Novotel Darwin CBD Hotel 4 stars

The air conditioning unit in the room sounded like construction work, starting and stopping all night

It was great. Friendly staff , good meals and a great location. Next time I will get a harbour view room as my room overlooked a block of apartments.

Comfortable stay, although the fixtures were showing their age. Water pressure and temperature in the shower were weak. Air conditioning was great, and view was awesome.

Great staff, willing to help with anything

Two night stay. Good city location, convenient 10min walk to deckchair cinema, waterfront and esplanade across the road. Friendly staff.

No room service on new years eve. Wasnt informed of this at check in

I am writing to you about Deirdre Monaghan (Assistant Manager – Novotel Darwin CBD). I recently travelled to Darwin for work and I stayed at your hotel – the Novotel Darwin CBD – between 20/1 and 25/1. I experienced the worst customer service. During my stayed I was required to change room three times due to some defects associated with the room (water leak, bed issue). On Wednesday 22/1 evening (around 8pm) I was served by Deirdre Monaghan who allocated me to a new room (my third room). On that night around 12:30am I was woken up by a guest who entered in my room. After a brief discussion with that person, it was clear the room has been allocated to two people at the same time (two passes were issued for the same room). The next morning (Thursday 23/1 around 7am) I went to the reception and explained the situation. The gentleman who served me was very apologetic and promised me to escalate the issue by letting Deirdre know about it. He told me that the guest who entered in my room was also moved from his original room to a new room due to some defect issues. He also confirmed me that the person in charge of the reception that night (Deirdre Monaghan) did not enter my room allocation in the system therefore the next reception staff couldn’t see if my room was already allocated and issued it to a new guest. In the evening (Thursday 23/1 around 7:30pm) I went back to the reception to reset my room access card (which was deactivated with the double allocation) and I was served again by Deirdre Monaghan. During my brief and cold interaction with Deirdre I asked her if she was aware of the issue that occurred during the night. She replied “yes”. She didn’t offer any apologise nor recognise her mistake and the inconvenience caused. She completely dismissed me. Her behaviour was appalling and her customer service was shocking. You can appreciate my stress levels when you get woken up in the middle of the night by a stranger who enters in your hotel room and turns the light on. After the intrusion I didn’t sleep at all. The lack of sleep and stressed caused by this unfortunate experience really impacted my work performance the next day. I can’t imagine what a woman would feel in my situation! On my last evening I also found out that other guests experienced a similar situation (double allocation of rooms). I asked who served them. It was again Deirdre Monaghan. Based on my experience and the stories I heard from other guests it is clear that Deirdre Monaghan: - does not follow the hotel processes and requirements; - could impact the safety of the guests with her lack of integrity and professionalism; and - does not adhere to customer service values and principles. While the experience was bad I do understand that mistake can happen and I do appreciate the challenging conditions that the reception staff can face in the middle of the night. But not receiving any apologise or acknowledgement of the mistake from Ms Deirdre is not acceptable. In reference to Maya Angelou’s quote “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel“. Based on this experience, I will not return to your hotel next time I am in Darwin. I will also let my colleagues, who stay regularly in your hotel, know about the experience and I will inform my travel agent accordingly. PS: the bed in room 409 is terrible and really needs an upgrade!

stayed in the off season, so was a little disapointed that the hotels bar was closed

The service was great even though skeleton staff due to being the off season. One man running around doing everything but have no complaints about his service.

We stayed for six nights and although our first room sprang a leak from the ceiling on the 4th day, we were re-located swiftly to another equally good room. The rooms were clean and good sized but are a bit dated and there are obvious signs of cracking in plaster and some pretty ordinary joint work in the plaster.

The family 2-bedroom rooms are cosy and have all the necessary comforts. The hotel has 24-hour on site services.

I've stayed at this hotel on countless occasions previously as an Accor Plus member. Often 1-2 night stays, having dinner in the restaurant. However, this time once we had checked in earlier in the day and later come down around 7pm to go for a drink at the bar, and then dinner, find that both the bar and the restaurant closed. After speaking with staff, we are told that the owner had ordered the facilities closed down for a few months due to being a low period. None of this was forewarned when we booked a few days earlier. The staff as usual were very pleasant and did all they could to make our stay as comfortable as always. The room was of the usual standard, having been gratefully upgraded to a better room with my Accor membership. We went elsewhere for dinner and had a comfortable stay otherwise. I had a night booked for the following weekend, which I cancelled the next day. I also expected to stay another 2-3 nights over the next few months, but that wont be happening now. The hotel is a great place to stay, and I will absolutely stay here again, but likely not until the facilities are back up and running to their usual standard.

We had a two night stay and appreciated the upgrade. Bed was extremely comfortable and we had good sleeps. Shower had good pressure and there was plenty of hot water. Kettle and tea & coffee making, also a good happy hour in the bar on the ground floor. Hotel was quiet and staff welcoming.

Friendly lovely hotel. Beautiful meal in restaurant

All good thanks