My fiancee and I stayed here briefly in Nov 06. It's in a great location, and the room is clean and comfortable, but I wouldn't call it a B&B.

The breakfast consists of a couple juice boxes, instant coffees, and plastic wrapped croisants dropped in your room the night before. It looks like a time-share or mediocre condo, very characterless and bland. There are other rooms in the building that appear to be full time residences.

The front desk staff is not particulary on the ball. It's right next door to a parking garage, but no one was able to tell me on the phone the day before how much the parking cost. Eventually they told me $8 so I'd stop asking, but it turning out to be more than twice that for one night.

There have to be better options in this price range, but if I had to do it again I'd pay a bit more for someplace nice.

I searched for an hour or so and spoke with many downtown BnB's before selecting Byward BlueInn. While my Ottawa friend pulled a face when she heard of the location (apparantly a few blocks further away from the market can get a bit dodgier) this place really impressed me for the price.

The staff were friendly and quickly gave me an all inclusive price on the phone and when we arrived despite the place being booked out, there was ample attention given to us.

The room was brand new (it must have been renovated not long ago). My friend and I each had our own twin bed that was warm. The wooden floor really helped the room feel clean (and the room was spotless). The bathroom was clean and fine. The staff brought up an iron for us, but no ironing board could be found.

Our balcony looked out over a snow laden back courtyard.

You simply are not going to get a better value hotel. The only shortcomings would be that I could hear when our neighbour opened and closed their door, and the keys looked pretty basic. Don't count on the breakfast to sustain you, but you can walk to the market in 5 minutes and have an awesome pasty breakfast for pennies anyway (I called the breakfast tray "the prison tray" - i'll upload a photo).

Great value, highly reccomended, you get a lot for what you pay for, notwithstanding that it is very basic.

Before we came to Ottawa, I searched high and low for a decent priced (below $99), centrally located (near Parliament), and comfortable place to stay for only one night (passing through town). I did not really believe that Byward can offer all that. Once we entered the room, I knew I hit the jackpot! The room was small but not claustrophobic. It was clean and comfortable. From the balcony we saw the Market and Parliament Hill. We noticed the recent renovation - new paint, furnitures, and fixtures. The mini-fridge was very handy (two trays of simple breakfast were inside already). The clerk told us there was a free laser show at 9 pm on the Parliament Square. So we walked two blocks to get dinner in a Thai restaurant. Then we walked 15-20 minutes to see the fantastic half-hour laser show. On the way back to Byward, we stopped by the Market to have desserts and coffee. Next morning between 9-12 we had ample time to walk around for more nearby sightseeing before checkout. Although Byward is not a free-standing house like a typical B&B and hence without B&B ambiance, it is an excellent alternative to cheap/cheesy motel. Being located in the Market is a plus, since we can live like locals! Street parking was not a problem. The attendant was very friendly and helpful. We even got direction for a nearby budget gas station. I would stay more nights here if schedule permits. I guess the other reviewer must have hit a wrong timing (icy New Year period, employee time-off, logistic issues).