New Downtown Hotel(s)

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Oh ya; I didn't notice it said Gatineau-Ottawa with Gatineau first. It would make sense since Hull only has 2 hotels on Laurier (Four Points and Holiday Inn) totaling 440 rooms and the 349 room Hilton Lac Leamy. It would offer a cheaper alternative to the high taxes and property values in Downtown Ottawa and their former PdV building. And of course, obviously, they would have way less competition in Gatineau (different market of people would rent rooms in Gatineau such as French speaking and looking for cheaper rates for the same service).

There hasn't been any talk of a new hotel in downtown Hull so I bet this is just a name change for an existing hotel. I know the façade of the Holiday Inn Plaza la Chaudière is all ripped off at the moment so maybe that's where this new hotel will be.

[J.OT13]

http://www.obj.ca/Real%20Estate/Non-...awa-property/1

Groupe Germain wants to establish its 2 brands in Ottawa, possibly adding a residential or office component. I assume "Groupe Germain or Alt hotel could be ready in 18 to 24 months" means ready to be built by this time frame.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There hasn't been any talk of a new hotel in downtown Hull so I bet this is just a name change for an existing hotel. I know the façade of the Holiday Inn Plaza la Chaudière is all ripped off at the moment so maybe that's where this new hotel will be.

Yup, signs up; Holiday Inn Chaudière is now the Crown Plaza

[harls]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Yup, signs up; Holiday Inn Chaudière is now the Crown Plaza

I saw that as well last week.. they covered the letters in plastic wrapping, but thanks to my success with shapes as a kid I figured out what it spelled..

[Abe Simpson]

What I would really love to see in Downtown Ottawa is a W Hotel by Starwood. I almost always stay at the one in Montreal and have stayed at the one in Los Angeles as well. Fantastic hotels with great style to them.

[ThaLoveDocta]

Originally Posted by Abe Simpson

What I would really love to see in Downtown Ottawa is a W Hotel by Starwood. I almost always stay at the one in Montreal and have stayed at the one in Los Angeles as well. Fantastic hotels with great style to them.

I have stayed in Starwood hotels all over the world, including their their new aLoft properties (W's little sister hotel). The ones in Bangkok (aloft and Le Meridien), Koh Samui, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hoboken, Nha Trang, Krabi, Siem Reap and Montreal have been nothing short of spectacular.


Though i'm not sure Ottawa has the 'young power professional' market to suit a W hotel, the aLoft or Le Meridien might be nice compromise.

[eternallyme]

Originally Posted by ThaLoveDocta

I have stayed in Starwood hotels all over the world, including their their new aLoft properties (W's little sister hotel). The ones in Bangkok (aloft and Le Meridien), Koh Samui, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hoboken, Nha Trang, Krabi, Siem Reap and Montreal have been nothing short of spectacular.


Though i'm not sure Ottawa has the 'young power professional' market to suit a W hotel, the aLoft or Le Meridien might be nice compromise.

The aLoft brand would be better suited IMO for a nice hotel in a subcentre area such as Westboro or on Bank Street.

[J.OT13]

Not a new hotel, but the Marriott are doing renovations and adding 6 rooms.

http://www.obj.ca/Local/Tourism/2012...room-refresh/1

[J.OT13]

Another article on the lack of hotel rooms;

Ottawa hotels all booked up

A high demand for hotel accommodations in the city is proving to be a challenge for event organizers.

There are currently 55 major hotels in the region and 12,000 rooms, but between regular tourism and a growing number of events, some event organizers say finding accommodations for guests is tough.

"It's holding us back a little bit, and I'm sure it's holding other events back too," said Kelly Neall, managing director of the Ottawa International Animation Festival.

The festival runs from Sept. 19-23, and coincides with the Army Run as well as end of summer tourism, school field trip season, and a popular time for businesses to host meetings and conventions.

Ottawa Tourism spokeswoman Jantine Van Kregten said May-June and September-October are peak times for people visiting the city, but seasonal events like Winterlude or summer attractions draw tourists as well.

"We're pretty steady throughout the year," she said. "As problems go, this is a good one to have."

Neall said she expects 1,800 out-of-town visitors for the animation festival this year. She often works with hotels to book blocks of rooms for guests involved in the festival, but she encourages visitors to find accommodations early.

"A lot of people want to book last minute and it does kill off the chance of any last minute visitors to Ottawa," said Neall.

Van Kregten said she encourages visitors and event organizers to book as early as possible. Last minute bookings don't always bring better deals, she notes.

Neall said the issue with hotel accommodations peaked after the CE Centre was built last year, noting the influx of visitors with the high capacity of the centre.

Since it opened, the CE Centre has hosted roughly 500,000 people, many from out of town, President Kevin McCrann said.

He said accommodations are a priority in organizing an event, and it's been an occasional challenge.

"We've been able to scramble on certain occasions and get rooms, but it's not easy, and sometimes they're not as close as you'd like to the venue," he said, noting they have not yet lost out on an event due to a lack of accommodations.

"We're becoming more of a destination for different types of events, and the hotels...certainly there's an opportunity for more inventory..." he said

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/08/04/...-all-booked-up

[eternallyme]

12,000 is way too low for a city the size of Ottawa. I think it needs at least 20,000 if not more.

[Postmaster]

Downtown could use a new hotel. Inns can only serve so many people, and not every tourist wants to take the bus or taxi to get around. I think we're due for something more substantial.

