Fairmont Château Laurier- Ottawa, ON

I absolutely love train travel, and am all about the idea of a string of grand hotels along railroad routes. While I’m about a century too late to take a Canadian Pacific or Grand Trunk Railway tour (although tourist segments do still exist), many of their stunning Châteauesque hotels still stand, including Ottawa’s Fairmont Château Laurier.

Chateau Laurier was commissioned by Grand Trunk Railroad General Manager Charles Melville Hays in 1909, and constructed in tandem with Ottawa’s Union Station, which was connected to the hotel by an underground tunnel.

Designed by the Canadian architectural firm Ross and MacFarlane, the hotel’s French Renaissance style was intended to compliment the adjacent Parliament Buildings. Constructed of granite and Indiana limestone, the hotel featured fanciful turrets and dormer windows along with a striking pitched copper roof.

Costing $2 million Canadian, the 350 room luxury hotel included Tiffany stained glass windows, hand modeled plaster decorations, oak paneled walls, and private baths in many rooms.

In 1912, tragedy struck the grand hotel just as it prepared to open. Returning from England with the hotel’s dining room furniture, Hay’s, the railroad’s GM, perished on the Titanic. The gala scheduled for April 26, 1912 was cancelled, replaced with a much smaller opening cermony on June 12, 1912, with the hotel’s namesake Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada, in attendance.

In 1929, a $6 million East Wing was constructed, adding 240 guest rooms, ballroom, convention hall, and gentleman’s lounge. In 1930, a stunning 60 foot Art Deco indoor swimming pool and therapeutic spa were added.

Hosting many celebrities over the years, including Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill, the hotel remains very popular over a century after its construction. While it has been renovated several times, it has retained its classic character, and many original details, including embossed metal door handles in guest rooms.

While some lament the small size of their rooms in online reviews, I absolutely loved my corner suite with its stunning views of Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal. The common areas were absolutely spectacular, including the hotel’s moody lobby lounge, and stylish restaurant. I will absolutely return in warmer weather.