Overall, not a bad hotel. I loved the location because it was so much to walk to by foot. A few days in, we knew the area without giving much thought about where to go or how to get there. The hotel was conveniently located near an Underground stop, but we opted not to use public transportation and relied solely on Ubering and taxis. The check-in process was simple. The staff as a whole were not very friendly, but there was one front desk staff member who was always friendly. We did not encounter her everyday, but when we did, she provided the same level of customer service without fail. The room was small but nice. It had some cute features that I have come to expect from the Novotel brand. It was very comfortable. The lighting in the room was modern and the bathroom shower/hotel room wall was glass, but it was smoky so you could not see through it completely for privacy purposes. The room appeared clean, but I brought my own products to sanitize it to my personal standards. The breakfast plan was purchased as part of the accomodations to eliminate the need for finding breakfast every morning. Breakfast was complete with whatever struck your fancy for the most part and featured a standard English breakfast and then some. The pancake maker was a nice feature. I did not like the texture of the pancakes, but it was a novel idea in theory. As an added mention, some of the wait staff were cordial. After one weird encounter and there were many, I was over eating breakfast in the dining room and elected to take breakfast to my room for the remainder of my stay. All I can do is shake my head in disbelief. As an entire experience, the area provided an interesting experience, but not necessarily in a good way. From the staff not being very cordial/welcoming here to the other tourists/guests being rude, this was completely not what I expected. However, we never wavered, but it certainly altered my purview of the world as a whole. read more

Novotel - Novotel breakfast - Hotels Near Me - London, XGL

What can I say? we just got to London at 9:00 am and stopped by the hotel just to see what time check-in would be... after a 10 minute walk from the train station to the hotel, we entered and walked to the front counter where we were greeted with a smile and a warm hello. We had asked the hostess what time check-in was, and she asked for our reservation and said if I was a member, she could check us in right away... Never in all my travels have I ever been able to check in at 9:15 in the morning, but here at the Novotel, it happened. Since this was our first time at this chain hotel, she gave me a minute to register and then confirmed my membership and checked us in :) The hotel is located in a perfect spot for traveling by foot when sightseeing around London. The room was super spacious coming from the Marriott in Paris. I felt like we were staying in a mansion. LOL. There was food and drink available adjacent from the lobby and too had friendly staff making this place very well rounded. Only minutes away from Bourough Market, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and the Globe Theater. We will definitely stay here again on our next visit!! read more

We stumbled upon this hotel after 3 weeks of traveling thru Europe & it was probably our best night's stay. Comfortable beds, hot water with good pressure, very helpful and friendly staff. Room was big enough to move around in & had a mini refrigerator along with tea/coffee service. Location was also nice - short walk to Millennium Bridge, restaurant s & St Paul's Cathedral. read more

It's closer to 3.5 stars but I'm feeling generous today so I'll round up. Stayed for one night at this Novotel location. We arrived at around 12:30 in the afternoon. Our rooms weren't going to be available until 2, but they were able to store our luggage. We had just gotten off a 7-hour flight from NYC, so I really appreciated the fact that their lobby bathroom had enough room to accommodate four girls and their giant suitcases while we freshened up. Since there were four of us, we decided to get two rooms. The rooms are clean and pretty spacious. The bathroom set up is a little weird. I'm still not sure if I loved it, or I hated it. The sink is right out in the open, the toilet is in it's own small room, and then there's the shower. It's efficient in the sense that one person could do their business, while the other is showering, but other than that, there really is no privacy. Also, the shower doors are those two way mirrors so if you accidentally stare too long, you could see everything. That being said, the room is probably better suited for couples. 2 of my favorite things: 1. Shower - the water pressure was great and it was just very easy to use 2. Outlets - these have been updated to include USB ports so if you're not from the UK, and you forgot an adapter, no problem. Overall, I had a good experience. It's located about a 5 minute walk from borough market, and close-ish to the London Bridge/Tower Bridge. Big Ben, Westminster, and the London Eye will require the underground, but their train systems are pretty convenient so it wasn't an issue. For the right price, I would stay here again if I come back to London. read more

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We liked the hotel even though the room was really small for the 4 of us(two adult and two kids). Cleanliness was good. Front desk was friendly and patient. Great location - near the Shard and in the busy and lively Southwark -and the breakfast buffet was great. Would stay here again but in a different room with a view. read more

