Arc The.Hotel

Really enjoyed my stay. Nice room and good amenities. Absolutely no issues of any kind and location was perfect. Best of all the staff is very friendly and made for an excellent stay.

Was in Ottawa during a very big conference at UOttawa (9.000 attendees) and the availability of rooms/​accommodations was quite tricky, even when booking several months in advance. I was pleased to be able to secure a room that fit my dates at such a nice hotel (even if it cost $ 209 +++ a night for some of the nights we were there — and this was a ‘deal’). The décor is lovely and stylish, and I want to renovate my master bath to mirror the ones in ARC — clean and minimal and lovely.
The front desk staff and the valets were all very friendly. That said, parking was a bit of a pain, though… we had to wait for our car to be retrieved each time, and sometimes there was a delay, or the valet wasn’t available (and had to be called — adding time to our already semi-​obnoxious wait – perhaps this serves me right for overburdening my schedule?). (And it was expensive!)
The WiFi could use some updating — it had the habit of fading a bit just when I was trying to send an email. This is a pet peeve of mine, and I take issue with any hotel that proclaims itself ‘business-​friendly’ yet doesn’t have really sound, reliable connectivity.
That said, the overall experience was positive. The hotel is well-​located and, if you like stylish, smallish boutique hotels, this is a great choice.
I’d stay here again if I could get the same deal (s) listed by others, but I’ll save my $ 200 + per night budget for cities that merit the expense (I used to live in Ottawa, so this is a fair, if semi-​ironic, statement).

A nice hotel in downtown Ottawa.
Parking is hit or miss, it’s $ 30 for valet or if you’re lucky you can park on the street outside for free on the weekends.
Room is nice and clean, bed is comfortable, staff is friendly and helpful.
An overall good experience!

The overall experience was fine. It is what it is, a bed downtown Ottawa. I was offered sparkling champagne upon check-​in which is a great touch — I was also upgraded although I am sure it was due to overbooking. The room was nice and clean. My only few issues with this hotel is the price and the appearance and attentiveness of the staff. It was close to $ 300 a night for a hotel that is under construction it seems and to me, not really presenting that calibre of price. I was not offered help with my luggage not was I really asked why I was staying there (business or pleasure?) which could have built rapport and allowed them to direct me to some great spots around town.
The key cards deactivate if they are anywhere near a cell phone!
As for the staff, I felt that most of them did not look or act very professional. I believe there is only one front desk staff on at a time so you do a lot of waiting there. And door men who don’t always open the door for you?
All in all I would return to this hotel but it would need to be via a deal because I would pay the price that I did again for the same services.

Loved the overall experience. Free valet parking, complimentary bubbly upon arrival. Great room décor. Yes the jr suit was a little small but very comfortable.
Bed had a pillow top. Hate the pillow top personally but I’m sure many think its luxury. Pillows were too large for my comfort. Would have liked a variety. But that’s fairly minor to a great nights sleep.
The room service breakfast was pretty bland. But the food in the restaurant is great.
Overall I’m looking forward to staying there again. It’s one of the better hotel experiences I’ve had in Ottawa.

PROS:
The pricing is reasonable for downtown Ottawa.
The staff were very friendly.
A very nice sit down breakfast was included.
Starbucks and second cup are very close.
CONS:
The room was small and a little dirty /​dusty.
The bathroom had hair left in several spots.
The view out the window was of a brick wall.
At 12:30am and 6:30am there was banging /​moving off the dumpster outside my window.
The fitness area is not as nice as pictures online.

Wow the food is amazing and didnt think it was expensive at all for what youre getting. Fresh and quality food

You cannot beat the location or price, but you don’t get anything more from the hotel. We spent the last three nights here on the 8^th floor. The walls are very thin we heard the ice machine, the people in the halls and the people next door. The water flow was very light. The toiletries were slim and we ran out of tissue and never got more [hard to handle in the middle of winter] and the toilet paper was 1 ply. No bathmat in the room. Only got turn down one night. Was told there was no internet at check in and then was charged $ 10 at checkout for internet!?! Parking was another $ 50. At the end of the day the bed was not comfortable but after hours of skating and walking awesome Ottawa we slept and left. Wont stay here again, but for the location we were happy we were at least close to everything. Will pay a little more and stay somewhere else for the Tulip festival. I am surprised they are in the same company as the Trump as I was expecting so much more. Even our small NYC hotel room in the summer was better.

