Novotel Lyon Confluence Hotel 4 stars

Novotel is always a sure bet when it comes to the rooms and the bed, both were of high quality as usual. One thing that lowered my opinion of the place was the attitude of the staff, unfortunately. After a long day exploring Lyon, I returned to my room around 6 pm to find it exactly as I left it, the bed still unmade, no fresh towels etc. I went to the front desk to ask about this. The front desk staff was there with a housekeeper, and their reaction was "well, you must have had a Do Not Disturb sign on the door". When I assured them that this was actually not the case, they said "well someone was sleeping in the room then". This was also not the case, because I had just spent the entire day outside with my family. They shrugged their shoulders, looked at the computer and said "well, it says here all the rooms were cleaned, so you MUST have had the sign out, or someone was in the room". At no point was the idea entertained that a mistake was made or the housekeeper who signed off on the cleaning has been wrong: they seemed to just assume I was lying. Of course, I hadn't taken a picture of the door when I left, so how could I prove there was no sign? When I asked if they could just freshen up the room a bit later after my sister had taken a short nap, they said: "We can do it RIGHT now or not at all". All of it felt really aggressive, it left me a bit uneasy. The next day at checkout, I mentioned the situation again to another staff, who looked in the system and said "Yes, I see you complained, but it says here someone was sleeping in the room when they tried to go in. That's why it wasn't made". When I said that wasn't true, he shrugged his shoulders, and that was the end of the conversation. Somehow a note in the computer seems to have more value than whatever guests say at Novotel? I understand that it is difficult to get staff these days, and I would have understood if they had said "sorry we just didn't have enough time to clean your room"... but I honestly don't understand why they made up an excuse. I didn't ask for anything, wasn't angling for a discount or freebie or anything, I just wanted to ask if someone could clean the room in an hour or so. To be trusted on my word, and not assumed to be a liar (against a note in the computer) is the bare minimum of customer service. Finally, other notable small issues were the breakfast (which was a bit messy with missing plates, dirty/used - and no clean - cups near the coffee machine, and no bread until we asked for it ) and the fact that a bunch of wine bottles and glasses were gracing the hallway from 6 pm in the evening until at least 9 am the next day. Overall just not a great experience, unfortunately.

Hotel is in a good location, next to huge modern shopping centre - which also houses restaurants. In walking distance of public transport. Has nice terrace overlooking the Saone. We were most surprised the hotel did NOT require our 'pass sanitaire' on check-in! Nice room, good beds, proper bathroom, with separate toilet. Good, fast, free wifi. Breakfast buffet was mediocre as far as choices go; staff was not attentive enough to replenish things. In spite of having a 'do not disturb' sign on the door, somebody went in to clean. Even re-arranged clothes in the closet, was new to us staff can go inside the closets! After we complained, there was a free drink at the bar. And no more unwanted visits to our room.

A nice modern hotel with friendly staff and excellent terrace

the fridge was really dirty and the breakfast was poor. Room, bed and shower are great, but for a four start hotel i expect better breakfast and cleaner room.

Everything was wonderful except breakfast