Stayed here with a group of students studying criminal justice from the states and enjoyed the accommodations for the most part. Our bathroom kept flooding when we used the shower even after a minute of use so by the second day we were using towels to form a dam to block the water from flowing everywhere and making a mess. The beds were comfy and the room was nice enough. The best part of the place is without a doubt the breakfast buffet. I walked over 50 miles during 5 days of visiting and couldn't have done it without the breakfast. Also, it is very close to borough market and a tube station. There is a weekend pop up night market nearby as well. Good stay. read more

Could not have been happier. This hotel was recommended to us by my (British) son in law (we are NYers). He recommended as a safe and central locale. Could not have been more correct. In addition the rooms are very nice and the breakfast options A++ (add the breakfast onto your daily rate). The bar area was comfortable. Best of all was the staff who were welcoming and extremely helpful. Special thanks to Maria who gave us a quick tutorial on map reading, encouraged us to walk to many of the sites, and an underground education. Could not have gotten around so successfully without Maria. Also a big shout out to Anjilla who was so heart warming and helpful at the front desk. Hopefully we will be back! Highly recommend read more

This was a great hotel. The location was perfect and they had live music in the evenings. It was a block away from my husband's work and so it was easy for him too. The only complaint I have about the room was that the shower was right out in the room. The glass is dark, but you can still see in, so if you are travelling with someone other than your spouse, beware. Also, the shower steams up the room a bit, so you get some nice humidity. read more

Stayed here on a business trip as it was conveniently located for where I needed to be in London. The room was clean & relatively comfortable. Ticks all the boxes for a business hotel. Decent selection of healthy & non healthy options at the buffet breakfast. Their automatic pancake machine was the definite highlight of the breakfast buffet. I wasn't warned in advance that the bottles water in the room was charged at £3 per Bottle. Ridiculously overpriced & there are plenty of shops nearby to get some at normal prices. Staff/service was otherwise fine. read more

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There were four of us crammed into a room with a double bed and a pullout. We were expecting a little more isle space, but we made it work. There is a mini fridge and a safe. Housekeeping is prompt and do their job well. Most of the front desk staff was friendly and accommodating. The location is decent. We felt safe out at night, walking around. Not very close to most attractions but cabs and Uber were always available. The bar staff downstairs was friendly but slow as molasses and not very attentive. They were not well stocked the entire four days we were there, running out of things, rather it was food for beverages, every time. If you have four people staying, I would recommend upgrading your room or staying some place else. read more

I stayed here for three nights after four nights at the Apex City of London. Not exactly a fair comparison, as Apex is a bit more expensive, but that's what colored my lenses. Let's start with the good and move down... Five stars: natural lighting. Huge windows to the London city sky (grey as it is). In-room lighting after dark was bright as well (compared to the Apex). Four stars: check-in experience. Nice agents at the desk. Three stars: location. It's next to Burrough Market and right next to the river, which is great for weekend afternoon walks and evening runs along the river. It's a bit of a hike to Paddington Station however, which is a necessary trek if you've got meetings in Reading. Two stars: fitness center equipment and hours. The treadmill is supposedly only supposed to be used between 9am and 9pm. What on earth are you supposed to do if you need to work out before work? Additionally, there is crap for equipment selection in here. Typical hotel gym I suppose, but it looked nicer in the pictures (and that was part of the reason I chose this hotel). Two stars: wireless speed. So slow it's unusable unless you purchase the premium. One star: room service hours and options. The breakfast card instructs you to call if you need something before 6. I called to ask for breakfast at 5 (read above) and was told that muesli, yogurt, fruit salad and coffee would likely be available, as none require cooking. 5am rolled around and a woman showed up at my door with a paper bag containing three industrial pieces of fruit (i.e. cheap oranges and apples) and a bunch of cheap mini-croissants. No muesli, no coffee. Good luck if you don't eat gluten (or simply don't want cheap / unhealthy mini-croissants as a poor excuse for breakfast). This would all be fine if there was a single coffee shop that opened by 6 within walking distance, but there isn't, as this is a strange and empty part of town on weekdays. To make a long story short, don't stay here if you're in town for business. read more