Location:
We wanted to be on the other side of the canal closer to Byward Market but since it looked like there was no free street parking we chose the Arc. If you arrive at the Arc at Friday after 7pm there is free street parking which is good until Monday 7am. The hotel is a short walk to the Rideau Canal (great for us, we were there to skate). You do have some options for food; half a block away are Tim Horton’s and Starbucks. Within a 3 block radius you have McDonalds, 3 Brewers, Scone Witch, and a few others but I cant recall their names.
A taxi from Byward market would cost between $ 7 and $ 8.
The Rooms:
Very comfortable beds.
Shower heads with about 5 different options of sprays.
Walls seem to be thin. We heard conversations in the hallway, and I believe I heard the guy coughing from the next room.
Price;
We paid about $ 100 a night and booked through
.
We would consider this hotel again.

Quiet, comfortable. Small rooms. If I was staying one night it would be OK, but drawer space is very limited, so the two of us were challenged to get everything out of our suitcase and into drawers, shelves, etc.
For downtown location, excellent.
However, valet parking is $ 25.90/day, and allow about 10 minutes to get your car, particularly if you’re trying to get it during heavy check-​in/​check-​out times.
Little details were sloppy. One of the cups for coffee had been used (!) and put back. And no «creamer». Next day, only one washcloth. For the two of us. One bulb was burned out (but fixed right away). When we checked in, there was supposed to have been sparkling wine when you check in, but somehow we never got ours. And the hosts for our wedding had gift bags for us, that we weren’t given.
And, the internet isn’t free, it’s $ 9.99 (although, apparently, you can go to the desk and argue it off the bill, but again, one more hassle).
Not that I will be in downtown Ottawa again, but I would not stay here again.

This boutique hotel is in the midst of being just a so-​so experience. I traveled from Kingston yesterday to meet my Dad who is on Ottawa on business for the week.
I’ll start with the redeeming qualities:
1. Location. Can hardly be beat if you have business in the financial district. Also about 3 blocks to parliament, war memorial and only about a 10 minute walk to the Byward market.
2. Cleanliness. Tres bon
3. Power wash level of water pressure in the shower. Seriously, I’ve never been cleaner.
4. Apple and little chocolates placed by the bed side tables, nightly. Noted and appreciated.
Areas requiring improvement:
1. My Pops had to cajole internet out of hotel staff who are meant to charge $ 10/​day for the privilege of dial up level of speed-​internet. When my Dad complained, there was no charge to provide him with internet so why not just make it part of the service?
2. Air flow. The AC in our room clicks on and off through the night with the subtlety of a lawn mower powering up. Turn it off you say? This over heated the room and left zero air flow. This was almost laughable to me yesterday when I arrived and my Pop explained that he was in the habit of building a little pillow fort-​wall with the three excess pillows on his double bed to shield him from the arctic air blasting on and off through the night.
3. Half ply toilet paper. Worth taking some if you’re stingy and in need of tissue paper (the wrapping kind).
4. Breakfast: averaged $ 20 and there was no gluten-​free option. Ie: Most options had a heavy bread/​pastry component. I’m happy to pay $ 20 for breakfast if I’m getting ingredients that cost more than 50 cents to procure but a croissant based meal should not cost in the arena of twenty big ones.
Like I said, just so-​so.

I stayed at the Arc last weekend. We were thrilled — got a great deal booking on their website. For $ 144/​night, we had an Intimate Queen room, plus free valet parking, and $ 40/​per person/​per night worth of free cocktails at the hotel bar. Also had a delish glass of sparkling wine at check-​in.
The room was cozy and all the room we needed, excellent modern bathroom with a great shower. Everything seemed up to date and recent. The bed was SO comfy.
We were able to roll all of our cocktail vouchers into one night, and had a lot of fun sampling from the eclectic menu of cocktails. Bartender was attentive, good at making the drinks, and said he had created most of the menu. We were the only people in the bar — if you’re looking to socialize FYI. For us it was just fine.
It is a convenient walk to most of the attractions you’d want to see while in town. We valet parked on Friday, and did not retrieve the car again until we checked out. Nice late check-​out at noon, and we could have stayed later if we had wanted.
Front desk staff were incredibly friendly
All in all, for the price, we were totally satisfied. Use their website to find the best deal. I would definitely stay there again!

