Stayed here for a few days last week. It was an ok-ish stay, room was spotlessly clean but lounge was really short staffed.
The best part of the hotel IMO is the location, the building itself, and all its history. The hotel itself is a popular tourist destination, similar to Chateau Frontenac in Quebec.
Booked a Fairmont Gold King room. Fairmont Gold rooms are mostly on the eastern wing of the 3rd and 4th floor, while some Gold suites seem to be located throughout the hotel. The reception desk and lounge are located on the 4th floor close to the elevators. Check in was quick and I was given a drink voucher.
Not sure if I got upgraded or not, all I can say is, I got "this" room. Rooms of the same category can vary greatly in layout and size at this hotel given the castle layout. The room had more than enough space than I needed and it's not facing the internal courtyard, so I was happy. One interesting thing to note is that since this room is located at where the wing "turns", the room isn't exactly a square.
The room was spotlessly clean, comparable to the Fairmont Gold rooms in Vancouver and much better than the Gold rooms in Montreal. There were only some minor wears and tears. From my experience, many rooms on regular floors are quite run down and are full of major and minor issues from dirty carpet, musky smell, to plumbing and AC issues. It is a pleasant surprise to get a room in good condition. The room was "haunted" one night, the light in the closet was flickering. It turned out the closet door could not close properly so the light switch was triggered on and off. Understandable given the age and condition of the building and it took me less than 10 seconds to fix.
The room faces east, over looking a condo building, Byward Market, and Connaught building. Ironically it offered a very clear view of the Westin and Hyatt, which IMO are the main competitors of Fairmont in Ottawa. Maybe I should give those two properties a try next time...
The lounge was elegantly decorated, quiet. Buffet had a smaller spread comparing to hotels with larger, busier Gold floors but quality was in no way inferior.
The problem with the lounge is the lack of staff. They were friendly, if, and only if you could find them. On more than one occasions, I did not see any staff in the lounge, including the reception desk, for over 30 minutes. One night there was no fork and even spoons were running low. I couldn't find cloth napkin over half of the time, and I couldn't find any paper napkin a few times either. If you walk in towards the end of the breakfast hours or evening canapés hours, be prepared to see lots of uncleaned tables and empty dishes in the buffet area. I get that hotels across Canada are short staffed and I have seen it first hand at multiple properties across multiple brands, but this is definitely the worst Fairmont Gold lounge I have seen.
Overall it's an ok-ish stay. The next time I visit Ottawa I am likely to stay here again because I like the building, but I will only be willing to pay a small premium for a room on the Gold floor, as the lounge is far inferior comparing to other Fairmont properties.