I stayed at this hotel for 2 nights when in London for business. For that purpose it has a perfect location, close to the City. There are also a few sights in the area such as Tate Modern, London Bridge and a few others. London Bridge tube station is not that far away from the hotel (a couple of minutes I would say). The hotel is a typical Novotel-hotel. The room I had was quite large with a comfortable bed. As in most of the Novotel's hotels there is also an extra foldout bed in the sofa. I did not sleep on it but I have heard from colleagues who have that it is rather uncomfortable. There was a bathroom with a bathtub as well as a separate shower (both in the same room). That is huge plus for me. I like to sometimes soak in the bath at night but I usually want to just have a quick shower and I prefer to shower in separate shower. The tub was also strategically positioned making it possible to watch TV from it. As other reviewers already remarked the toilet is in a separate room from the shower and bath which is fine by me. I did however not like the fact that there was no sink by the toilet. There was wifi Internet in the room and it worked rather well. The room had all the other facilities that could be expected such as TV, minibar, ironing board, tea and coffee. The hotel also had a small gym which I actually used. Not very big but sufficient for my needs. The restaurant at the hotel was not very good. I (unfortunately) had to have dinner there the first night. I wouldn't say that the food was bad but it was not very good either. There are tons of better choices in London and the atmosphere in the restaurant just isn't very nice. The breakfast was OK but not as good as at the other hotels I stay at in London. I would have thought that it was OK if I stayed at a 3-star hotel but for a 4-star hotel it wasn't good enough. read more

I have to preface this review by saying it is not a review of the accommodations, only of the customer service, as we have never stayed here. My husband and I flew back to London from Edinburgh on Friday night. Our flight was late and by the time we arrived at Victoria Station, the Tube had shut down. We're not from the area, are staying in Greenwich, had a dead mobile phone, and felt that 45 pounds for a taxi back to the flat was far too much. We decided we'd walk. We didn't realize it was at least six miles. It was incredibly late, incredibly cold, and I was sick and sore from walking seven miles the day before and at least three that day. We made it about half way before I had to give up. It was after 2am. We stumbled upon the Novotel and stepped inside. We asked Paco, who was working the front desk, to call us a cab. Not only did he call us a cab and insist that we wait inside, he made us each a cup of hot chocolate to warm us up. He went above and beyond and saved us that night. read more

They are going through renovation which means they have a small temporary bar. Upon arrival I was given a free drink voucher so I go to the temporary bar and ask for a draft beer. They didnt have draft so I settled for a bottle and poured it into a glass. When I go to check out I wasn't able to use the free drink voucher because my drink came in a bottle not a glass (the free drink is apparently only valid if it comes in a glass)! Yep! I tried to explain that I had no choice because it was impossible to have a beer without it coming in a bottle due to their temporary bar set up. After 5 employees surrounding me, and about 10 mins they gave me my free drink. I was smiling during the discussion because this was so ridiculous which caused one of them to shout "stop laughing at me" and the stormed off. read more

We stayed her in April 2010 for a 2 night break. Our party consisted of me and my husband, two 17 year olds, a 3 year old and a 6 month old baby. When I booked I was wondering if I was mad to even attempt London with small children. It ended up being a great holiday for all and the Novotel certainly helped make it easier and more comfortable. I was impressed with smooth check in and the receptionist even let us get into our room a little earlier than advertised. Teenagers were happy with good size telly and mini fridge to keep their drinks in. Hotel were very accommodating when I asked for alcoholic drinks to be removed and adult channels to be blocked. Most bedrooms have good size double bed and a sofa bed. Very modern, clean and functional. Cot for our baby was set up with bedding on request. We asked for the executive room which does not give you a bigger room but gives you a free movie or internet access, 2 free bottles of water, a Nesspresso machine and gown and slippers. Movies to order were £9.99 each, a bit pricey! Breakfast is expensive at £15 but allowed a freedom to choose what you liked and go down when you wanted. Good choice of continental and hot breakfast. Others may prefer to get breakfast elsewhere but was great for us with small children. Children eat free with accompanying adult. The hotel is very central for lots of the tourist sites. We walked to Trafalgar Square and Covenant Gardens in 30minutes. The globe theatre is 3 minutes a away. The walk along the Southbank is interesting and entertaining for all ages. We used the clipper service from Bankside pier (2 minutes from Hotel) to go to Canary Wharf and Greenwich. To conclude, a brilliant hotel for a comfortable family stay in London. read more

I'm happy I chose this hotel for my recent trip to London. It's conveniently located right next to Borough Market and the tube so you can literally go anywhere you want. My family and I walked from Novotel to Westminster Abbey, The London Eye, and the Thames River. There are a ton of restaurants and pubs nearby it's literally located in such a great area. Breakfast is included every morning and I'd say it's pretty decent - toast, eggs, cereal, baked beans (an English breakfast staple), pancakes, sausages, etc. I definitely got tired of eating the same thing for five days straight, but I can't complain. The staff was friendly and London rocked my socks off. read more

