. I think it is the biggest hotel swimming pool I have ever swam. I found the water very clean. The female changeroom was more functional than luxurious. There were many lockers and 2 showers with shower gel, shampoo and conditioner provided. We had to obtain the bath towels from the pool frontdesk, however. Services The services were impeccable. The reception desk was courteous, efficient, and I had to command them for being especially patient with us English speakers. Room services was quick. The lobby bar carried good selections. The fireplace was constantly burning. Overall Chateau Montebello is more of a resort than a hotel. The overall offering is well worth the hefty prices, if you could make use of the many recreational offerings. The dining options are very useful in the winter, because many places in the village are closed in winter.

Amazing friendly place. Comfy sleep and the staff is great. Called in late to reserve on dec 26th,…read morechecked in around 9pm. They found a room for me since I was coming from far and ski hill 5 min away. Little continental breakfast.

I thought for sure I wrote a review for this place. Oh well, late entry. My wife and I took off for…read moreour combined anniversary/her birthday last August based on tons of comments and recommendations. This place wasn't good. It was fantastic. The front desk staff were all friendly and fluently bilingual. The checked us in, got us to our room and that's when things got better. We reserved a bigger room in the main hotel overlooking the park they have in the back, the A/C worked like a charm, the bed was comfortable, just a peaceful oasis for us. The hotel is also perfectly located to be able to walk to town within about 10 minutes so it was very convenient for us. We had reservations for breakfast and one dinner at their restaurant. The food at this place isn't good. It isn't even great. It is one of the best places we've ever eaten at. The 5 course dinner menu is probably one of the best we've ever had - this was as good as any place we visited in New York, New Orleans, some of the killers we visited in Victoria......... trust me, you will be blown away by the food, both breakfast and dinner. One afternoon my wife was getting ready so I went down to the bar for a quick drink and it was fantastic - great conversations with the bartender, the other guests who were all in a good mood, and great cocktails. Great service, friendly staff, this place does it all. All in all, I can only give this place 5 stars but it deserves at least 6. We will be back for sure.

I kept waiting for Inspector Ganache to walk through the door…read more What a lovely place. We stopped for a late lunch on Boxing Day after visiting with friends who live about 30 minutes further away from Ottawa. We were seated at a table overlooking the mill stream. The room was warm and welcoming on a snowy day. The waitress was charming in two languages. The menu was tempting. And the food was both presented beautifully and was fantastic. We shared paté de foie gras as a starter. My friend had a salad with magret de canard. I had a small steak with winter vegetables. Both were excellent but the magret was both more beautiful on the plate and tastier. We even ended up chatting with the lovely people at the next table who were celebrating a round birthday. If you're in Ottawa, make the trip to Wakefield. And let me know if you bump into Inspector Gamache.