Novotel is a brand name under Accor of a relatively low end mid-priced hotels. This was booked through www.agoda.com with no change, no cancellation policy at USD 71/night. When we checked in, we found ourselves assigned to the B building on the second floor. The room was older, with dark furniture, with windows facing the galleria but couldn't see out as their was some wall blocking our view outside. The room was too warm, we tried turning on the cooling and hot air come out, this was unacceptable. We went back to the reception, they informed us that it's winter and the air conditioning was turned off. They changed our room to the A side with a room facing the street for an additional CNY 80/day.
The difference in the look and feel was vastly different and a great improvement over the previous room. It was like day and night. The room on the A side was more modern, light colored wood and furniture from IKEA was the look and feel. Functional, adequate, clean, but diffinately not a four or five star hotel. In room broadband is available for an additional charge of CNY 1 per minute not exceeding CNY 100 per day. Free wi-fi access on the ground floor. Staying on the A side would have made the last part of our trip to China less enjoyable. Great location, a great tasting roast duck restaurant across the street facing the hotel.