Novotel Melbourne Central — Hotel in Melbourne

Honestly our room was enjoyable but the service was terribly disappointing!! I’m only giving 2 stars because Ben and Franco were so excellent. .

To start, whenever I was considering booking I called to ask a few basic questions and got someone who didn’t speak English and was not knowledgeable enough to answer even easy questions so I hung up and called the front desk only to get someone else who couldn’t speak English but answered the questions. However she answered incorrectly just to get me off the phone. For example I asked if there were any benefits for being an Accor Silver member and she said there were no benefits..

Whenever I arrived I stood downstairs mid afternoon and no one was there until eventually I asked valet and they told me to check in upstairs on level 2 which made things awkward from the start. Of course when I got upstairs I see massive Accor signs and find out there are several benefits to include some type of chocolates which I asked for twice and never received which I wanted for whenever my wife arrived to make it special. It just felt like everything was a strain for the staff.

Another example is that whoever was working Saturday night after 11:30 pm (sorry I don’t remember her name but I believe Indian background) told me that it would cost $20 for a late check out and then I asked if it would be any cheaper if we were an Accor member and she told us again that it was $20. So then I said ok, in that case how much is it for non Accor members and she said $35 so of course I asked why she quoted me the member price when she didn’t know I was a member and she looked at me like I was crazy so I let it go and asked for some ice to take to the room. She said she would send some up right away and of course I had to ask, “don’t you want to know what room number I’m in then”? Of course then she asked for the room number but I knew she could care less because when I told her she didn’t write it down. After a while I called and asked about the ice and of course she blamed it on the housekeepers saying “Oh my housekeeper hasn’t brought it up yet” and said she would sent some ice up right away which of course didn’t happen so I had to get dressed and go down there. She was checking in guests when I went down there and she wouldn’t even look at me. She seriously needs to get out of the hospitality business as I honestly felt insulted.

Luckily Franco was walking by and organised ice right away and as promised called immediately to confirm he could lock in the late check out for noon. Ben also was very polite and knowledgeable on the phone and was quick to send up amenities that were not in the room.

It just felt like everything was too hard for them, and every answer was “don’t know, can’t, no, come back later, etc.” Even the good benefits for Accor such as 50% off of food was restricted to dining in only (when they were open) and they don’t allow it for take away and instead charge $5 for a take away box. We didn’t want to dine there because honestly the atmosphere was gloomy and not appealing at all. The restaurant at ground level however was outstanding and gladly accepted our drink vouchers. I’ve traveled to over 70 countries and this happened to be my first and last time at any Novotel even though the location is outstanding..

I welcome anyone’s call for more information and will gladly consider changing the...

To begin with, I have never given a full 5 stars to every facility in a hotel, so this is a start. Novotel in Melbourne Central was a great experience for me and my family, and I am eager to come again.

The rooms were exceptionally clean and we were provided with plenty of space, it was so large you could perform a full-on dance routine in there. To be fair we had been given with a disability room (We booked a family room) which was why there was extra space, but the rooms were wonderful. The modern decorations, LED golden lights and decorated custom carpet helped add a sense of luxury to the room, and the beds were super comfy.

The bathroom was relatively spacious as well, and the toilet seat had a back support and the shower could fit well over 3 people (Not that you would try) and though the sink was not that large, a lot of space still remained to put our toiletries and skincare on.

In terms of amenities it was quite decent. They provided us with 3 types of towels; Bathroom towels, Bathroom mat towels, and Facial cleansing towels. The soap bottles were large and we were provided with body lotion, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner and body wash, that came in large bottles designed for probably over-a-month stays. There were also complementary food in the mini-fridge and on the bench.

The TV was large and the quality of the TV was really good. There was Netflix and other apps, and the channels on the main TV app were updated and modern, some were even live.

Service here was exceptional. The reception guy downstairs offered to carry our luggage (We had a lot) to our room and we declined politely, but he insisted and took us right to our door. The staff also gave us plenty of free water + complementary vouchers for bar drinks during happy hour, where you could order any drink on the menu from 4-6 PM.

Location was spot on. Novotel was located in Melbourne Central (Of course) and there were many delicious + cheap restaurants around which we loved. The area outside was crowded with people and was heavily urbanised, but inside our room and generally the hotel had a peaceful quiet.

I also loved the bar and the buffet restaurant, which both offered many delicious food options and interactive foods, including choose-your-own-egg, make-your-own-juice, e.t.c. As I mentioned earlier, we were also gifted with the free bar vouchers and we took this chance to order the most expensive drinks on the menu (It came free because of the voucher).

The only downside of the place would have been other guests. Most of them were generally quite rude, but im not sure if that was just during our stay. Teenage boys would wander around the place and they would camp out especially in the gym or bar areas, which made Novotel’s reputation sink a bit down, but this singular downside was weighed down by all the awesome factors of this place. ADVICE: If you have kids or teenage girls, or are simply roaming around the place don’t approach or talk to these guys.

Overall I would 100% recommend Novotel for families looking for a luxurious yet not too pricey place to stay for a few nights. The gym and the luxurious rooms would be perfect also for individuals simply looking for a place to stay. Thanks for staying...

If you want a lovely hotel (on paper) to remind you how wrong you were to take the risk and book with them, while giving you a side helping of condescension, rudeness and ineptitude, then this is the hotel for you.

So many things are right about the rooms. But so many things are wrong about the staff and the way they treat their customers. And it’s not like they are rude only to first time visitors. I’ve been a paying gold member with Accor for 4 years and stayed in this property a number of times.

It’s not cheap. 260 per night. High price to pay to be abused by staff though.

The front desk and reception staff used to be helpful and informative and responsible, as you’d expect from a hotel that commands such prices.

Something has changed though.

Now, in my opinion, they are catty unprofessional children who are extremely rude, point their fingers at customers, talk over the top of customers, and in my case, they lied to my face and told me I had never stayed in the room I stayed in before in this hotel. When I showed them photos of the room I’d taken with my phone the last time I stayed at the hotel, they told me I was wrong and must have stayed in a different Novotel. Except I wasn’t wrong. They were lying to avoid giving me the upgrade that my gold membership (which I pay for, it’s not free) entitled me to. Rather than just explaining the room was booked, it seems to me that they thought it was faster to simply lie. And when they got caught in the lie, rather than simply apologise, they doubled down and began what, in my view, was as a campaign of deception, backflipping and inept denials.

Being gaslit by staff at checkin, and then lied to, and then in front of other customers being spoken about and pointed at with fingers (like what children do when they haven’t been raised well) is not a nice way to be “welcomed” to Novotel as a gold member, or a guest of any kind. It is atrocious behavior. But don’t worry, after you’ve been abused, lied to and thoroughly embarrassed, there is a free bottle of water waiting for you in the room.

I have been a gold member for several years. This is the last straw. In my opinion, the duty manager at this hotel should be ashamed of himself and the whole team working on Saturday August 9th should be retrained. Also, pull the security cameras and for every pointed finger issued by your staff at this customer, donate a dollar to a charity of your choice - it will be a lot of money. Absolutely shocking behavior.

Before you guys reply on Google reviews with one of your copy paste “we take complaints very seriously bla bla bla” responses, I emailed Lucie Hartmann a very calm and professional email asking her to give me a call so I could pass on the feedback about what happened in the hotel foyer. She didn’t call me...