Novotel Melbourne on Collins — Hotel in Melbourne

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Extremely Disappointing Stay – Not a 5-Star Experience!

My family and I are currently on 6-day stay, and I feel compelled to warn others about the shocking experience we've had at Novotel Collins. This hotel does not meet the standards of a 5-star property—far from it. From the moment we arrived, we've been met with filth, unprofessional service, and serious disappointments.

Let’s start with the misleading advertising. The photos online gave the impression of spacious rooms with comfortable seating, but the reality was a small, cramped space with no amenities you’d expect from a 5-star hotel. The room had no minibar, no slippers, no robes—nothing! The bathroom was disgusting, with a bin that looked like a mayonnaise tub, containing what appeared to be blood. Absolutely unacceptable

The service has been appalling. We arrived after a long journey, hoping for a quick meal, only to be told our party of six had to sit at high stools, even though the restaurant was nearly empty. When we questioned this, the staff member behind the bar was rude and dismissive. It only got worse when we were overcharged for subpar food and drinks that were not worth the inflated prices.

Walking to our rooms, we encountered trays of uneaten food left outside a neighboring room. These trays, along with a vacuum, remained there for hours—up to 8 hours after we first saw them! When we asked the staff to remove them, they were still there the next day. This level of neglect is unbelievable, especially in a so-called luxury hotel.

The swimming pool was another disaster. Not only was it small for the size of the hotel, but there were large patches of missing tiles with sharp edges, causing my son to cut his toe. When I reported this to the front desk, the staff member showed no concern, simply brushing it off and promising to pass the issue on to the manager. After my son had cut his foot, I expected some immediate action, but it was clear that no one cared.

The rooms, while clean and the beds comfortable, lacked basic amenities like charging ports next to the beds—something I’ve never encountered in over 20 hotel stays this year alone. And the breakfast area was a nightmare. It was overcrowded, with long lines for food and insufficient seating. The buffet ran out of key items daily, and the glasses were so hot that they were practically unusable for breakfast beverages. The layout of the hotel as a whole is incredibly poorly designed, making for a frustrating and uncomfortable stay.

We were also shocked when we tried to go to the bar at 9:58 pm, only to be told it was closing in two minutes. We were then told we had to go elsewhere for a drink. This lack of hospitality is not what you expect from a so-called luxury hotel.

Lastly, the privacy issues were outrageous. The windows in our room were not tinted, and from the pool area, I could clearly see into the rooms. My wife, who was changing in our room, was fully visible to anyone at the pool. This is a major security and privacy concern, and something that should never happen in any hotel, let alone one that markets itself as a high-end property.

To top it all off, when leaving we asked the staff to open the door to collect our bags, she said have you a ticket I said yes the wife has it we’re waiting down at the door, 10 mins pass and she didn’t move so I then took the ticket too her, she then grabbed the keys and walked off out a different door 15 mins later she returned to her desk and ignored her. My wife then went back to the desk and said excuse me we have been waiting over 30 mins on our bags now and we missed our transport she said have you a ticket she said I gave you it 15 mins ago then u walked off oh yes sorry I’ll come down now. Her whole demeanour was rude. we paid $7,000 for a few days here, and it has been nothing short of a nightmare. The Novotel Collins is not deserving of its 5-star rating. Do yourself a favor and avoid this hotel at all costs. It’s a complete letdown in terms of quality, cleanliness, and service. Save your money and stay...

Unfortunately, the biggest constant problem was the lack of response to all internal phone requests and then they were very slow and even at times No-One Answered the internal reception, room service, housekeeping phone calls at all - so to get a service I often had to walk downstairs or through the corridors looking for staff to ask for extra towels, tea bags, milk, teaspoons etc ... very poor by not responding.

Staff were friendly, professional and always reactive, and they were always very apologetic and embarrassed too. One of the Assistant Managers even gave me her mobile phone number and told me to call her direct if there was no answer on the internal phones. The Concierge Staff (Joe & his team) were excellent. Very professional, helpful, responsive and always apologetic for the lack of internal phone responses.

The Reception Staff said they were so very busy with guests and that they could not answer internal phone calls. I told them that is most basic essential customer service required. No Communication = No Service.

As an example, one night when we were driving back to the hotel, Collins Street was closed off (not the Novotel's fault), but I tried calling the Hotel to ask how to get my car back to the Valet Service Car Park, but frustratingly, there was no answer again. I was stuck without any communication with the Novotel Staff

So, I had to stop, park on a side street and I kept calling and trying until finally someone responded and gave me instructions.

I was then instructed and directed to go to the Novotel Guests Car Park, but once again when I got to the Novotel Guests Car Park Parking Roller Door as instructed, I pressed the Hotel Car Park Telephone (as instructed) to get entry, but no-one answered again. I tried on numerous times without success. Now I was stuck in a laneway.

