Novotel Canberra Hotel 4.5 stars

disappointed with stay and room. Couldn’t get in on arrival. Towel rack in room behind door broken. Rips on bottom of bed on leather/vinyl. Different experience to when we stayed approx 6 months earlier

The Housekeeping was extremely poor. The fridge was not cleaned out & had a half bottle of wine. My rubbish was not removed from, I had a pizza box in the room for 2 nights. The towels were not all changed over The body wash was never replaced after 3 nights.

I was travelling with 3 kids, all they wanted was to swimming in the pool & it was great. And a nice breakfast which was nice also! But Requests to reception were never acted on the 1st time ie: extra towels for the pool. I rang 3 times & even went down to reception, only on the 4th call did someone actually drop them off. No towels at the pool area either. Again we call reception, but it took about 6 calls between 2 families. Bathroom: we booked for 4 people but only 3 bathrooms amenities & no shampoo, only conditioner. So we rang again a few times before they were delivered. We had to seek & load/unload our own bags on the trolley and take them to & from the room. On departure we rang reception for a trolley they told us to collect it up from the basement, so I took the kids with me to collect one. Only on checking out & me mentioning to the reception “don’t you have people to help with bags” did the nice lady drop everything and come and help. The reception staff were great, it might be a staffing issue- not sure but they did try their best to accommodate.

Room clean and tidy. Disappointed that there was no form of "Hotel Guide" in the room. No indication of room service, emergency contacts, restaurant menu and hours of operation. Learned later - as I was trying to get a meal, that should have reserved at desk! How are you supposed to "know" that.... Finally got a meal - it was pretty ordinary. Overcooked and tough. Ate elsewhere from then on.

I was quoted $332 for 2 nights including breakfast, I accepted and was happy with that. I was charged $480 plus parking. I'm unsure where the increase in cost came from. The room had a musty smell. Reception never answered the phone as they were busy, had to walk down and wait in line for an hour to book breakfast both days, and also to get more towels as only 2 were in the room for 4 people.

A little disappointing.

Close to CBD, shops with indoor heated pool! The indoor pool was the best part of our stay as we were able to swim in the middle of Autumn

Everything was slow; service, breakfast, the lifts, car parking - efficiency was not high on the agenda.

Hotel was great however understaffed at the moment compared to previous visits, slow service for breakfast and the valet parking, the staff in the restaurant required managers to assist with the taking of orders, however eye fillet I had was one of the best I have had for sometime.

Room, hotel and dining were all fine Reception staff on check in/out didn't seem to understand my charges were paid for by the company and I have been charged personally without my authorisation. I confirmed on check in/out that charges were to the company and the lady on reception reluctantly agreed. Ringing the listed phone number goes to a overseas call centre who are unable to help. Eventually managed to be transferred to someone in the hotel (3rd time calling) who could not understand what I was trying to explain. At this point I still have a pending transaction on my credit card, the company travel agent is trying to follow up and obtain suitable credit and correct the error. Staff seem to need additional training in this regards when things are not the usual families etc coming to stay and seem unaware of the process to follow when confronted with charge backs to third parties. Obviously this matter has affected my perception of the stay and at this time am unlikely to choose to stay there again as I have opportunity to stay elsewhere when in Canberra

We enjoyed the hotels location in the city of Canberra. The 1 bedroom apartment that we stayed in was not in great condition. There was paint coming of the bathroom door, the fridges were faulty, leaked water and spoilt our food. The shower had mould in the grout (which was mostly cleaned off after I spoke to receptionist). The kitchen area of the apartment was basic and minimal. I would not stay here again.

We have stayed here before and enjoy the central location. Our view of the mountains was lovely. I understand that times have been difficult with Covid, however, the hotel was clearly understaffed which led to a deterioration in the standard we expect of Novotel. This was particularly evident in the foyer, which was generally crowded, and the restaurant where service was so slow we saw people walk out before their dessert arrived. Covid restrictions on the number of people per lift made it extremely difficult to move around the hotel at peak times. This was exacerbated because it appeared not all lifts were functioning. If you want people to return to the hotel in a post-Covid era you are going to need to significantly improve service.

Good location. Service was rude at times. Only a couple of staff were pleasant the others were rude and treatment poor.

60 minute check in experience set the tone for mediocre stay.

Location was the only positive. Understaffed and run down hotel, not of usual Novotel standard. Room cramped and with old fashioned beds and poor quality bedding. Toilet and shower need replacing. Combination basin/sink is impractical. Staff in restaurant tried hard to please but were hampered by nw and not enough staff. Reception staff in training without support. Points still not allocated and $ not removed from pre-allocation 10 days after stay. Location is great as short walk to restaurant hub.