Dow's Lake is a man-made lake on the Rideau Canal. It's the site of many fun activities and there…read moreare several restaurants there with beautiful views of the water. You can rent canoes, kayaks, and pedal boats/paddle boats in the summer. In May there's the Tulip Festival which is technically in Commissioner's Park, but this park surrounds Dow's Lake. In the winter when the lake freezes over, you can skate on it, and it's connected to the Rideau Canal, so you can skate for a pretty good distance. There are 3 restaurants at Dow's Lake. Over the years they have changed, but currently the restaurants are Lago, Umbrella Bar, and Mexi's (aka Mexicali Rosa's). There's a paid parking lot nearby ($3.50 per 30 minutes up to a maximum of $14), or street parking ($0.25 per 6 minutes) a bit further away, or free parking on residential streets in neighbouring Little Italy (3 hour limit as per by-laws).

Dow's Lake Pavilion is a short distance away from the airport and Ottawa's downtown core. I like…read morethat you can escape from your daily routine to this picturesque area without doing a road trip. There are canoes and pedal boats that you can rent. You are required to sign a waiver, wear a life jacket, and put down a $20 deposit. You can use cash, and debit and credit cards, except for American Express. Sadly, Amex doesn't seem to be as widely accepted as it used to be. There are lockers where you can store your belongings when you are on the water. I recommend coming with what you truly need. I parked in the lot across from the Pavilion. Parking is $3.50 for 30 minutes, to a maximum of $14. I paid by credit card, which was great. I didn't risk parking on the street, but I know that I can now. It's cheaper that way, but you do have to be cognizant of the time. You can also dine here after a fun time out on the water. We ate at Mexi's. You have the option of dining in the restaurant or sitting out on the patio. I missed the tulip festival. Perhaps I'll plan my vacation and take them in next time. (254)

This is my first time visiting this hotel. My friend and I didn't stay here but we came to check…read moreout their patio & lovely river view. We enjoyed our visit and will return again for sure . Thank you for having us.

Had a 3 day stay here on business. Decided to watch some of Game 7 of the World Series at the bar…read more Greeted enthusiastically by Megan the bartender and had a few pints with a co-worker. Friendly regulars and awesome service from Megan made it an enjoyable evening. If they had HD television it would have been even better.

Our workplace rented 2 days of the meeting room of this co-working space for meetings. The…read morereceptionist was helpful but also kept an eagle eye on everyone that walked through the door. Meeting room was well lit, well equipped with TV, HDMI cable, whiteboard and markers. The door seems to keep the sound from the outside well. But the walls weren't sound-proofed and we were able to hear the other room's conversation if we weren't talking. The biggest issue were the chairs. They were stiff, plastic chairs! When we asked if we could swap them with the ergonomic chair, they asked us to swap no more than half. This was on a Monday and there were over 20 empty workstations and unused chairs.

The staff are really friendly and helpful, and they have mentors called "Experts in Residence" that…read morereally help you get your social enterprise started. I've met so many people through it, and it's great for those who usually work at home to connect to others. If you're working on a social enterprise, this is the place to be.

Ottawa is so lucky to have this facility. Located in the Riverside area near Billings Bridge it's…read moregot an unreal amount of stuff happening at all times of the year. Under their umbrella, there's a ton of fitness centres and wellness programs (like the Nepean Tennis Club!) under their "lifefit" heading. I had my first experience here in a summer camp when I was young, and then at a volleyball camp as a teen. As an adult, I appreciate all the clubs and sport leagues available. They also do training courses like CPR and First Aid, and have specialty classes like Fine Art which is cool. Their facility is a big one, and there's a ton to learn and see, so take your time and soak it all in. I'm a big advocate of checking out their website to see what might be of interest to your fine self. You can get an individual or family membership, and there's a lot of options, so if you get confused, maybe go in for a chat. The FieldHouse Bar and Grill is also a part of the centre and serves up breakfast, lunch dinner and snacks and drinks. There's also a sports shop that sells fitness gear like clothing, tennis rackets and they offer restringing which is helpful. They also have banquet and special event services as well as a massage and physiotherapy clinic! If you're looking to get active or make some new friends, this is an awesome place to check out. Also great for kids - they have a massive summer program!

