Novotel London West Hotel 4 stars

Because of the Corona virus I could not enjoy my stay as I would have.

Polite friendly check in, comfortable room and excellent breakfast.

Firstly I must applaud the staff who were working on the 19th of March. Given that they would have had their own concerns about how the current crisis would impact on their health & their future employment prospects they still did their job in a professional, friendly & courteous manner. They were very stoic in the face of uncertainty. The accomodation was up the the usual high standards that this hotel has always is past stays. The positive memories of our stay have been destroyed by the simple fact that Hotel Management have decided that they have the right to keep monies (GBP 716.30) that we paid for an expected 4 night stay in early July. A stay that we had to cancel given that the COVID-19 crisis impacted our trip's plans & we were instructed by the Australian Government to return home ASAP. Given that our trip had been planned to run from the Feb 28th to June 15th we had pre booked at 57 hotels & Inns & had stayed at 7 prior to having to cancel the trip. To date 48 of the hotels we cancelled have returned our payments in full. 1 of the remaining 2 hotels has advised they will reimburse ASAP. The outstanding hotel is the Novotel West London which has decided that I can book 4 nights anytime up to December 31st 2020, as long as I contact before the original booked dates, & pay any increase in room rates as well. That's gobbledygook! What a dishonest way to do business, especially in the hospitality trade. It is unlikely the we could afford to return to the UK again even if the COVID-19 crisis is resolved before year's end. The Australian PM has just tonight announced that our government has banned overseas travel for leisure purposes for at least the next 3 months. I would think that the COVID-19 crisis is an established fact and that it has curtailed the plans & impacted the lives of most of the world's population. That fact seems to have escaped the attention of Novotel London West's 'Head Office' who seem intent on money-grubbing as much as they can. I have been an AccorPlus member for many years, but given the actions of this particular hotel I am now questioning the worth of that membership. Very, very disappointing. They have undone the great work of their staff as well impugning the hotel's reputation. I will continue agitating until such time as I receive satisfaction & that will only happen when 'Hotel Management' return MY money.

Dear Novotel, We had to cancel the tript due to the corona virus outbreak, well known worldwide. The London Bookfair was cancelled due this reason. You should refund all publishers that had to cancel the trip due to extremely strong reason. This is force majore . All the other hotel chains were very flexible and they refunded all the honest people that are paying important rates for travelling during the fairs year after year. Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and others have immediately respinded responsably. What do you think when you are sending these kind of messages wyle we are asking for refund or rescheduling the reservation for more then one month. We are in contact with an important number of publishers, many are unhappy. Please consider this as a new complaint. It would make sense if a person would read it, not a robot.

What impressed me most was the staff I liked their friendly personable approach and although surprised that many of them were wearing jeans in combination with a traditional hotel uniform, in reflection I liked this casual dress code it really does work. So as a happy staff is a sign of good management I must commend them too. Like everything else in London the bar and food prices are quite high I recall £10 plus for a sandwich. If any gripes the rooms were a little small and did not match the luxury feel of the rest of the hotel. Overall a pleasant stay keep hold of your staff.