If seeing my family, my best friends, dutch tulips blooming in the springtime and eating Beavertails (it is not what you think) in the dead of winter wasn’t the source of enough joy for me, Hotel Andaz just came in with the clutch!
It was just announced that the Andaz hotel brand, a part of the Hyatt family, will be opening a new location in the Byward Market Downtown Ottawa in 2016.
The description listed on their website reads: Luxury boutique hotels with sophisticated style, locally inspired cuisine, and vibrant social areas with a kaleidoscope of local culture.
The “local culture” part that they describe is what really excites me.
I grew up in Gloucester (east end), Sandy Hill (downtown) and last Rockcliffe (east downtown) before eventually leaving and heading off to Toronto in 1998 at the age of 18. I found I needed to broaden my views and Ottawa was lacking a culture I was seeking.
As the years have passed, there has been a shift.
People who were from Ottawa built and brought attractions to the City. Bluesfest became huge. Concert venues like Ritual and DJs like Illo were making Ottawa a city artists had to stop in-between shows in Montreal and Toronto.
Ottawa Sens fans are die hards but they didn’t exist when I left. As a matter of fact, the Ottawa Roughriders were still playing out of Frank Clair Stadium.
Downtown Ottawa has seen a lot of structural change too. In certain areas it has grown to be a high end destination with a new football stadium, beautiful shops including Whole Foods and new condos which my parents just bought into.
I’m used to seeing Brad Lamb (think Donald Trump) billboards in Toronto, not in my hometown.
I mean the whole area is booming!
Andaz’s promise of a new hub of culture and their desire to be a vibrant addition in The Market means that in about a years’ time, when family occasions call me back for visits, I’ll be sure to have a new base to call home yet again.
More info:
Brand Video: Click HERE
Andaz Salon: andazsalon.com <—I’m nerding-out on this site! As someone that works at a Cultural Hub for an arts org in Toronto, I love this concept of merging the 3 things I am passionate about. Hospitality, Culture & the Arts!
Website: www.andaz.com
Twitter: twitter.com/Andaz or twitter.com/HyattConcierge
Andaz’s current hotels (12): Andaz 5th Avenue and Andaz Wall Street in New York, Andaz San Diego, Andaz West Hollywood, Andaz Napa, Andaz Savannah, Andaz Maui at Wailea, Andaz Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica, Andaz Liverpool Street in London, Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, Andaz Xintiandi, Shanghai and Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills.
