A Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn opened jointly in December 2018 (soft opening) in downtown Ottawa and April 15 was the official opening.  The two properties are so intertwined that any review would essentially be of both properties together, but technically my room was booked for Homewood Suites.  Some floors have rooms for both HS and HGI so it would be ideal for mattress runs particularly during stay-based promotions. You could literally check out of one hotel and check in the other hotel without even changing floors.  This property used to be a Delta hotel before Delta reopened just a couple blocks down the street and the property was fully renovated.

Location

Before HGI/HS opened, Hilton had lots of properties in the Ottawa region but strangely none of them downtown.  There is one in Kanata, three near the airport, two in Gatineau, and one near the St-Laurent shopping mall.  For anybody wishing to stay downtown, the Hilton chain was a no-go and I previously stayed at Sheraton, Westin, Andaz, Delta, and Fairmont instead.  HGI/HS has underground parking for 20 CAD per day with an in/out pass which is reasonable compared to what competitors charge.  

Room

I booked a king studio suite which is the entry level room for Homewood Suites.  I did not get an upgrade as Diamond even though there was availability, not even an upgrade to a river view room.  Homewood Suites does not participate in the Diamond upgrade program so I did not expect an upgrade anyway and I did not ask for anything, but I should note it nonetheless because some properties go above and beyond the rules, but not here. 

Obviously the room is new and modern and I found it to be very well done.  Compared to the other two Homewood Suites in the Ottawa region, the one in Kanata is quite poor, the one near the airport is good, and this one downtown is the best of the three.  Based on my observations, HS downtown has all the little details in its favor.  The quality of materials is a bit higher downtown, the kitchen has better equipment for cooking, there is a safe in the closet (unlike near the airport), the TV is bigger and better oriented (straight in front of the bed rather than on the side), and the stand-alone shower has good design with the water valve on the opposite side of the shower head to avoid getting sprayed with cold water when you turn it on.  The room also has a sofa bed and convenient power plugs plus USB ports on both sides of the bed.  Overall I did not find major flaws to this room and is one of the better Homewood Suites I have seen.  

Dining

Breakfast is the same for both Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn.  The only difference is that in line with brand standards, breakfast is included for all Homewood Suites guests, but not for HGI (except for Hilton Golds and Diamonds of course).  In other locations I generally find HGI breakfasts better than HS simply because most breakfasts offered free to all guests tend to see quality suffer a bit. At this property given that HS shares with HGI and HGI guests need to pay, I thought the breakfast quality was higher than usual for a Homewood Suites, and more in line with a HGI breakfast. The buffet had steamed vegetables for example which you would normally not find in a basic buffet breakfast in North America.  They also have an a la carte menu but you need to pay for it, whether you are staying at Homewood Suites or at HGI (diamond guest or not); the breakfast benefit at HS is the buffet only and it is the same for Hilton Golds and Diamonds at HGI: buffet only.

Unfortunately my stay was during a weekend so I could not see the evening reception in order to compare with Homewood Suites near the airport.  Obviously only HS guests get access, not HGI guests.  

If there is just one small thing that HS at the airport offers that HS downtown does not, it’s that coffee at the airport is free 24/7, but downtown it starts with the rest of the breakfast at 6:30am.

Gym

The gym has new equipment and everything was in good condition.  The one drawback is that I found the ceiling to be quite low.  

Pool

The swimming pool for use by HS and HGI guests seemed nice.

Overall

Overall Homewood Suites downtown is a solid option compared to the competition and for Hilton loyalists, it’s the only option downtown.  Given the breakfast benefit difference between HS and HGI, because of the free evening reception for HS, because HS has rooms with a full kitchen, and because HS has bigger rooms, consequently there is no reason to pay more for HGI than for HS. However for many dates HGI can be more expensive than HS which is a head scratcher.  The only reason to book HGI would be if it is significantly cheaper than HS, and even more so if you do not have Gold or Diamond status because you won’t get free breakfast at HGI.  Same comment if you are booking during the week: you will forego the evening reception if you book HGI.

Homewood Suites not only fills a void in the Hilton portfolio, but also it fills a void in terms of chain hotels with suites and a full kitchen in downtown Ottawa.  The only notable such hotel I knew was the Residence Inn by Marriott, but it was old and tired, so by comparison with new and shiny rooms, Homewood Suites was going to eat RI’s lunch.  RI was recently deflagged by Marriott and is now independent so HS stands out even more.

Bottom line I can recommend Homewood Suites for folks who want to stay downtown and who need a full kitchen for longer stays.  Also for Hilton members who want to earn points and stay credits: now there is finally a choice of hotel downtown.  HS+HGI are a great addition to the Hilton portfolio, and my recommendation is to book HS not HGI unless the price difference is material.