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Review: Hilton Lac-Leamy, Gatineau | Hilton Honors

8 min read
Editorial integrity
Review: Hilton Lac-Leamy, Gatineau | Hilton Honors

Note8.4/10

Hotel
Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel
Country
Canada
City
Gatineau
Hotel brand
Hilton Worldwide
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Nestled on the shores of Lac Leamy in the heart of the Gatineau/Ottawa agglomeration, the Hilton Lac-Leamy is an exceptional retreat that promises a one-of-a-kind experience. Surrounded by waterways, woodlands and recreational trails, it offers the ambiance of an urban resort in an enchanting environment.

A destination in itself, not only because of the multitude of activities and services available at the hotel (restaurants, spa, sports center, swimming pools, etc.), but also because the establishment is connected to and integrated with the Casino du Lac-Leamy, the Théâtre du Casino and the Conference Center. Don’t be surprised if during your stay you don’t feel the need to venture off-site.

The Hilton Lac-Leamy has been a 5-star hotel with a 4-diamond rating since it opened.

Hilton Lac-Leamy – Roundabout and lobby

As soon as you arrive at the hotel roundabout, you’ll notice the artwork, inspired by a snow sculpture created by three casino employees who won the prestigious international snow sculpture competition in Valloire, France, in January 2015. The team had created a curved, harmonious sculpture, entitled Cycle of Life, fashioned from a huge block of snow. Their ephemeral sculpture was recreated in concrete in the hotel roundabout.

Review: Hilton Lac-Leamy, Gatineau | Hilton Honors - rond-point-1

Outdoor parking for your car is free and ample enough so that you won’t have any trouble finding a free space.

Upon entering the hotel lobby, visitors are literally dazzled by the four blown-glass chandeliers created by artist Dale Chihuly, and by the six islands of red flowers displayed on the wall at the back of the reception area. In addition, a serpentine of small works of glass surrounds the column of the grand staircase leading to the hotel’s upper floor. Just as the same artist did at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, the result is stunning!

Hilton Lac-Leamy – The bedroom

Each of the 349 rooms offers exceptional views and bright decor. I weigh my words: no room has a bad view. Half the rooms face north on Lac Leamy and the other half south on Lac de la Carrière, the casino fountain and downtown Ottawa. If you want to watch the fireworks from your room, like those at the Grands Feux Loto-Québec or Canada Day, ask for a room on the south side.

Did you know that the artworks that have begun to be installed in the rooms as part of the hotel’s revitalization plan are made from old slot machine tokens? In fact, over 13,000 pounds of tokens were used to create these artworks.

Hilton Lac-Leamy – Swimming pools and outdoor activities

Summer and winter alike, you can take a dip in the heated indoor or outdoor pools. It’s even possible to enjoy the outdoor pool in the middle of winter, by accessing it indoors from the warmth of the pool, without having to get out of the water.

Are you a tennis player? Swap a few serves on one of the two outdoor asphalt tennis courts.

The hotel’s best-kept secret is bike rental, which is now available at the hotel’s sports center at no charge to guests… helmets included! The hotel has direct access to the recreational pathways of Parc du Lac-Leamy, which connect to the rest of the Gatineau and Ottawa bike path network.

Hilton Lac-Leamy – Marina and luminous fountains

Normally, if you have a boat and sail on the Ottawa River, it’s possible to go up the Gatineau River and take a marked channel to dock directly at the casino marina. Since the pandemic, the marina has unfortunately not yet been reopened.

Review: Hilton Lac-Leamy, Gatineau | Hilton Honors - marina-1

Reminiscent of Geneva’s water jet, there’s also a majestic 60-metre-high water fountain in the middle of the former quarry, right next to the marina.

Four luminous fountains are also placed in the central aisle leading to the casino and hotel. The largest reaches 15 metres in height.

Hilton Lac-Leamy – Conrad lounge

Reserved exclusively for Executive Room guests aged 18 and over, the Conrad lounge serves sumptuous continental breakfasts, as well as hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and mignardises in the evening.

The lounge occupies the top three floors of the hotel (18th, 19th and 20th). Executive rooms have access to a panoramic staircase in a glass cage offering breathtaking views of Lac de la Carrière. If you’re lucky enough to be staying on one of these three floors, don’t miss the opportunity to use this staircase to visit the Conrad lounge on the 19th floor.