[J.OT13]

Groupe Germain's 2 hotels and the RE are good fillers (if they ever get built), but those might only add 300-400 rooms total (if RE is 110 rooms, Alt seems similarly sized and we still have no idea about the Boutique Germain in the Byward Market), spread out in 3 different parts of downtown.

We often hear from event organizers and the Convention Centre that clients are looking to house their delegates in a few big hotels near the venue, not spread out in multiple hotels across downtown. It's an embarrassment that we finally build a decent sized, state of the art downtown convention facility, but we can't get have it full capacity because we lack hotel rooms. So again, I'm hoping for the announcement in September-December of a big 550+ room hotel, dare I say taller than the Westin, as part of a Rideau Centre expansion.

[Abe Simpson]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Groupe Germain's 2 hotels and the RE are good fillers (if they ever get built), but those might only add 300-400 rooms total (if RE is 110 rooms, Alt seems similarly sized and we still have no idea about the Boutique Germain in the Byward Market), spread out in 3 different parts of downtown.

We often hear from event organizers and the Convention Centre that clients are looking to house their delegates in a few big hotels near the venue, not spread out in multiple hotels across downtown. It's an embarrassment that we finally build a decent sized, state of the art downtown convention facility, but we can't get have it full capacity because we lack hotel rooms. So again, I'm hoping for the announcement in September-December of a big 550+ room hotel, dare I say taller than the Westin, as part of a Rideau Centre expansion.

I agree with you, the RE and the 2 Groupe Germain hotels will help, but a hotel bigger than the Westin is what downtown desperately needs! Hopefully the Rideau Centre will have it as part of their expansion.

[Davis137]

I wonder if it would be a Best Western, or Holiday Inn, or something like that, instead of something a little more...Gucci...Boutique hotels only cater to a small number of people as far as I'm concerned.

[teej1984]

Turning the decrepit building at Rideau and Nicholas into a swanky boutique hotel would be a great opportunity (something like the Kimpton chain). Too bad Rideau Centre is such a biatch with that property.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Davis137

I wonder if it would be a Best Western, or Holiday Inn, or something like that, instead of something a little more...Gucci...Boutique hotels only cater to a small number of people as far as I'm concerned.

Since Rideau's focus is on upscale brands, I'm betting on something more like a Four Seasons Hotel.

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by Davis137

I wonder if it would be a Best Western, or Holiday Inn, or something like that, instead of something a little more...Gucci...Boutique hotels only cater to a small number of people as far as I'm concerned.

Best Western and Holiday Inn are too cheap, especially if the next major hotel is supposed to help cater to an increase in Chinese tourists and it would be neighbours with Nordstrom (if it's built into the Rideau Centre expansion). The only hotel chain I want to see is Four Seasons, perhaps with some retail space built into the podium along Nicholas.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

The only hotel chain I want to see is Four Seasons, perhaps with some retail space built into the podium along Nicholas.

Retail or a restaurant with an outdoor patio integrated in the podium is a good idea; Nicholas Street is in desperate need of revitalization. Between the abandoned Ogilvy's, the parking lot/garage, the piece of crap Novotel complex and Rideau Centre's ass, something needs to be done.

I find that the old Registry’s office and Arts Court are currently out of place and out of sight, making them hard for tourists to find and enjoy.

Once the centre expands into Ogilvy's (ideally the whole building, but if they only retain the 1908 façade, I can live with it) and a hotel is built on the Registry’s office, the street might actually become a seamless extension of a Rideau cultural and shopping district.

As for the registry’s office, I want to see something similar to 150 Elgin where the building is fully preserved with the new structure built around it; walls and foundations are all equally historic (foundations were build 12 feet deep to deter crooks from tunneling to break into the building). Here's a bit of history and plans to move the building a few years back. It was supposed to move where Arts Court is to expand, yet another reason to keep it in its current spot.


http://iggzah.blogspot.ca/2008/09/ol...ce-ottawa.html

[kevinbottawa]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Once the centre expands into Ogilvy's (ideally the whole building, but if they only retain the 1908 façade, I can live with it) and a hotel is built on the Registry’s office, the street might actually become a seamless extension of a Rideau cultural and shopping district.

It would also be nice if the retail space on the other side of Nicholas, across from the Ogylvie building, wrapping around to Rideau Street through to Dalhousie were drastically improved (like a Bloor Street). I'm hoping Cadillac-Fairview is able to buy that whole block.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by kevinbottawa

It would also be nice if the retail space on the other side of Nicholas, across from the Ogylvie building, wrapping around to Rideau Street through to Dalhousie were drastically improved (like a Bloor Street). I'm hoping Cadillac-Fairview is able to buy that whole block.

The wildcard is the One Nicholas office building. Would Cadillac Fairview pay for a non-descript, mid-sized 60s office tower? Would it be economically feasible for them to buy it and then tear it down or even just a facelift?

On the other hand, a few factors might actually make the purchase of that land quite attractive to them;

1. Assuming that by 2017 they expand the Rideau Centre into Ogilvy's and build a hotel on the Registry's office, they will only have the parking garage left for future expansion.

2. With Cadillac Fairview specializing in both retail and office space, it might be interesting for them to buy that city block in preparation for the CBD running out of development sites in about 20 years.

3. While they're at it, they could buy the block between Dalhousie and Waller. Whenever they are ready to build on these 2 blocks, they could ask the city to join those 2 blocks as one, as it was decades ago. (On the link below, see last picture. Dalhousie south of Rideau is today where the yellow Loblaw is in the picture)

http://urbsite.blogspot.ca/search/label/Rideau%20Street

4. And finally, to complete the long shot fantasy hat trick, they can buy the Novotel complex and tear it down!