Is the Château Cartier Hotel Autism friendly

Is the Château Cartier Hotel Autism Friendly

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Our first stop on our East Coast Canada road trip was Ottawa, and we booked a three-night stay at the Château Cartier Hotel. While many families searching for an autism friendly hotel near Ottawa may find better-suited options, two features of the Château Cartier really stood out to me.

Quick Facts about the Château Cartier Hotel:

  • It is a budget-friendly hotel, with rooms starting as low as $125/night.
  • The hotel is located in Gatineau, Quebec, making it a 13-minute drive to Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
  • There are two onsite restaurants.
  • Parking is free.
  • The location offers a quiet, peaceful setting.
  • There is no general swimming pool, but there is a thermal spa, Kōena Spa, for guests aged 16 and over.

For a comprehensive look at the property, read my full Château Cartier Hotel review and my review of Kōena Spa, which was a major selling point for me when I chose the Château Cartier.

If you are looking for autism friendly things to do in the area, check out our Sensory Friendly Activities in Ottawa Guide. You can also find the best attractions and activities in Ottawa, along with my recommended hotel and restaurant options, in my Best Ottawa Attractions for Families post, or for a done-for-you itinerary, check out Ottawa in a Day. For tips to make travelling with an autistic child easier, see our guide.

Now, let’s get into my Château Cartier Hotel autism review.

My Château Cartier Hotel Autism-Friendly Rating

Overall rating: 6/10

While we personally loved our stay at the Château Cartier Hotel, it may not be the best option for every autism family.  It’s definitely not a hotel aimed at young children.  However, for adults with autism or even older teens, it’s my top pick. 

The hotel’s unique room layout and on-site spa, combined with its location away from the busy tourist areas, make it a great place for someone with autism to unwind after a busy day.

Château Cartier Hotel Rooms

Rating: 8/10

We stayed in a Two-Room, Two-Queen suite, which has the perfect layout for a family traveling with an autistic child.

A French door and the bathroom split the room into two distinct areas, with a bed in each. For us, this setup was perfect because it gave Brie her own space to decompress alone and allowed her to go to bed early while Zen and I were still unwinding in the other room.

The only slight downside was that the French door had a full-length window, meaning we had to turn off some of our lights to give her the darkness she needed for sleep. However, for some families, this window may be an advantage since it still blocks out noise for the child but allows the parent to check on them visually without causing a disruption.

Having a TV in each room was helpful too. Brie could watch cartoons on one TV, while we could watch something else on ours.  It came in handy in the mornings too, since Brie shared her room with Grandma. Instead of turning her TV on in the morning, she came over to our side to watch TV so Grandma could sleep in.

The room also has a mini-fridge, a must-have when traveling with an autistic child. For children with food aversions or allergies, being able to bring your own food makes traveling much easier. Since Brie has a gluten intolerance and is sensitive to too much dairy, this allowed us to bring her almond milk and some gluten-free snacks that needed refrigeration.

The lighting in the room is also very dim. While this was not something I particularly liked, it would be perfect for children who are sensitive to brighter lights.

Noise

Rating: 9/10

The rooms were not extremely soundproof, but the noise I heard coming from the room next to us and the hallway didn’t seem to travel into the second room when we closed the door. As long as your child is in that second room, they should have no problems sleeping through the night without other guests’ sounds disrupting them.

Safety For Children with Autism

Rating: 9/10

Like most hotels, this one has a latch lock on the door, which will slow down a child attempting to elope. Of course, the second room adds another layer of protection for flight risks, as the child would be sleeping away from the room’s main exit.

If your child is prone to wandering or running, I still recommend getting a travel door alarm in case they try to sneak out while you are asleep. Overall, I felt Brie was safe in the second room at the Château Cartier.

Château Cartier Auism-Friendly Amenities

Amenities at Château Cartier

Rating: 2/10

As I mentioned, this is not a child-oriented hotel, so it doesn’t offer many amenities that are great for autistic children.

The biggest drawback here is the lack of a pool. We were lucky because Brie was old enough to join me at Kōena Spa. If she hadn’t been, I might have looked at a different hotel where she could swim in the evenings. While the spa has several pools, I still had to explain to Brie that it was a place for relaxing, not for swimming around and playing.

The spa is an amazing place to relax for us adults and older teens/adults on the spectrum, but there is a fee to use it, so you would not want to take advantage of it every night. This access limitation could be hard for some autistic teens and adults to understand.

Autism-friendly dining

Rating: 6/10

The restaurants are another less autism friendly (or child-friendly) aspect of the Château Cartier Hotel. Both are a bit fancier than where many of us would normally take young kids.

The first restaurant, KaTO, serves Japanese-Korean fusion cuisine. While I was impressed that they clearly marked many gluten-free options on the menu, I didn’t see much that Brie would have eaten.

The other restaurant, ONŌ, was better. It offers Canadian-inspired cuisine, though there weren’t many clearly autism friendly foods to choose from. They did at least offer burgers (with a gluten-free bun option) and fries, but no chicken nuggets or much else that would appeal to children. The setting is also very serene, which is great for Brie but may not be ideal for those who have more energetic kids.

Ready to book?

Brie’s Experience

Brie loves all hotels, and this one was no exception. While it probably wasn’t her favorite place that we stayed on our East Coast Canada trip (she really enjoyed the Hôtel Ambassadeur in Quebec City), the Château Cartier was high on her list. She truly enjoyed having a bigger room than most hotels we’ve stayed at, and having her own personal space to unwind in alone was a definite highlight for her.

However, her favorite part was Kōena Spa. Even though she couldn’t really play around in the pools, she loves being in the water, so she enjoyed just relaxing in them. She and Zen did come into one steam room with me for a few minutes, but Zen found it hard to breathe and wanted to go back to the pool, and Brie chose to go with her instead of staying with me. Kōena Spa also offers many places to relax, and after spending the day in the crowded Canadian Museum of History (read our review) and Canadian Museum of Nature (review here), she was content to lie in silence in the Himalayan salt room for a while.

Other Ottawa Hotel Options

Prefer something with a pool for kids?

Here are some more great Ottawa hotel options

While the Château Cartier Hotel is not the best choice for all autism families, it was a great pick for our stay. For families with children who don’t require a swimming pool, it would be a good option. This is especially true if you’re traveling with two adults and can take turns going down to Kōena Spa to unwind after a busy day.

If you want to see more hotels and attractions we’ve rated for being Autism friendly on our East Coast Canada road trip, or more Autism friendly travel in Ontario, follow us on  Facebook and TikTok. I’ll be sharing all our reviews on autism friendly events, attractions and hotels, and tips to help other families trying to plan out sensory-friendly travel in Canada and beyond.

Do you have any tips for staying at a hotel with an autistic child? Join our new Autism on Vacation Facebook group, where families can share reviews and tips or ask others for advice when planning their trips.

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