Breakfast
Wheelchair Accessible
Description
Hostelz.com's Review
HI - Ottawa Jail Hostel has to be one of the coolest hostels in the world! Who doesn't want to sleep in their own jail cell? The formerly condemned Carleton County Jail used to house petty offenders, those on death row, mental patients, and other random guests. Since being condemned, the building has been converted with minimal renovations to the building structure into a hostel.
The Location
Right opposite the Rideau Center and close to Parliament Hill, Byward Market, and most of the museums, the location of this hostel is perfect. It is close to everything you need.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are converted jail cells equipped with their own bars on the doors, with the exception of a couple of floors (the top floor has dorm rooms converted from the part of the prison where the women were housed separate from the men). Here the rooms are fairly standard, normal dorm rooms, but with a few bars on windows and a sink in the corner. If you have your heart set on sleeping in an actual cell with bars on the doors, then make sure that you double check when booking.
The bathrooms are also converted jail cells. You can shower with your own view of the bars on the windows. Toilets are separate from the showers. They are all clean and well-maintained.
Common Spaces
The hostel is equipped with a very modern and clean kitchen with all facilities, including a coffee machine. Mugshots Bar is downstairs -- you can go and socialize over a drink or two and have your photo taken on the lineup. They also have books and games in these common areas for people to use as well. Free daily breakfast is served in the bar also.
he hostel also offers laundry and overnight parking (for a per-night fee, you can park your car out back in the old exercise yard of the prison, so that you don't have to worry about the hassle of downtown parking).
Summary
The hostel runs nightly tours of the closed-off eighth floor of the building, where you will find cells of many of the inmates still in their original condition, shackles and all. You can get tickets from the front desk and it is well worth the trip through the prison to hear about the prisoners, the escapes, those on death row, and all of the stories of the "weird" stuff that happens in the hostel (some people believe the hostel is still inhabited by the ghosts of those who have passed). You can also do ghost tours around the city of Ottawa, too. Ask the staff at the front desk -- they are super polite and helpful.
Definitely stay here. The place has an amazing vibe and as far as cool hostels and different experiences go, it is at the top of the list!
The Location
Right opposite the Rideau Center and close to Parliament Hill, Byward Market, and most of the museums, the location of this hostel is perfect. It is close to everything you need.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are converted jail cells equipped with their own bars on the doors, with the exception of a couple of floors (the top floor has dorm rooms converted from the part of the prison where the women were housed separate from the men). Here the rooms are fairly standard, normal dorm rooms, but with a few bars on windows and a sink in the corner. If you have your heart set on sleeping in an actual cell with bars on the doors, then make sure that you double check when booking.
The bathrooms are also converted jail cells. You can shower with your own view of the bars on the windows. Toilets are separate from the showers. They are all clean and well-maintained.
Common Spaces
The hostel is equipped with a very modern and clean kitchen with all facilities, including a coffee machine. Mugshots Bar is downstairs -- you can go and socialize over a drink or two and have your photo taken on the lineup. They also have books and games in these common areas for people to use as well. Free daily breakfast is served in the bar also.
he hostel also offers laundry and overnight parking (for a per-night fee, you can park your car out back in the old exercise yard of the prison, so that you don't have to worry about the hassle of downtown parking).
Summary
The hostel runs nightly tours of the closed-off eighth floor of the building, where you will find cells of many of the inmates still in their original condition, shackles and all. You can get tickets from the front desk and it is well worth the trip through the prison to hear about the prisoners, the escapes, those on death row, and all of the stories of the "weird" stuff that happens in the hostel (some people believe the hostel is still inhabited by the ghosts of those who have passed). You can also do ghost tours around the city of Ottawa, too. Ask the staff at the front desk -- they are super polite and helpful.
Definitely stay here. The place has an amazing vibe and as far as cool hostels and different experiences go, it is at the top of the list!
by Globetrotter
Hostelz.com Staff Reviewer
May 2012
Photos taken by the Hostelz.com reviewer — Genuine photos you can trust.