I am quite perplex about this hotel.
By one side, it is quite nice: modern, very clean, nice service…
but if we consider this is supposed to be a high end hotel, it is below my expectations :
the rooms are quite small, there is not a wide choice for the breakfast, it’s not noisy but you hear the noises in the corridors and the closet is extremely small !
this last point, the closet may not look important, but I have to stay 15 days, and I must leave my stuff in my luggage… deeply annoying !!!
so in conclusion, this is not a bad hotel, but if I compare it to other places within the same price range, I would say it is really below the standards.

Summary: It was a very clean place with helpful staff and comfy beds. However, There were many additional charges that didn’t make it such a great value and the rooms were extremely smaller than advertised. I would suggest staying here if you do not have a car, aren’t staying in the room longer than to sleep, and if you want a hotel that is close to the city.
Room Size: The tiny size of our room was astonishing. It was a small freshmen dorm sized room, taken up mostly by the desk and queen sized bed. In fact, there was only 3 feet to the wall on the side of the queen bed and about 4 feet past the foot of the bed until the desk. The pictures of the «guest rooms» on the website are false advertising in my opinion, especially since no piece of furniture could have fit in our room, as they show. I was very disappointed about that.
Noise: The doors are not very good at keeping out sound. Luckily, no one was staying in the rooms on either side of ours, but numerous times our guests would walk into or out of their room, and it was as if we were sleeping in the hall it was so loud. We we waken during the night and morning numerous times to guests getting into rooms far away, but it was still very loud.
Bed Comfort: The pillows were plush and very comfortable. The bed was also very comfortable and the linens were of very high quality. The comfort of the bed was probably my favorite part of staying at the hotel.
Lobby: There is just one computer for use, but it was very open and cozy. The concierge was never standing at the booth, but it seems to be a very odd place for a concierge. Since it was our first time in Ottawa, I was very disappointed to never see the concierge once during the three days we stayed at the hotel. The staff at the welcome desk was very helpful, kind and answered all of our questions.
Location: Great location for traveling. We weren’t in our rooms very much and walked around the city during most of the trip. If you plan on doing the same, I would recommend to stay here. It is within great walking distance of the main part of the city and isn’t in a scary area to walk in.
Additional fees: I was very surprised to find out that the valet cost as additional $ 30 dollars a night (plus a $ 5 tip each time we dropped off and asked for the car) and that the wi-​fi cost an additional $ 10 a day. Since we drove, we had to use the valet, but we opted out of the wi-​fi. Basically, we paid an additional $ 70 dollars to stay there and could have paid $ 100, if we opted to get wi-​fi.

I liked this place. It is a small boutique hotel. Our focus was going out & exploring the city so we were fine with the size of the room. It was weird that there was only free wifi in the lobby but… okay…
My only issue was that our room was on the floor above their bar/​restaurant area which was rented out for a party. We asked how late it would be & were told there was a curfew for the music at 11. This simply didn’t happen & the bass continued to pump through our floor well beyond. Eventually the night representative offered to move us to another room. We appreciated the offer. I wasn’t thrilled it was a smoking room but… what are you going to do?
I would consider staying there in the future but would specify not to be on the floor above their entertainment area.

Rooms have nice modern décor, no overpowering room air freshener, clean new hotel… inexpensive compared to neighboring Marriott. Free valet parking with AAA card. Only disappointment is no free wifi except in lobby. I would stay here again.