If you’re not afraid of heights, take in the view from the Conrad lounge’s small outdoor terrace.

Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel – Restaurant Arôme

  • Dining room and cellar: 120 seats
  • Outdoor terrace: 100 places

On the second floor, let yourself be welcomed by the Arôme grill and seafood restaurant. With a magnificent view of Lac de la Carrière, the restaurant offers guests a memorable experience. A special feature of the menu: dry-aged meat, which appeals to epicureans and meat lovers alike. L’Arôme was the first restaurant in the Outaouais to offer this high-end meat. In summer, enjoy excellent cuisine on its large outdoor terrace by the water.

Hilton Lac-Leamy – Bacchus / Cigar lounge

The elegant Bacchus bar with its leather armchairs, where the smells of port and cigars go hand in hand, remains one of the last places in Quebec where cigar smoking is permitted indoors. The room overlooks Lac de la Carrière and the view is breathtaking.

Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel – Amerispa

Get away from it all at the luxurious Amerispa. There are 17 treatment rooms ready to welcome you. Everything for relaxation and well-being: massages, facials and body treatments, manicures, pedicures and men’s treatments.

Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel – Loto-Québec Collection

The Loto-Québec Collection is one of the most important collections of contemporary corporate visual arts in Canada. Of his 4,300 works, 274 are on display at the Lac-Leamy complex in Gatineau. Jean-Paul Riopelle, Tom Hopkins, Lauréat Marois and John Carl Heywood are among the artists you’ll have the pleasure of discovering here, not to mention American artist Dale Chihuly and his famous glass creations.

Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel – The casino

If you still have some free time, the Casino du Lac Leamy is a world of its own to discover. A long interior passageway provides easy access between the hotel and the casino.

Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel – How to find the best rate at Hilton Lac-Leamy?

Is your travel date flexible? Hilton has an excellent feature on its website that allows you to find the best deals in just a few seconds!

This technique is ideal for finding off-peak, less busy periods at any of the hotels in the Hilton family. With this method, you can confidently book the cheapest night of the year at the Hilton hotel of your choice. It’s perfect for a great-value getaway at a Hilton hotel near you.

Let me show you the « Calendar » method with flexible dates using the hilton.com website to find the lowest rate at the Hilton Lac-Leamy. For this particular method, I use the English version of the hilton.com website, as it works better than the French version.

1- On the www.hilton.com website, enter « Gatineau » as the search city, but leave the date blank, and click on « Find a Hotel ».

Review: Hilton Lac-Leamy, Gatineau | Hilton Honors - hilton-1

2- Choose the Hilton Lac-Leamy and click on « Select Dates ».

Review: Hilton Lac-Leamy, Gatineau | Hilton Honors - hilton-2

3- A calendar with the prices for each night is displayed. By displaying each month in turn, the lowest price of the year is easily identifiable, in a matter of seconds.

Review: Hilton Lac-Leamy, Gatineau | Hilton Honors - hilton-3

For the hotel of your choice in the Hilton family, using the « Calendar » method is the best way to 100% guarantee finding the date offering the lowest price of the year.

Remember that hotel prices are dynamic and can fluctuate daily. So, if you’ve booked a fully refundable fare, it may be worth repeating the above technique a few times before the date of your stay. If a better offer appears, be prepared to cancel your booking and replace it.

Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel – Save at Hilton with flexible rewards points

The Hilton Lac-Leamy is part of the Hilton Honors loyalty program.

Unfortunately, no credit card in Canada allows for directly accelerating the accumulation of points within this program. The traditional (and slower) way is to collect points by staying at a Hilton hotel. Don’t forget to also charge your hotel restaurant expenses to your room to earn more points.

Fortunately, you can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to the Hilton Honors program. You can also earn Hilton Honors Gold status by holding the American Express Platinum Card® or the Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Alternatively, many flexible rewards programs offer you the option of converting your points into an account credit and applying them to travel expenses charged to your card. Popular flexible programs include :

Our credit card selection
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Business Platinum Card® from American Express
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Annual fee$799Welcome offer
Up to 120,000 points
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American Express Platinum Card®
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Annual fee$799Welcome offer
Up to 100,000 points
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Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel – Conclusion

The Hilton Lac-Leamy is definitely one of the top two hotels in Gatineau/Ottawa, offering an unrivalled range of services for both business and leisure travellers. The experience has everything to please and exceed expectations!