I had no other choice as that internal phone line was not responding. So, I used my mobile phone to call the Novotel Hotel Main Phone Number to get a response. Again, an apology and Novotel had to someone to walk over to the Novotel Car Park to get access and open the Security Novotel Car Park Roller Garage Door. So very frustrating.

I spoke to the Duty Manager {Crystle}, about this constant lack of response to the internal phone calls, and she was also very apologetic, agreed it was not acceptable and especially on so many occasions, but she said they were suffering from a lack of resources, lack of staff and a tight budget. That was a big concern to me that guest's services were being significantly affected by a tight budget and lack of staff.

Another example of poor response was we ordered Room Service for Breakfast on one morning for 9am, but this arrived at 10:05am. This was significantly delayed, and of course it was cold when it arrived

This feedback is not to criticize the Novotel Hotel Staff or Management, they were reactive each time I complained about an issue, but it made our stay a negative experience and I felt bad for the staff each time I had to tell them; they all tried hard and we could see that, but it is still not acceptable and this feedback is provided so the Novotel Leadership change their attitude to accepting this very poor response problem which is also means poor service and clearly a lack of resources.

I am a long time Accor Silver Member; it is a shame to see this particular Hotel beautifully located in the CBD of Melbourne run down and lack the support.

The TV Systems are very old, and you cannot connect to any streaming services, like at other modern Hotels, the lighting in the suite is insufficient and lighting in the bathroom was poor, the carpets were tired/furniture and generally the whole place needs a fresh modern facelift.

I am sorry but until this type of service and attitude to slow/no response is addressed and not accepted by Novotel Leadership, we will not be back at the Collins St Novotel or recommending this Accor Site.

We are due back in Melbourne next month, but we will definitely be going to the Pullman Flinders Street...

Nice Hotel but maintenance neglect lowered the experience: Booking issues: I was unable to book as a family of 6 as the computer only offered the King Jr with 2nd room family discount, based on 4 people and didn’t account for the extra beds when the 2nd room was added. I rang the hotel and was assured 6 could turn up, so that worked out ok. Lovely rooms. Sink issue: The bathroom sing plug was stuck down so the water would not drain.. I call reception and a friendly maintenance man came up and fixed it right away. Phone Issue: The Bedside phone was broken, so I used the phone in the other room to tell reception, and the maintenance man changed it immeadiatly. Bed light Issue: The bed light constantly flickered. I left it off. Sofa bed Issue: The sofa bed was not made up, so I called reception and they said it was broken and would get a roller bed brought up (if they new it was broken then why was it there and not replaced?) While waiting my son opened the sofa bed ok and so the staff lady made it up, but came back later saying the manager said it was not safe and to change back to a roller bed. While folding it back we could see the problem was a bent piece of metal, easily fixable with a quick hammer. Rolla bed Issue: The hotel lady (a lovely friendly person) wheeled in the roller bed and a wheel feel off. We looked at the other wheels and another 2 were about to fall off, which I fixed simply by tightening the nuts with my fingers. This should easily be spotted by a general equipment check, if they do them? Pool towels Issue: A hot weekend and the pool was popular and the towels ran out while we were swimming.. 2hrs later and no staff had come buy to check, or top up the towels.. this should be routine. Pineapple juice Issue: At breakfast 2 of the 4 juices were missing their elevation stands, which meant the juice tap was lower than the drinking glass, so you had to hold the glass sideways to get the juice on it. Should be easily fixed with some sort of other stand while you get replacements.. if you are getting replacements? General app info Issue: There is very little info on your website about how the hotel services.. like no in-house laundry and where to find the nearest laundry Matt. Staff knowledge Issue: Speaking to the maintenance and cleaners, they did not know if the hotel offered any laundry option. Any staff that have customer interactions should be also trained as ambassadors for the hotel and be well versed in all knowledge of the hotel, even the janitor. Pool Issue: The pool has 16 large patches of missing tiles on the bottom, with exposed concrete and the water proof sealing rubbed off. Stepping on the concrete was unpleasant. This would take years to get to this point, which shows wilful neglect. Take some time to fix it as with the sealing gone the water will move through the concrete and cause major structural damage and the whole pool will end up needing to be replaced.. think about how that will impact your business.. Gym Issue: The gym was small but nice, however there is no fan.. and when you are hot and sweaty you need some airflow.. Garage Issue: After checking out there was no way to get back into the Novotel car park (other side of the road) as the entrance door the lift area was locked. A sign said Novotel guests use your room card to access or ring button for assistance. However we had returned our room card at checkout and there was no assistance button on the panel!!?? Other guests were there and confused as well. I went back to the Hotel and was told to use the narrow driveway ramp entrance around the back (not safe for my children). Why is there no sign at the front doors advising this to Hotel guests? We all went around the back to find the garage roller door down and closed and other guests sitting on the ground, waiting for a Hotel staff member to arrive. When she got there she apologised that the garage was unmanned due to it being a public holiday. This should have been planned for as public holidays are not unexpected. YOU CAN DO...