What is your name and official title? How long have your been a concierge with the property? If elsewhere prior, where and for how long?
My Name is Cynthia Graham, the Fairmont Gold manager and head butler at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. I have been a concierge here for just over 15 years now.
What do you love best about the city in which you work?
Ottawa has the convenience of a large metropolitan city but still feels like a small town. When I go for my morning run down the Rideau Canal, everyone I pass smiles and nods. I find that Ottawa has an amazing sense of community that I have not seen elsewhere.
What are some hidden tips for visitors first coming to the city? What would you tell repeat visitors not to miss?
Ottawa is known as a sleepy government city, but we have amazing, nationally acclaimed festivals for all seasons, with great activities, everything from skating on the Rideau Canal during Winterlude to watching the first tulips bloom during the spring Tulip Festival. Ottawa hosts incredible festivals and concerts through the summer up into autumn with the changing of the leaves; it’s a breathtaking city all year long.
During Winterlude, I love to skate on the Canal with my family, stopping for a Beavertail (pastry fried and then dipped in cinnamon sugar and a squeeze of lemon) with apple cider before heading to Jacques Cartier Park in Gatineau to slide on the ice slides and explore the snowflake kingdom. There’s also a maze made out of ice and snow and large snow sculptures to explore.
Are there any activities, attractions, tours, sights or other experiences (i.e. a specific restaurant or shop) that you would call to the attention of visitors?
There are too many to count, but my favorite restaurant is Play Food & Wine. They keep enticing me to go back again and again, and the menu changes weekly to highlight produce from local farms.
If you have a full day to play in Ottawa, I would also recommend a hike through the Gatineau Park, or a few hours at one of the amazing thermal spas. Sugar Bush Trail is a 4-kilometer walk that is quite relaxing, not challenging but perfect to clear the mind after a busy week. It is easily accessible from the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre in Chelsea.
My favorite spa is Nordik Spa-Nature in Chelsea. I love to go in the winter and bring my big fluffy housecoat to bundle up in between moving to different pools or saunas. The Kaila bath is my absolute favorite place to be. It is saltier than the Dead Sea and leaves you feeling so relaxed. Then I go and spend some time in one of the little cedar cabanas and enjoy the scenery of Gatineau Park in front of a fire while relaxing in one of the swings.
Tell me one unique thing about the hotel/resort you work in that guests overlook or underutilize? What is something you would point out to guests that they should notice/experience while staying with you?
I love the history of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, so the photo galleries in the lobby and pool are a must see for my guests. The Pool is original 1930’s Art Deco and the very first indoor pool in Ottawa. From the Tiffany glass in the lobby to the photo galleries (my favorite photo is one of the late Princess Diana peaking around a podium), this Chateau is an iconic piece of Canadian history and I am so very proud that I get to continue and pass along our amazing traditions.
