I booked this hotel through Orbitz instead of directly through Novotel, and that resulted in a bunch of headaches as the front desk clerk double charged me for my room. After several hours of back and forth, including putting a dispute on my credit card, I finally got the extra money refunded. So beware if you use a third party booking system!
Despite this annoying and time wasting hiccup, this was a great little hotel! The location is incredible, it is right next to the main train station. We had a very early 6:00 am train and wanted to stay somewhere convenient so we wouldn't have to wake up at an even more ungodly hour to rush to the station with our bags. The location is a blessing yet also a curse, as while you are close to the train station, that means your view will most likely be of a busy (and noisy) road and there aren't a lot of dining options nearby or even within walking distance.
The room had thick, double paned windows that did a surprisingly good job of muting the road noise, but we get hot in Europe (especially during the winter months when they blast the heat) and like to sleep with our windows open to cool things down. We were cool, but it was loud outside -- so it's a catch 22 when it comes to sleep quality.
We arrived in the late evening and got a bit twisted around from the Eurostar station but finally found the hotel. It was buzzing in the packed lobby, which apparently has a very popular bar because it was busy with locals. It almost looked like a nightclub instead of a hotel! Check-in was swift and as pleasant as you'd expect at a French hotel.
Our room was large and spacious, with a weird layout -- the bathroom toilet was separate from the shower, like in far opposite corners of the room. I've never seen that before. The room was well equipped with a mini refrigerator, a microwave, a tea kettle and a Nespresso machine! These were very nice amenities, especially for a non-luxury hotel. Toiletries in the form of a multi-use body wash and shampoo in the shower were provided as were the standard teeny tiny European hotel towels. The bed was pretty comfy and soft-ish, a true compliment for a hotel bed in Europe. There was a curtain dividing the room if you needed some privacy (it reminded me of my old dorm room, lol). Free wi-fi, but an extra charge if you plan to take breakfast. We just grabbed a croissant at the train station while we waited for our (delayed) SNCF train. read more