Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel

What a unique experience staying in an iron-bar hotel with such history. Staying in an authentic prisoner cell room of only 4x9 feet in dimension was certainly an eye opener as to just how challenging it must have been to be sentenced to such extreme punishment. A for the “modern-day” experience, all the staff at the front desk were extremely friendly and helpful. And the facilities was spotlessly maintained.

Great customer service and cool staff. Love their simple free breakfast option to kick start the day, and like the whole self service kitchen hostel concept which means one can cook if they want to. Also love the "no food in room" inn-keepers policy.

Very cool experience. The place is incredibly clean and so shout out to the staff esp Simon who setup breakfast and heads the tours. Location was great.
Be aware if you stay in the single jail cell, it's very small, so you need to be very organized. I found it very comfortable.

Cons: Barebones hostel. No shower gel or shampoo in the shower despite being advertised on the website, and no customer service available on weekends to resolve this issue. No electrical outlet near each bed, only a single USB port. One shared bathroom per floor. No guest temperature control in the bedrooms, they get very hot at night. No noise insulation, all the sounds of the market outside will come into the bedrooms. Bring your own padlocks to use their lockers. Recommended to bring your own ear plugs and sleep mask as well.

Pros: Good location, cheap price.

We loved this place! Very unique and done so well. Loved the way the history was incorporated and what a great location! Walked to see other beautiful buildings and many restaurant choices. Thanks for a great experience.

Great place, great location. It’s like living inside of a museum. Great daily free tour of the jail as well.

It’s still under construction and there is some room for improvement like curtains etc. The kitchen is still quite small, but they are on it. Nothing that negatively impacted our stay, apart from construction noise from the other side of the road in the morning.

Obviously the nature of the accommodations are reflective of their price, and you have to remember that you're staying in a 19th century prison. That being said, there are a few dealbreakers. First, most rooms don't have AC and the building is hot. To try and cool it down, all the windows are left open. So, second, being in the market means there's a lot of street noise, and the door to your cell, being a cell, isn't soundproof, so you'll hear noise from the street all night (sirens, people etc.). Furthermore, there's no enforcement of sound rules, so people on my floor were loud until at least 3AM, and began making noise in the morning around 7. Again, you can hear everything because of the nature of the door and how close you are to other people. *Any* amount of money you spend on accommodations has to provide you with the ability to get a good night's sleep, no matter the cost. Maybe this happens sometimes in the prison, but there are a number of factors that made it difficult for me. I would suggest bringing ear plugs to make it easier.

J'adoré ma nuit en cellule, le fait qu'il y a de l'air qui peut entrer par le haut de la porte, m'a permis de très bien dormi, Le déjeuner oeufs cuits dures, bagels, fruits, et café, thé, la visite de la prison est gratuite lorsque vous avez dormis sur place, un plus stationnement 20$ bien stitué. Ma seule critique en rapport avec la visite, je comprend l'anglais à 75% j'aurai aimé que le guide puis me dire en francais ce qui m'échappait.bref je vous le recommande,

Place was very nice it was also very quiet I find it is best to share a room as opposed to having your own room that can be a little expensive

The price and & location is great! Very clean and the staff are great. We stayed in bunk bed room for two adults and the space was sufficient and bunk beds very comfortable. Would definitely recommend and will be definitely back!

We were looking for a private room, but when we entered we were shocked because there were no more prisoners there, the noise was too much, the doors rang when they were opened, but because we had to stay there for one night. Compared to the price, the facilities were very limited, even the bathroom and toilet were public, I had never seen anything like this in my life, but it might be interesting for adventurers, the location is great, it has access to everything, it is clean.

A little disappointed, I had asked with air conditioning and were given without air conditioning, and the price was 4o $ more than expected and the lunches really ordinary, the web publication is a bit misleading

A difficult place to rate! The stay is about the jail experience, which is 5 star, cells are intimate, bed’s comfortable. Noises of doors closing and people moving around the jail-added to the experience but by 12pm all was quiet.

Saintlo Ottawa Jail.
This place is a true historic treasure! Now that it has been renovated it is a really great place to spend a few nights.
Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Ottawa and within walking distance of so many of Ottawa's attractions makes this place a great vacation destination.
Breakfast in the morning is such as treat!
Thank You. Will see you again soon!

