Novotel Edinburgh Centre Hotel 4 stars

We had a pleasant stay at the hotel but found it overly busy or understaffed unsure which. Room was satisfactory but bathroom is in serious need of an upgrade, shower mouldy etc. Separate toilet is a nice idea but it doesn’t have a sink to wash hands and was very dimly lit and smelly. Overall staff were pleasant. I’m unsure I would stay again due to poor bathrooms and lifts not working

We had a lovely stay and although certain services were not as they are normally (house keeping etc) We still enjoyed ourselves and were able to have house keeping bring items like clean towels etc ad we needed them. The check in experience isn’t great however, long queue, rooms not ready and in our experience were were not allocated the rooms which we had payed and booked, which is frustrating. The shortage of staff is evident and not reflected in your pricing nor amount of guests that you are allowing to stay. I appreciate thT you have been closed o er covid and are eGer to get back to full copacity, however with the shortfall of staff it may be an idea to limit your bookings to the ratio of staff you have available. Having said this we were greeted with the welcome we have always had when staying at Novotel, by friendly and helpful staff which made our stay a lovely welcoming experience.

Facilities seemed too small for the capacity of the hotel.

Friendly helpful and responsive staff. Location was very good. All in all great but I’d suggest an improvement for breakfast. It was poorly organised. Food quality was great but the queuing system was illogical- and fruit / juice / cutlery should have been separated out from cooked breakfast to reduce queue at busy times. Our room was pleasant but there was noise ( from a generator?) which I know was outside hotel’s control. Swimming pool was great for the kids.

I will think twice before booking with Novotel again. I tried numerous times to call prior to arrival but nobody picked up the phone. Finally I emailed to be told in the reply that they do not have time to answer the phone because they are so busy. On arrival, reception had a large queue - as it did each day. There was confusion over our room - whether it was ready or not - only to be given the key. The room had stains on the floor and the toilet roll fixture hanging off the wall with plaster dust on the floor. I asked for it to be looked at - which it was but I had to chase this. Litter in corridors that remained there for two days. Toilets downstairs clearly not cleaned for over a day as the same litter on the floor. In terms of room quality, the bed for my two sons was very small. I also found the door to the shower was see through mirror - not ideal at all. Breakfast was good, however. I would be keen to highlight that the staff were good - there just were not enough of them, perhaps due to the circumstances. I stayed at Premier Inn for two subsequent nights - they manage a far higher degree of consistency between hotels.

Having stayed in this hotel a couple of years earlier. I was looking forward re visiting. Long queues to check and virtually every time I needed anything made it feel understaffed. Having to book to use the pool with very little availability made for a lack of spontaneity. Breakfast was mayhem, with long queues and lots of people not a COVID friendly environment. The shower wasn’t cleaned, my daughter found the previous occupants hair and a razor cover. The reception staff were friendly and helpful and I guess a lot of the issues are COVID related

Arriving at about 4pm to check in, the whole reception area was one big queue, screaming kids running round and despondent guests - all waiting. I decided I did not want to start my stay with that, there were no staff to talk to, so i went and bought a beer (that i did not want, i wanted my room and a shower). I came back an hour later and the queue was now longer and stretching into the restaurant. When i got to the front of the queue i was told something like, "if we check you in slowly then my room is very nearly ready"... I think I was suppose to be grateful of that offer... a two hour wait and you are nearly ready! (if you are having such problems, why not text guests and advise on options, it is all about communications) The rest of my stay was great, nice room, good breakfast.

Hotel felt very busy - queues at breakfast, not enough tables to accommodate guests- not possible to socially distance with number of guests attempting to get access to food at buffet

I paid with 12000 Accor points, yet I was charged full rate on my credit card. I am currently £200 out of pocket.

Very friendly reception staff.Location was good and the breakfasts offered a good selection.All staff were very polite,helpful and went out of their way to assist you

Bits of experience were fine but generally issues.

I stayed here with my child. We drove and got into the hotel underground car park which was very handy. You can’t prebook the car park so we were lucky. The room was very spacious and clean with a mini fridge and facilities for tea making. The bed was comfortable and the sofa bed was fine for children. There was air conditioning and a bathroom no with bath, separate shower and separate toilet. The pool sessions could be booked on arrival for 30 minute slots. It was small but it was good for the children. There was also a sauna and steam room. The breakfast was tasty but they did give small portions of cooked items- so one sausage or one slice of bacon- however you could always queue again for more. We also ate a meal In the restaurant which was tasty and was good for the children. I was impressed with the hotel and service, as it was busy but covid arrangements were good, with good signage and systems in place and reinforced for tourists who were unsure. I will definitely stay here again.

The Aircon didn't work in either of our two rooms, fridge in one room not working, safe in the other not working (error message 'batt'). Fridge that was working, was barely so. You couldn't even open windows more than 2". All on the hottest days in 40 years. Good location, friendly staff, that's about it.

Despite having checked in on-line to simplify my arrival, it took over 90 minutes to get to speak to a member of staff to get my key. I do understand that the hotel may have been having problems, as was suggested by the crowds in reception when I arrived, but there were no attempts to explain to the waiting throng and I still don’t know what caused the chaos. There was a problem with the toilet cistern in room 535, which caused the sound of running water almost continuously throughout the night. Breakfast fine

Second time we’ve stayed here, we love the location so close to the old town and the theatre district with loads of fantastic restaurants within minutes walk. Room was immaculate and breakfast was of a good standard. Didn’t use the pool this time but did previously an added bonus. We love Edinburgh and will happily stay at the Novotel again.