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Originally built by the Canadian National Railway as a place for its passengers to stay it was located across the street from the train station. It was opened in 1915 and named after Wilfrid Laurier, former Prime Minister of Canada.
The hotel is located at the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and is just meters away from some of the capital's most important landmarks including Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, the National Gallery of Canada, the Byward Market, and the Rideau Centre.
The top floor of the hotel is the studio of Ottawa's CBC Radio One station.
The hotel was conceived by CN chair Charles Melville Hays and designed by Bradford Lee Gilbert. It opened on June 12, 1912. Unfortunately Hays, who was meant to open the hotel, decided to travel aboard the RMS Titanic and died when it sank on April 14. The hotel was eventually opened by Laurier himself.
Despite the closing of the nearby train station the hotel thrived becoming the main accommodation for visiting dignitaries and celebrities. The hotel was operated by CN until 1988 when it was purchased, along with the other CN hotels, by the Canadian Pacific Railway. In 1999 it was renamed the Fairmont Chateau Laurier after CP bought the large American Fairmont chain.