O Canada, O No!
Wasn’t really a fan of this hotel at all. Just was not an enjoyable experience for me and did not meet expectations. The hotel is well maintained and you could tell its relatively new. Its free valet and trust me, you’ll valet often unless you’re taking taxi’s everywhere. Upon check-​in they give you free champagne and have free apples in the lobby. Gotta give them credit for making a strong first impression but alas that’s pretty much where all the wow-​factors stopped.
The room I stayed in had 2 double beds. I found the rooms to be super cramped. No joke. It literally felt smaller than my tiny dorm room. There was no space to put any of our luggage in the room, so we had to stuff them in the room. Not really much room to walk either. We always had to walk around each other to get from one end of the room to the other. Location-​wise its not the ideal location either but probably one of the closest hotels within reasonable walking distance to Byward Market area. Keep in mind, by walking-​distance I mean about 1 – 2 miles.
Overall, a disappointing experience but the aesthetics are nice. Unfortunately, I prefer comfort over aesthetics.

I stayed here for a weekend trip with friends recently. The location was perfect for us because we were going to see a performance at the NAC, which is a 5 minute walk away. I paid online weeks in advance and as a result, got a special rate of $ 90/​night for each Queen room. One of our rooms got updated to a King room for free! If you can find deals like that, it’s great value. I have stayed at the nearby Mariott and the Westin, both more expensive. But I really like ARC better — everything was very clean, looked new and well cared for, and the décor is simple and stylish.
ROOM: nice attention to detail and all the amenities you would expect. I loved the super-​soft Egyptian cotton sheets and the Frette robes. There is a scale in the washroom, just in case you want to feel bad about the Beavertails or poutine you just ate… Turn-​down service includes a dark chocolate on your pillow, plus a bottle of water and their signature green apples.
LOBBY: Nice spacious area with coffee/​tea at all hours and a selection of newspapers in English and French. There is also one computer/​printer.
GYM: empty most of the time. One elliptical, one bike, one stairmaster, and a couple treadmills. There are also free weights, a fitness ball, and a yoga mat. Everything you need is there — towels, water, and more of those apples.
BAR: very trendy atmosphere, although completed dead on a Saturday night. Fun martinis on the menu, several recipes from famous guests who have stayed here.
I would definitely stay here the next time I am in Ottawa.
(On a side note, and out of the control of management but… my friends were staying in a room where their neighbours were really noisy and came home at 4am making tons of noise. They called the front desk but the front desk couldn’t really do anything. I think the noise was even worse because there was a door joining their room and their noisy neighbours’ room… The staff felt bad and gave us our valet parking for free and also offered us free breakfast, although we didn’t take the breakfast).

We stayed at ARC the Hotel for New Years Eve 2010 and we were very, very pleased. Hoping not only to ring in the new year here we were planning and doing some site seeing. Lucky for us it is just moments away from The Parliament of Canada, War and Civilization Museums and much more.
Upon arrival the staff instantly greeted us and took our bags inside. Where we were offered champagne and informed on everything we needed to know about the hotel.
We were originally booked for an Intimate Queen room but without and problems they met our needs and gave us a upgrade to the Majestic King. Being the holiday season we didn’t expect much but they made it happen. There guests are well taken care of here.
The room was a good size for the price we were paying, a king bed with Egyptian cotton (May I add it was very comfy!), a complete bathroom (No soaker tub, higher upgrade.) TV, a complete mini bar, all your toiletries refilled daily.
Our second night in there was an accident with the valet just a minor however they did absolutely everything they could do to satisfy us. They took complete responsibility offer you another vehicle if needed and also took off our $ 75 valet fee and $ 30/​d for the room upgrade. With a bottle of their fine wine!
Even though I am 500 km away I am pretty sure I will stay there again. It was the best experience I had at any hotel before. Even with a minor accident it really doesn’t really matter that’s how well we were taken care of this weekend.
Last thing, a big complaint is the size of the rooms (Intimate Queen? I assume.) But it really doesn’t matter it’s Ottawa there’s so much to see outside of the hotel. Just enjoy the comfortable sleep.

I should preface this review by declaring that I’ve never actually stayed at The Arc but their lounge is one of the best in downtown Ottawa and I have checked out the rooms.
Their rooms were also very nice. Friends stayed there and although I found their room small it was very tasteful and comfortable.
Back to the lounge — the atmosphere is very nice with a cool layout and design. Drinks are a bit pricey but this isn’t a place you hit up to down several drinks. It’s a great place to meet friends and see a few celebrities as it’s the hotel of choice for many visiting A-​listers.