Novotel London Blackfriars — Hotel in London

I had a lovely time at Novotel London Blackfriar. Great location, great staff, food was good, clean, and overall outstanding.There were a few things that disappointed but were well compensated by the extraordinary service I received. First, negative--I thought there was a whirlpool with jets in the pool area. When I went after my long flight, the jets were not working. Also I realized it wasn't a whirlpool but an extension of the pool; however, the jets still would have been wonderful since I have some physical issues. Then when I went into my room, I found that the safe did not work. As I said, though, the staff more than made up for those inconveniences. First Hamsen (and please forgive me if I've forgotten or am butchering your name) greeted me, telling me all about the area and places I could go and where to eat if I wanted to outside the hotel, etc. When I came down to tell him the above difficulties, he apologized and said it would be fixed. He hooked me up with the hotel wifi and just was more than welcoming. Later, he again fussed with my phone and the wifi, spending so much time to help.

The next day I found, even with an international plan, I could not call out and my emails were not downloading. I freaked because I got a text from the Old Vic saying not to bring printed tickets but only the email ticket which I couldn't access. First, Art let me use the hotel phone to call the Old Vic to confirm I could use paper tickets. Then he spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out what was wrong with the phone, looking stuff up on the internet and just being so helpful. It still didn't work, but he did send someone up to fix the safe. When I asked her if SHE knew phones, I went in and the phone was working. Art said he'd take credit for that. However, daily the phone would go out and I couldn't call and then come back in, so I was constantly at the desk asking if they could call me a cab. They were more than willing, always cheerfull, not looking like I was the pain in the butt I was being. One day before my 10-hour Canterbury trip, I ask the gentleman at the desk if they had little bottles of water. He said he'd get me some. My taxi came, so I had to go out and he ran out with two room-sized bottles for me. It got to the point I'd just ask if they could order a taxi for me for the next day, and there it was. Also just had some nice conversations with the people at the front desk. Everyone there was just so nice. Room service was great and the food was great too. One evening, having no time for dinner before the play, I came back and ate at the bar, having lovely conversation with two ladies and gentleman bartenders.

The daily maid service was very good. Everything was very clean. The sheets couldn't have looked cleaner, and I'm fussy about that when I travel. So all in all, I had a wonderful stay at your hotel. Of course other pluses were it's proximity to the Old Vic, the tube had I chosen to use it, and many attractions. I give it a 9.9 rating with only a tinge of disappointment at not have a whirlpool with jets. I lived and will be back when I have an opportunity to visit...

Check-In Experience: ★★★★★ Check-in was smooth. We arrived about two hours earlier than the check-in time and were initially informed that the room was not ready. However, the staff offered to hold our luggage, which is an extremely important feature in a hotel, in my opinion. While we were about to drop off our luggage and leave, the receptionists informed us that our room was ready, and we were allowed to check in early.

Room Quality and Comfort: ★★☆☆☆ View: ★★★☆☆ The room had a main street view, nothing fancy. There is a construction site across from the hotel, but it wasn’t too loud. With the windows shut, you barely hear anything, and the construction stops by 5 PM.

Cleanliness: ★☆☆☆☆ The room was far from clean: the carpet had stains everywhere, and there was old accumulated dust throughout the room. One day we returned to find the room service had changed the linen, but there was a red stain on the new linen. We called room service, and they promptly replaced it. There was mold inside the shower and a splash of god knows what on the wall next to the toilet seat.

Comfort & Amenities:★★★☆☆ The bed was comfortable. Room service and reception responsiveness were excellent; they immediately provided slippers and bathrobes upon request. The room had a fridge, which was a plus, and the window could be opened for fresh air—a necessity for me. Noise isolation between rooms was good.

Gym and Facilities: ★★★★☆ The gym is decent and clean, ideal for a quick workout. There is also a sauna and swimming pool available, though I didn’t try them.

Location and Accessibility: ★★★★★ The hotel’s location is its strongest feature. It’s just a two-minute walk from Southwark Underground Station, with a bus stop right outside the door. Having stayed in various neighborhoods around London, I believe this hotel offers the best accessibility for getting anywhere in the city—east, west, north, or central.

There are plenty of shops nearby, including Tesco and Sainsbury's, along with all the typical coffee chains like Pret, Starbucks, and Costa.

Overall Experience: ★★★☆☆ While the hotel excels in location, accessibility, and responsiveness of the staff, the cleanliness and upkeep of the rooms are significantly below the standard expected of a 4-star hotel. The stains, dust, and mold in the room were major drawbacks.

There was also a water leak emergency in one of the rooms, which caused the water to be cut off for about two hours. While these situations can happen anywhere, it is worth mentioning.

Would You Return? Yes, but only for the location and...

We stayed for five nights in August 2023. The location is great as it lies at about two-minute walk distance from the metro station Southwark (Jubilee line). From there it's easy to reach everything, for instance by going to Green Park station and take the Piccadilly line. There is a Tesco Express in front of the metro exit, and few bars, pubs, restaurant. By a 20-minute walk one can reach touristic locations. The hotel itself could have been a bit better. We got access to the room after 3 pm but the room was not clean. The bedsheets were stained with even human (body?) hair visible. We asked to get clean sheets and that was done quickly but still, this is not what one would expect from a four-star hotel. Additionally, the lady at the reception apologized and said that we would have got some voucher as compensation for what had happened, but we did not see anything at the end. Not that we really cared about it, but still it felt a bit unprofessional. The breakfast is too expensive for what you get, with no much variation. Also, the tables of the restaurant are very dirty, always sticky for the whole time of our stay. The ventilation in the room was always on, even when switched off. So there is always some cold airflow (and noise) present. The bathroom has a "saloon" type of door that cannot be really closed shut. So, you do not get really privacy while being there. The lighting is also a bit weird as if someone needs to use the bathroom during the night has to switch on the light that disturbs all the other guests in the same room. The carpet, chair, walls are stained. We stayed at Novotel in different cities (Berlin, Paris) and this was definitely way below standards.

Update October 2023. I had to downgrade the original rating for the following reason. After the original review Novotel reacted by apologizing on the quality of the service received and invited us to contact them by email. We have done so (by also adding more annoying things that in the meantime we had come across due to the lack of cleanliness of the room). A representative of the hotel replied by saying that they would have started some investigation (which should have taken up to one week) and they would have come back to us. After more than two months from their email, they just disappeared and do not reply to emails anymore. I guess this behavior...