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HI - Ottawa Jail Hostel Reviews from the WebHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Perfect location, clean, comfortable I stayed in one of the male dorms for 4 nights; couldn't have hoped for anything more. Knowing it's a haunted old jail make me expect dark and worn out rooms, with spiderwebs and bloodstains but I was nicely surprised. The entire building is perfectly clean by any standard. The beds were comfortable, although a bit noisy when you move around. The lockers in the room were a good size, and there were larger ones in the hall (but only some of them seemed to be free). The bathrooms are more modern than the cell, and were also clean. I think this is one of the few hostels I've seen that has a dry place outside the shower stall with enough hooks and shelves for clothes and getting changed. The only downside to the building could be the noise; the design of the building forces noise to travel so that prison guards could hear inmates whispering quietly in their cells. The door is solid, but the space above is just open metal bars. There was a background noise of what I guessed was distant water dripping and something like footsteps. It's really just a bit creepy at worst, and in the end, its much better than many other hostels (and hotels) with heavy doors that you hear slamming from everywhere in the building all night long. — Anonymous, Canada (2011-12-23) Poor customer service I did not stay over night. however my friend was trying to plan a stay over for her birthday. they said that they would rent her a room, and that it wouldn't be any problem. however when she tried to call the manager back to finalize the booking, he wouldn't answer, so she kept calling, till eventually she called the front desk and asked when he would be in, they said that he had been in a lot of meetings all week and that was why he hadn't been answering. a couple minutes after getting off the phone with them she got a text telling her that they were no longer able to host her party and to stop calling. very rude, couldn't even call her and tell her. — Anonymous, Canada (2010-11-11) Visited with my boys for one day March Break 2009. The experience of the tour was so so. The tour guide was a bit creepy and kept looking at my 2 and half year old when he was fussy. All in all I got and gave the kids the experience I intended. — Anonymous, Canada (2010-09-19) Different Nice, clean hostel and the location is perfect. They have a big kitchen to cook for yourself and a cozy bar. No lockers in the room though and only one light in the cells. But the fact that you sleep in a cell makes it worth to stay there. I can only recommend it. — Simona , Switzerland (2010-07-29) Well, good but I have seen better Wireless internet access service not reliable, breakdown attends internet service. Clerk was a bit rude with me when I ask her to change bunk. I requested for a lower bunk and someone took my bed. The only one available was the upper one. I asked "Do you mind to give me back my bed?" and she said "Well, I have to!" Bunks are to change, too small and squeaky. Free walking Tour of Ottawa twice a week, very interesting. — Sylvain F, Canadian (2009-10-19) Interesting We only did the tour here, but it is definitely somewhere that I would consider staying for one night, as it does have a strange atmosphere to it. Those who are into seeing hosts would enjoy this, as I myself, did in fact see a ghost in a picture one of my friends took. It was very real, and very interesting. Something to look into if this is what you're into. It's also an interesting history lesson if you just wanted to know a little about the history of the jail. — Brendan, Canada (2009-06-05) Good Fun Drove for four hours from Toronto to get to Ottawa this past weekend (March 20-21). It was our first trip to Ottawa. I thought it would be a fun and interesting way to end the march break for my boys. It was! We got lost trying to find the hostel with all the one way streets in Ottawa, I was a bit frustrated with driving in the city. We got there just in time for the tour and a tour it was. The tour guide all dressed in black, I guess for added spookiness -- was very informative. The Jail itself was in great condition and is properly kept to maintain the historic roots. Overall it was a great weekend and one more place we can say, " been there, done that!" — P, Canada (2009-03-23) Bring earplugs I visited in spring -- most people were still in school, and while the weather was warm it wasn't hot or muggy (which is typical of Ottawa in the summer). The hostel was fairly empty at the time, except for a big group of boy scouts who kept to themselves and had a curfew. Even though it was empty, the hostel was very noisy. It's not the fault of the other guests, who were very obliging when asked to quiet down in the wee hours of the morning, but because of the hostel's construction -- it's all concrete and stone. Every floor is a gigantic echo chamber. Things might be better if you're on the non-prison side, but most of the rooms are in the cells. The staff were helpful and friendly, but didn't really go out of their way to make you feel welcome. That was alright for me, since I was only there for a short time and know the city decently well, but it might be more difficult for others. The food in the servery was uninspiring. The portions were large and filling, but it wasn't a five-star restaurant. However, the Byward Market is just across the street. There's bakeries, cafes, bars, night clubs, and lots of quirky little shops. It's in a great location, too -- just down the stairs from a bus stop, across the street from a mall, only a couple of blocks from all the museums and parks and Parliament buildings. Overall, it's a great hostel. But if you're even a moderately light sleeper, think twice, since you won't be able to enjoy the city without any sleep. — Adi, Canada (2009-03-06)