I've never used the sports facilities here, but I really enjoy this location for conferences and…read moremeetings. They have multiple rooms that can be used for a number of different events. The lobby is nice and welcoming and the signage is very helpful to get the guests to where they need to be in the building. The food the catering staff creates is top quality and their event staff must be on point as I've never attended an event where anything went wrong from the venue's perspective. They recently added a temporary extension off the front. I'm not sure what this building houses. It includes an enclosed walkway from the main building to the new temporary building. That walkway is a bit awkwardly placed and makes cab drop-offs and pick-ups somewhat difficult. It's not possible to see the full driveway and getting passed the temporary walkway is a bit of a squeeze in order to get to the cab drop-off/pick-up. But with all new things come a few bumps, so I'm sure they'll figure this out quickly.

The Glebe Community Centre is a unique structure in the heart of the Glebe. It offers a multitude…read moreof programs for every age group and interest, including painting, theatre, yoga, pottery, sports, dance, baking and cooking classes, dog obedience classes and even random classes like soap and bath-bomb making. Their prices are usually reasonable, but the classes fill up very quickly, so make sure to register well before the first class begins. If you live in the area, you'll receive a calendar for the upcoming season with a grace period to plan your next class. The centre also has many day or weekend long events, such as plays, craft fairs, jewelry shows and food shows. If you're in the area on weekdays between 11:30am-3pm, stop by The Pantry Vegetarian Tea Room for some food. The prices are a bit high and there's not much selection, but the food is fairly wholesome and usually organic. They don't accept debit or credit card, so bring cash!

This is an amazing community feature right in the heart of one of the loveliest spots in the city…read more I've recently had the opportunity to drop by with two little ones to bring them to playgroup and their toddler music class, and I was blown away. I would never have suspected from the relatively boring outside of this building that the inside is alive with great programming. You're greeted by a lovely staircase that leads up to Scotton Hall - the "gym" that Reviewer R mentioned. This is a stunning room with huge vaulted ceilings, stained glass, a kitchen and tons of room for the little ones to run around during playgroup (which is what I was there for!). It would also be amazing for an event. The playgroup was amazing. The facilitator Andrew, was great with the kids and there's even snacktime for kids and parents. The music class is similarly well-run and all the staff I have interacted with her are sweet and friendly. There' a whiteboard in the front lobby that details all the happenings going on that day and it's always packed! They have tons of classes (I even say mention of a "mother-daughter glee group" - unreal!) for all ages and the prices aren't bad at all. There's a great play structure outside for the little ones, as well as a sweet Thomas the Tank Engine table under the stairs. Be sure to ask the lovely lady at the front desk for the trains - clearly these have gone missing in the past, haha! If you're in the area, this is a great option for activities for kids and adults alike. Pop in and see the space - you won't be disappointed!

TL;DR/The Short Version: I'm not a golfer. This review is…read morefor the grounds, clubhouse and the meal I had there as part of a special event. Nice looking golf course. The food was good. The Long Version: The Hylands Golf Club is a golf club by the Ottawa airport. Membership is open to everyone, but it is known as a military golf club. Military insignia and military memorabilia can be found throughout the golf club. Military personnel also pay the cheapest memberships, followed by civilians working in Defence, RCMP and Coast Guards. All others have the highest membership rates. I'm not a golfer and am not a member, but I was there for a special event (military related). I briefly toured the grounds and they looked nice, but I spent most of my time in the clubhouse. There's a bar and kitchen there. I had dinner there and it was fantastic. We started with the Bistro Salad, which was a mixed greens salad with onions, dried cranberries and feta cheese. The vinaigrette was light and slightly sweet. We had beef tenderloin as our main and it was tender and flavourful. It was accompanied by roasted potatoes, carrots and asparagus. The gravy was delicious. The dessert was a cheesecake with a raspberry sauce. It was a bit too sweet and too rich for my liking, but overall still good. Service was courteous, but I never got my tea, and I feel like we were maybe a bit of a larger group than they are used to. We were about 100 people. There is free parking on-site, which is paved (I mention this because although I haven't been to many golf clubs, most that I've been to have unpaved parking lots, which is a pain when you're attending a formal event and wearing heels, lol). I think Hylands Golf Club would be a nice place to have a smallish reception or party. Review #116 (2025)