A 5-star resort in the heart of a capital city, with such a wide range of services, no resort fee and free parking, is simply an unparalleled product!

Continue reading with our Ottawa hotel reviews :

Go further with Hilton Honors

To maximize your stays and points earning, check our complete Hilton Honors program guide and our best Hilton Honors credit cards ranking. And if a points purchase promotion is running, take advantage via our Hilton Honors points purchase guide.

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The 2X rate covers gas stations such as Esso, Shell and Petro-Canada, along with public transit and ride sharing.

With the American Express Cobalt® Card, you earn between 1 and 5 points per dollar:

Category Points per dollar
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Home food delivery 5
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Service station 2
Transport 2
Travel 1
Other 1

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American Express Cobalt® Card insurance coverage

The card comes with a broad insurance package. The amounts below are the coverage limits; conditions, age limits and exclusions are set out in the certificate of insurance linked in the Insurance section above.

Travel insurance

  • Emergency medical: up to $5,000,000 for the first 15 days of a trip.
  • Travel accident: accidental death and dismemberment of up to $250,000 for you, your spouse and dependent children under age 23 when travelling on a common carrier (plane, train, bus or ship) and the tickets are charged to your card. Supplementary cardholders and their families are covered too.
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Rental car insurance

Theft and damage coverage is included for a rental car with an MSRP, for its model year, of up to $85,000 excluding all taxes, for rentals of up to 48 days. To use it, decline the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) or any similar option from the rental company and charge the full rental to your card. There is no cost for this coverage, and it replaces the daily insurance the rental company charges, usually $16 to $23 per day.

Mobile device insurance

Your device is covered for up to $1,000 per occurrence when it is charged to the card, for up to two years from the date of purchase. The payout is based on the depreciated value of the device, which falls by 2% of the purchase price for every completed month, less a 10% deductible. Theft and accidental damage coverage starts on the 91st day after purchase, because the first 90 days are covered by purchase protection.

Purchase protection and extended warranty

Eligible items charged to your card are insured against accidental physical damage or theft for 90 days from the purchase date, up to $1,000 per occurrence for all items combined. The card also extends the original manufacturer’s warranty by up to one additional year on eligible items, with indemnification limited to $10,000 per insured item and $25,000 per Cardmember per policy year for all items combined.

American Express Cobalt® Card fees

  • Card fee: $15.99 per month, which equals $191.88 per year, for residents outside Quebec. Quebec residents are billed $191.88 per year.
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  • Purchase interest rate: 21.99%.
  • Cash advance interest rate: 21.99%.
  • Foreign transaction fee: 2.5%.
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Because the fee is billed monthly rather than in one annual charge, you can stop and restart the cost in step with how much you are actually using the card.

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Annual fee

Primary card$191.88
Additional card$0

Annual income required

Individual$0
Household$0

Conversion fees

2.5%

Earning rate

  • 5xRestaurants
  • 5xGroceries
  • 5xConvenience
  • 3xStreaming
  • 2xTransit
  • 2xGas & EV
  • 1xAll spending

Value

1st Year Value$1,828
2nd Year Value$799

Transfer partners

  • AeroplanAirline
  • British Airways ClubAirline
  • Cathay Asia MilesAirline
  • Etihad GuestAirline
  • Flying BlueAirline
  • Hilton HonorsHotel
  • Marriott BonvoyHotel

Travel insurance

Travel medical (under 55)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Travel medical (55-64)Up to $5,000,000 / 15 days
Delayed BaggageUp to $500
Lost BaggageUp to $500
Flight DelayUp to $500
Hotel BurglaryUp to $500
Travel AccidentUp to $250,000

Purchase protection

Purchase ProtectionUp to $1,000 / 90 days
Extended Warranty+1 years
Mobile DeviceUp to $1,000 / 2 years
Auto Rental Collision (primary)Up to $85,000 / 48 days

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