As far as travel to Ottawa is concerned, you’d be hard pressed to find a more central lodging location than the Lord Elgin Hotel. It is located right at the Intersection of Elgin & Laurier Streets, just steps away from Parliament Hill, the War Memorial, the Chateau Laurier, the Government Conference Centre & the National Arts Centre. Confederation Park, one of the main locations for Winterlude, is located right across the street.We could not have found a better spot for our Ottawa Winterlude getaway last weekend. My room on the 4th floor was very comfortable & I had a perfect view out over Elgin Street, looking at the Chateau Laurier & the War Memorial on one side, & facing Confederation Park and the Rideau Canal on the other. We literally left our car parked for the whole 2 days & were able to get everywhere we wanted on foot.The Lord Elgin was a perfect starting point for our adventures on the Rideau Canal, & our excursions to the ByWard Market and Sparks Street. Further south on Elgin Street is another major entertainment area nestled inside an established neighbourhood with exclusive homes and condominiums.
Ann Meelker from the Lord Elgin Hotel was kind enough to give me a lay of the land & pointed out the local landmarks. She also explained to me that the National Conference Centre actually used to be a railroad station many years ago, when train tracks were routed right next to the Rideau Canal.My big interest in this hotel was its history as it was constructed more than 60 years ago. So I did some reserach to dig into the background of this historic building.In 1940, as the Second World War brought more & more official visitors into town, Ottawa found itself desperately short of hotel accommodation. A local entrepreneur & city alderman by the name of Chester Pickering, President of Dustbane, Modern Building Cleaning, and Michael’s Industrial Equipment, was entrusted with the job of bringing a good hotel to the City. He connected with Jack Udd, a wealthy businessman from Rochester, New York, the president of the Ford Hotel Chain.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/174002
