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Novotel Canberra

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  • 65 NORTHBOURNE AVENUE
     Canberra, Australia 2600
    61-61-62455000
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Dutchnatasja
Dutchnatasja
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
1
Review
5
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Editor Pick

An Unpleasant Suprise and Attitude....

  • April 15, 2009
  • Rated 3 of 5 by Dutchnatasja from Etten-Leur, Netherlands
An Unpleasant Suprise and Attitude....

When I made the reservation for the Novotel Canberra I wasn’t informed about the renovation that was going on. Big surprise when I got there. A part of the parking garage was used as a storage room for construction materials. The reception was moved to the 1st floor and there were cloth sheets everywhere to keep the dust out. Since I wasn’t in the hotel during the day (got out before 8 o’clock and normally didn’t get back before 17.00), it wasn’t too much of a nuisance for me. But I would have appreciated it if someone at least had informed me about the ongoing renovation.

My room had two queen size beds with enough space left for a lounge chair and a working desk including high speed Internet access (AUS$ 27,50 per day) and an in-room safe. The bed was very comfortable. One of the best I have ever had, although the New York Palace still tops this list.
The room had a good size flat screen LCD TV, mini-bar, tea and coffee making facilities, closet and a safe. The in-room safe was large enough to accommodate my laptop, photo gear and other valuables. The bathroom had all the necessary amenities. The only problem was that I couldn’t take a shower without getting everything in the bathroom wet. The glass doors simply weren’t large enough to keep the water in the bath/shower.
Housekeeping wasn’t the best I have ever experienced. On the first day they even forgot to clean my room. Overall I would rate housekeeping as average. The same as the hotel staff. I didn’t experienced any issues with them but they just didn’t give me the feeling that I was a guest in their hotel. To them I was more the person who kept them from exchanging the latest gossips. Most of the time they were so busy with each other that they simply didn’t notice (or they simply didn’t care) the guests that were waiting at the desk.

Breakfast (full American) was included in the rate and was not too bad. The variety of the breakfast was good although the freshness of the fruit could use some improvement and it would have been nice to see some variety from day to day. The best thing about breakfast was the Nespresso coffee machine. For hotel standards the coffee was excellent.
The hotel has a valet an self parking option. I had the self parking (AUS$ 15 per day) and, although I am used to very small parking spot, sometimes it was quite an effort to park my car without scraping it against the pillars or the car that was parked next to me. The parking spot are extremely small, even for European standards. Although I had self parking, I had to turn over my keys. Not sure what the reason for this was.

The last thing I want to mention are the elevators. There are only two elevators for the complete hotel. Sometimes it took me more than 15 minutes to get from my room to street level.
Checking out took some time because the bill contained all kind of items that I didn’t use. I paid the bill with my credit card, I had to pay 1,5% extra for this. This is the first time that I am charged for using a credit card. A new trend?

Pros & cons of the hotel.
Pros: Nice rooms with very comfortable beds. Excellent coffee and central location (in the centre of Canberra but far enough from the noisy bars and clubs).

Cons: The ongoing renovation, extremely slow elevators, attitude of the staff and the 1.5 surcharge for using my credit card.

Wouldn’t recommended for now (because of the ongoing renovations) but I would return when the construction is finished!

Website:
http://www.novotelcanberra.com.au/

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