Novotel Singapore On Stevens — Hotel in Singapore

I am writing this review with profound disappointment after my recent 3 night stay at Novotel on Stevens, which I had hoped would be a comfortable respite following a late night flight into Singapore. Extremely regrettably, my experience fell drastically short of expectations of an established four-star hotel brand.My flight delayed hence I only arrived at the hotel at 12am. Exhausted and eager to rest, I was met with a front desk process that took around 30 minutes to complete, which was long enough for me to place an order with McDonalds and collect it from Grab. Such inefficiency was unfortunate, but the frustrations had only just begun.The room assigned was simply unfit for occupancy. The shower and sink dispensed only scalding jot water making it impossible to take a shower and freshen up after a long journey. After complaining to a staff, it took 20 minutes for an engineer to arrive, only to confirm that it could not be fixed. Another 30 minutes later, I was informed that the hotel was fully booked and unable to relocate me until the next day’s checkouts. By this time, it was nearly 3am leaving me trapped in a sweltering filthy room with no recourse.Equally intolerable was the complete lack of air conditioning. The air conditioner was utterly dysfunctional and decoration only. When set to “cool”, the unit would inexplicably be pre-set to 30 degrees, higher than the nighttime temperature. While “heat” mode was somehow pres-set to 25 degrees. Despite my attempts to adjust it, only mild room temperature air trickled out. Miracle did not happen, and the room remained like a sauna throughout the night, noticeably hotter than the outside corridor… combined with Singapore’s weather and humidity, this turned what should have been rest into unbearable discomfort.One would have thought cleanliness is a fundamental expectation - but it was glaringly absent. Layers of dust coated surfaces, and shower area teemed with tiny grey/transparent small insects…. an unsettling sight in any setting, let alone a hotel of this caliber. The filtered drinking water tap was also non-functional (only droplets coming out).What compounded the ordeal was the hotel’s shocking indifference to accountability and my experience. The hotel changed my room after I returned to the hotel at night on the second day, as they could not do so in the morning before hotel’s checkouts. After enduring this nightmare, I repeated requested for a refund for the first night. I called their operators on my first, second, third nights, each time they parroted the same script: they would “discuss with higher management” but provided no timeline, solution or follow up. It was only hours before my flight back to Hong Kong and upon my repeated chasing that I received a verbal reply for refund. That was far too late to salvage any good will. The reluctance to address a legitimate grievance let alone compensate for such a catastrophic stay reflects a complete disregard for customer dignity.I am unable to recommend this hotel to any traveler. Although Novotel has now (finally) confirmed the refund of my first night at that room, which is the bare minimum - my experience will be forever remembered as deeply...

I had a very poor booking experience but not adding it here for brevity.

Stay experience

Check-in Experience Upon arrival, check-in took over 25 minutes — this despite there being no other guests in the Novotel queue. I noticed guests at the adjacent Mercure counter were checked in much faster. The staff assisting me appeared inexperienced and unfamiliar with policies such as flexible use of Reward Points (initially insisting only 16,000 points could be used). After my prompting, she had to consult her supervisor to proceed correctly.

Other concerns at check-in included: Room number being announced aloud instead of discreetly handed over. Lack of friendliness and attentiveness. Absence of welcome drinks until I followed up on the last day — and even then, the options offered were generic and available to all guests, even non-members, diminishing the welcome drink offer with membership where we get a choice of selection for drinks.

Property & In-Room Experience Much of the Novotel wing was under maintenance, including the lobby, gym, and even elevator access, requiring guests to switch lifts mid-way. These disruptions were not communicated ahead of time. I would have switched to a different establishment, probably sofitel.

Room experience also fell below expectations:

The minibar, which was confirmed as complementary and refillable, was never replenished after check-in.

Housekeeping left used cups in the room throughout the stay.

Our bed emitted a strange mechanical noise. Despite reporting it, no action was taken over four days even till we checked out.

Room service was limited post-10 PM, and no 24-hour menu was available in-room. Only a handful of food items were mentioned when I called, giving the impression of minimal offerings probably left overs. There was no other option to dine at the property.

Dining Experience While dining at the hotel restaurant, staff initially refused to allow room billing despite a prepaid stay and a security deposit on file. It took multiple discussions before this was resolved. This friction made the experience feel more like a transaction than hospitality.

Overall, the stay lacked the seamless, elevated experience that Accor hotels usually provide. From pre-arrival interactions to basic in-stay expectations, I encountered a series of preventable issues that left me disappointed.

I chose not to escalate these concerns during the stay to avoid negatively impacting the trip, but I trust this feedback will be taken seriously to ensure future guests receive the high-quality experience that Accor promises and...

Throughout my family's 7 days 6 nights stay in Novotel Stevens Premier Suite (for the purpose of my 1-year old son's medical examination and family visitation as I am stationed in Vietnam) -

The walled-in small little aircon control panel was a complex space science that even their own technician didn't understand, technicians came about 4 times to "fix" and/or "adjust" to no achievable result so it was either we were hot at 28 degrees C or very cold at 17 to 18 degrees C!!

Housekeeping failed to clear the bathroom floor trap twice resulting in water ponding that overflowed into the toilet cubicle room!!

The odd-shaped sofa bed in the living room was a joke that the housekeeping staff also laughed that they couldn't fit bed linen on it properly!!

Besides, they were also wondering how to open up the sofa bed. And while one of them went to get another linen, I was left to carry and move the heavy glass coffee table aside to make way for the sofa bed to be opened!!

The room was meant to have free minibar daily but housekeeping never refill the minibar items even when I had requested for it!!

Your ADD restaurant for buffet breakfast is a mayhem with insufficient sitting, insufficient coffee cups and chinaware, not to mention the breakfast quality and spread is utterly low quality and substandard!!

Almost daily, my family move about with our baby, and occasionally with a baby stroller, pass the front desk to the carpark through a push glass door next to the front desk. While the front desk staff knows how to smile, they fail to have service attention to help pull the glass door. Seriously, a shame to Novotel and Accor brand name!!

Your room rates I paid via Agoda was not peanuts, conversely it was hefty, but yet I still got a bunch of monkey services and accommodation; whilst I did complain but I didn't follow-up, yet, nobody even bothered to offer a room change to say the least!!

9a. Ah I forgot 3 more thing in the other survey, simple hotel amenities refill (we only use cotton buds amongst all items) were also shortchanged by the housekeeping ...

9b. Almost all the power sockets are not international plugs friendly, and while front desk loaned an international adaptor to us, it was not working ...

9c. The room main door-edge rubber seals were pealing downwards when we 1st opened the door to enter the room, your luggage potter can help verify that ...

Utterly Disgusted ... Worst Ever Hotel...