For the price, location and experience, this place was a gem. Once you drop your bags, you can just simply walk around Downtown Ottawa and check out every bit of interesting places nearby. Lodging was reasonably comfortable for its price. The only issue was that the quiet hours rule wasn't really enforced. Don't miss out on the jail tour at 11.

Very helpful and nice staff! The rooms in dormitory are very small, no curtains in bed, which gives the ultimate prison experience. Other than that the service and cleanliness was top. The guy who works at the breakfast table was telling good stories. An experience!

It was all very fine, but there was a heat wave that week in Ottawa and I found the place (my cell) uncomfortably warm.

What a fantastic stay I had here! The staff were wonderful, the room (cell) was clean and they had a wonderful breakfast to add to your stay. I recommend you do some research on the history of the jail before you go, it’s very interesting and it makes you appreciate your stay all the more. Highly recommend it!

Great place! Very fun project, who would’ve known a prison could be so comfy
Little historical visit in the morning very interesting, rooms a bit noisy (no isolation to the exterior noise) but hey, it’s a prison:)
People who came there were very nice too, its very friendly place!

Mon séjour au Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel a été une expérience unique et mémorable. L'atmosphère historique de l'ancienne prison combinée à la convivialité de l'auberge en a fait un lieu fascinant où séjourner. Les dortoirs étaient propres et confortables, offrant suffisamment d'intimité malgré la disposition des cellules. Le personnel était accueillant et attentif, prêt à répondre à toutes mes questions sur le bâtiment chargé d'histoire. J'ai particulièrement apprécié les visites guidées organisées pour découvrir les aspects intéressants de la prison. Si vous recherchez une expérience unique à Ottawa, je recommande vivement le Saintlo Ottawa Jail Hostel

Very cool experience to sleep in jail.
Super comfy beds with immaculate linen and towels.
The entire place is sparkling clean, the staff is kind and always available to help. Breakfast is very good too. I highly recommend, go ahead and try it!

I found the staff very helpful and accommodating. The continental breakfast was well maintained. I apparently did not notice that there is no air conditioning in the advertising. For ~$100/night for a small cell I would expect air conditioning. A brick building in the summer heat can be oppressive. Also, I had to ask the desk for toilet paper and shower soap as they had not been replenished daily.

Bien situé, très propre, personnels très gentils, visite très intéressante, bon déjeuner même si peu de choses. Je recommande.

An adventure staying in cells with beds in them and a really informative tour if you want it. Very clean with nice buffet breakfast.

Thank you for the pleasant stay. The place is really well organized, beds are comfortable and the overall mood is really special and fun. Door rooms could be less noisy and I thought it was a bit expensive for a hostel, but apart from that it was a really nice experience!

Just returned from 2 nights at the Ittawa Jail hostel.
Excellent location, staff are amazing, 24 hr reception. We stayed in a room with a private bathroom and it was very comfortable.
This place is truly a must for paranormal enthusiasts.
Will definitely be returning!

It is very nice but the bathrooms are extremely uncomfortable and are not enough, there is a lot of noise both from the air conditioning and from the outside, it is also uncomfortable to climb the stairs. El perdonal is very friendly and the breakfast is good, the rooms and the entire site are also very clean and the employees are very nice and friendly, but the place is still under renovation

Voici quelques photo de mon expérience et visibilité des lieux de l'hôtel pour bien vous aider a bien analyser les besoins:) les belle chambres et la salle a manger les douches et toilettes et quelques autre du bâtiment et de l'histoire des lieux super propre jai bien aimé mon séjour, merci.

Here are some photos of my experience and visibility of the places of the hotel to help you analyze the needs well:) the beautiful rooms and the dining room the showers and toilets and some other of the building and the history of the places super clean I enjoyed my stay, thank you.

I didn't have a good experience. The only good thing is the location. The cell is very tight, there is no shelf to put our belongings, the bathroom is very far from the cell, there is no acoustic insulation, on the contrary, the different sounds reverberate, from the footsteps of people in the corridor, the creaking of the cell doors is very loud inside the cell, even the toilet flush seemed to be inside the cell. I just couldn't sleep. Breakfast leaves much to be desired. Very weak coffee, like tea, stale bread and unpeeled fruit. I found it too expensive for what it offers. I paid 300 CAD.