I stayed for a week for business. It's convenient to the Mansion House / Bank area. Everyone has their preferred aesthetic, this is not mine. It's a little to sterile for me. That aside, for the price, I felt they skimped on some of the basics. The room was simple and out of an Ikea catalog. The mattress was very firm and the pillows were flat. I tend to prefer soft and fluffy, or at least like options. In the bathroom, they only have shampoo/conditioner in one and no lotion. The shower leaked all over the floor even though I was very careful to shut the door tightly. There is a very small closet for your clothes, and only one drawer (which was broken). Not ideal for a week stay where you have a number of outfits. The room was mostly clean, however, the cleaning staff only did a cursory clean each day. They missed refilling the milk and soaps and did not wipe off surfaces. The area is okay for business travelers, though at night, there were not many options for food or snacks. In short, I'd not stay here again. I'd spend a little extra to stay at the Club Quarters at St Paul's, across the river (stayed there before for 2 weeks and liked my stay). read more

I always find the price of hotels extortionate in this area of London. This hotel was spotless & very modern however the showers seem to be designed poorly because mine was leaking and so was my friends (who was staying in a separate room). Location is quite good, close to everything & plenty of places to eat if you're willing to look! read more

My family of four recently stayed at the Novotel London City South in London and let me tell you trying to find the hotel at first was a nightmare. It seemed like nobody knew how to get to the hotel--but we finally found it (it kind of reminded me of a scavenger hunt). Anyways, for those who plan on staying at the Novotel, exit out of the London Bridge station towards Borough High Street. As you pass through gates you'll have the option of taking the steps straight ahead of you or those to the left. Take the steps that are directly in front of you, you'll continue on the path pass a few bars & Harpers Cafe, and you'll see Thrale Street and then the parking lot of the Novotel. Go to the parking lot, walk thru it as there is an entrance at the back of the hotel The hotel: When we checked in the staff was very polite, and made sure that we had everything in order. Check in was quick and efficient. I had no problems with the staff as they seemed to be genuinely interested in what we had to say and with any questions that we had. Overall the look and the design along with the professionalism of the staff was great The Rooms: Hm, well, I'm not new to Europe and have stayed in a few hotels and I have to say that the rooms are not "big" for European standards. They are actually quite small. They really should ban anyone from having more than 2 adults in the rooms. The only exception would be if you had a small child. I feel extremely bad for those who paid sticker price for a double room as it would be a true WASTE of money and only for those who like being robbed in broad daylight. The layout of the room is not practical. Once you open the door there's the bathroom and the sink and tub are on the other side of the room. It's almost like while building the hotel they were going along and said Oops, I guess we should have included a toilet--lets stick it near the door. That's good and bad. Might be good if some god awful stench was in there and then you could keep it in another part of the room, but seriously, the bad is that you have to walk around to wash your hands. The shower is made for someone who might be 8-15 years old. You'll only have enough room to turn around that's it. So keep your arms near you, stand like a statue as you try to take your shower. One thing I noticed was that I was always hot in those rooms and I thought I had the AC on. I'm not one to complain but, I couldn't imagine staying there in mid July early august. Rooms were adequate, but not worth paying sticker. If that is your case--find another hotel. The Location: Great Location, it was very busy which is something I enjoy. Near lots of bars and was very convenient for tourism. Overall, if you got a package deal--go ahead and try it out. If you're paying sticker--keep moving as I'm sure there are others in London that will offer a better value for you. read more

Not an absolutely horrible experience but for the cost the room was small, set up strange, and the bed was very uncomfortable. Very disappointed, read more

From the time we checked in to the moment we checked out, we received the BEST service. As for someone who travels for a living, I can't not stop raving about the quality of service at this hotel. One in particular was Scarlette at the hotel's chic bar. She went over and beyond to see that my friends and I were well taken care of and comfortable. My only regret is not booking more nights. I absolutely can't wait to come visit again. It didn't feel like checking out of a hotel, it felt like saying goodbye to old friends. read more

Room was very clean, with a king-sized bed and a full double sofa bed. The bathroom was pretty modern but compact. Reeception staff: Pretty nice and welcoming. could not have been Surroundings: Lots of various restaurants and bisto's around the corner in Borough Market and too many other alternatives. This place is modern and the attention to detail is mind-blowing! I could come back to this hotel but would probably try elsewhere. read more

When you book a Novotel you know what you're going to get & this hotel is no exception. Rooms are well-proportioned and comfortable with good bathroom facilities & a decent sized TV. Breakfast was of good quality and in general I've found the staff to be efficient & helpful. I usually stay here on business, but wouldn't hesitate to select a Novotel for personal travel. The location of this particular Novotel is handy for Borough Market and there are lots of excellent restaurants nearby. Many London sites are easily walkable & it's a short walk to London Bridge or Southwark tube stations. read more