'It's soooooo ugly': Public pans approval of Chteau Laurier expansion

What a week it's been for the Chteau Laurier.

Architects have spent three years coming up with plans for an expansion to the iconic hotel in downtown Ottawa, and over the past 48 hours, the criticism has reached its absolute peak.

It all started back in the fall of 2016, however, when hotelowners Larco investmentsintroduced their first plan from Toronto architect Peter Clewes.

The reaction was swift and harsh, which led tofour more tries to appease the public. None of them were widely embraced.

This pretty much sums up the sentiment on social media this week.

Some have likened the expansionto an air conditioning unit, while others have called it "jail-like".

With criticism and ire quite potent, Ottawa city council took two days to review the fifth and final plan.

Ultimately, suburban councillors outnumbered the urban ones who wanted to halt it, giving the plan a thumbs-up in fear of overstepping on the ability for a private property owner to alter their own building.

The decision, which has now become national news, was met with its fair share of skeptics. Many targeted MayorJim Watson.

Even comedian Tom Green, an Ottawa native who attended council's final session on the hotel Thursday, shared his not-so-subtle opinion.

Now that city council has decided to let the expansion proceed, critics haveshifted their focus to federal and provincial officials.

The Chteau Laurier was declared a national historic site in 1980, so Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna will now be in the spotlight when it comes to the hotel expansion's next steps.

This story is far from over, so the CBC's Kate Portermapped out what we should expect in the days and months to come.

You can leave your comments on the Chteau Laurier addition and city council's decision below, on Twitter by tweeting at CBC Ottawa, or by sharing your opinion on Facebook.