I got back from my night in Ottawa late yesterday. It was an eventful drive for me (I cancelled my flight and drove; got a full refund for my AC flight); my transmission light came on 3/4 of the way there, which I was okay with since it was amber. Then I got a hazard message saying "restricted performance" and that scared me. I called the GM of the dealership that services our vehicles in Toronto and he told me to pull over immediately and shut off the engine for 15 minutes. Since I was on a highway in the middle of nowhere, alone, I was not keen on doing this, but he stressed that the engine was too hot to continue. So I pulled over and sat for 15 minutes -- all I can say is thank goodness for the internet because it helped the time go by quickly while cars and trucks whizzed past me. When I started up the car again the "restricted performance" light was off but the tranny light was still on, so I had the GM lookup the nearest dealership and thankfully there was one about a half hour from where I was on the highway. I called the dealership and they said they could put my car on the computer as soon as I got there to see what was wrong. The computer indicated that there were misfires on 4 of the 8 cylinders, which was causing the transmission light. They cleared the vehicle computer and the mechanic took it out for a drive while live streaming the onboard computer and he wasn't getting anything. They said without digging further into the issue I should be okay to drive back to Toronto yesterday. The dealership was brand new and had a nice waiting area with a little cafe (espresso, cookies, granola bars, soft drinks and water all free of charge) and they had the Olympics on the tv. I was there just over an hour, paid $175.00 and was on my way. Having a car breakdown in the middle of nowhere is one of my fears, so this was not a fun experience for me. Like at all. The light never came on yesterday, so I have no clue what is wrong with my car, but I am not crazy about the idea of driving it to visit dd in September (even though her university is only 2.5 hours from home versus the 4 hour drive to Ottawa).
On to the Andaz Byward Market. I booked the highest category suite for 9,000 points and US$148.00 plus US$16.00 for self-parking. I thought that this was an amazing deal and jumped on it. The location seemed ideal -- right across the street from the Byward Market (with lots of amazing restaurants, boutiques and eclectic shops) and a 10 minute walk from the Parliament Buildings, National Gallery and most of the sights one would want to see while in Ottawa (the nation's capital city). I got there just before 3 and my room was ready - yay (the guy checking in beside me wasn't so lucky)! My suite was on the top floor with an amazing view of the market and the Parliament Buildings in the background. It was not huge, but very wall laid out, nicely furnished and perfect for what I needed. My family arrived and we stayed in the room until our dinner reservations, so it was really nice to have the separate living area and powder room for them to use! I like to sleep in cold rooms (around 65 degrees), so I set the thermostat for 64 before we went to dinner. However when we got back shortly before 10 the thermostat was registering 72 and the room felt quite warm. This is one major issue that I had with the room -- it didn't feel like there was any air circulating and I had a hard time sleeping.The other issue I had with the room was the noise -- turns out one of the hottest night clubs in the city is just across the street from the hotel and it was super noisy -- screaming, yelling, cars honking, all kinds of noise. I am a very light sleeper and I could not get to sleep, between what felt like the lack of a/c and the noise (when I got up for the day the room was registering 73, despite the thermostat still showing being set for 64); I was not impressed. I won't be staying at the Andaz again for these reasons. There is a perfectly nice Westin (which I've stayed at previously) just outside of the Market district that would be much quieter (plus I can use my 35k night certificate there). I'm glad that I tried the Andaz, but I place a high priority on sleep and the noise and lack of strong a/c at the Andaz would stop me from staying there again. One other thing that I should mention is that the only USB outlet was under the tv in the living area (not ideal for charging my phone and iWatch which is also my night / alarm clock). Since the hotel is somewhat new I expected that there would be a USB outlet close to the night stands.
Ottawa is a really beautiful city with so much to see and do and I'd definitely recommend a visit if ever in the vicinity!
A few pics of the room:
hallway leading into room
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powder room
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Living area
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wet bar (sink and coffee maker) with an island sitting area
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View (you can just make out the Parliament Buildings in the distant background)
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Well we finally used our last unrestricted IHG free night certificate from the OG $49 a year IHG card. It was going to expire this month and we weren’t really traveling last year. So, my preferred use of these certificates was at The Willard in DC during cherry blossom season. It wasn’t meant to be. I initially thought to use it where we’d get the best value for it here in Florida. Going back to that nasty Crowne Plaza in Key West was out of the question. I brought up the idea of using it at the Intercontinental in Miami which is about 35 minutes from where we live and then using points for the second night. I couldn’t get out of work early on Friday so we’d be arriving in the evening. Neither PlanePrincess nor I were super excited about staying there after a year of non Disney trips in hotel rooms with a view of the beach or ocean. He said he didn’t think it would be worth it to use the certificate there when we would not get full use of the stay since I was getting home from work later and we’d be arriving in the evening. I told him if he wanted to let it expire, I was fine with that.
I am old and live under a rock! That is disgusting!
