Château Laurier

Château Laurier with its elegant turrets and enormous size, looks like it could double as some sort of fairytale castle perched atop a European hillside. The architectural beauty isn’t a palace at all, though it has had a few brushes with royalty. Many famous figures, prime ministers, and royalty from around the world have stayed within this 429-room hotel. Its insides reveal early 20th-century hand-molded plaster decorations, original Tiffany stained-glass-windows, and walls made with the finest Indiana limestone. When it first opened in 1912, a private room cost a whopping $2 per night. Yet despite the hotel’s grandeur, its story is tinged with sadness. The palatial Château Laurier was commissioned by Charles Melville Hays, American millionaire, philanthropist, and president of the (now long-bankrupt) Railway System. But unfortunately for Hays, he died before he could see the hotel’s grand opening. Hays, anxious to return from London to Ottawa for the Château’s big opening, booked a ticket on the famously ill-fated Titanic. Strangely, he reportedly prophesied an “appalling disaster” on the very night the ship collided with the iceberg and met its demise.