I stayed at the Cardinal Suites from Feb 2006 to Feb 2007 while working on a short term basis in Ottawa. I can say with certainty that I don't think I would have survived being away from home if not for the homelike experience at the Cardinal Suites and the excellent staff. Their philosophy is that "you dont need to worry about everything else on top of being away from home, let us look after that". And they did.

The rooms are great. More than that is the excellent customer service provided by the staff from the time off booking to arrival and all the way through the stay. They are knowledgeable, helpful and have a welcoming presence that makes a long stay away--whether it is a week or a year--like being at home.

I wouldn't stay anywhere else and highly recommend it for people who work and stay short, or long, term in Ottawa.

I could not wait to leave this dump of a hotel! We made a terrible mistake by booking for a month through the Internet after having made a few calls. The staff sounded OK at first, but the second they charged our credit card (without telling us), all the niceness disappeared. They lied just about every thing they had promised. First, they had no one in attendance (not even a reception desk) at the location where we were meant to stay, so we literally had to ask a friend pick up the keys for us prior to our arrival in Ottawa (only a 30-minute ride out of town!!) Once in, we had to call many times to have the most basic of services done: cleaning the room. It took two weeks to actually have them clean the pet hair-infested room. We also had to put up with them carrying our repair work for the falling apart closet doors, the broken shower fan, the boiler. They had the stove covered in aluminium foil to avoid having to clean it, and - as a result - the stove caught fire as whatever oil drops that fall when you cook were trapped underneath. Regular cleaning happened only once a week, and was way below average (towels were so old that you could only bin them). Most of the kitchenware provided was either dirty, worn out, or plain rusty. At C$2000 per month, this place is not worth a dime. I would not stay there ever again, not even if they paid me.

I accompanied my fiance to Ottawa while he was on business for 6 weeks. The hotel staff were amazing! Very helpful with everything. They knew the best restaurants, shopping centers, attractions etc. I was hoping to find a part-time job to occupy my time and they were even able to direct me as to where I should apply. Within a week I had found a temporary job. The all-encompasing staff of The Cardinal Suites deserves alot of the credit for a great trip. Its always nice to walk into a place and be greated by a friendly face, especially when you are somewhere that you don't know anybody. I will definately stay at the Cardinal Suites again if I am ever in Ottawa.