Novotel London City South

Novotel does some super hotels, but this one is merely average. I thought the room was rather bland, although it did have everything I needed inc room safe, coffee/tea, toiletries and tissues (but no facecloth), minibar, good tv, etc.

There was a decent breakfast with comprehensive choice, although there was a very long queue which really isn't acceptable.

The location is good for the South Bank (Tate Modern, Borough Market, etc), but the tube station is quite a walk away. The hotel does have a surface car park.

I stayed at this hotel for a few weeks on a business trip to London. The facility was new at the time, perhaps less than a year old. The hotel was clean and new, with tasteful decor.

The staff were all very young, and nearly all were foreign, typically French or Polish. For several, their command of English was poor. When they did not understand what you asked, they often simply nodded, or pretended they understood and then responded incorrectly to your request.

The breakfast options were quite large, and you could have as much as you liked. Dinner choices were good, although not always available as they sometimes ran out of certain items, forcing you to re-order.

The location was moderately convenient to the London financial district and is located close to London bridge and train station, on the south bank of the Thames. Parking is ample, but costly and the area is not the best, so do not leave any luggage or valuables in your vehicle.

Although new, there were a number of mechanical problems with the room: The shower stall leaked water no matter how careful you were, due to a faulty seal on the door. When I called up about it, the response was "All the doors are like that" and the solution was to deliver more towels to my room, presumably for me to mop up the floor with. I was there in summer and the weather was routinely quite hot, but the air conditioning in my room was not working. Over the course of 2 weeks, no one was ever dispatched to repair it, despite numerous complaints.

As I was staying there for a while, I needed to send some laundry out. It returned, missing about 50% of the items (socks, underwear, etc.). Upon speaking to the front desk manager, I was told there was no way to locate it and they would have to credit my bill for the loss. The fees charged for laundry are ridiculous, and the credit only forced me to have to go and buy replacements which were much more expensive than the originals. So much for service and convenience.

Lastly, and perhaps most odd, was the lack of a top-sheet on the bed. All you get was a sheet on the mattress, and a down duvet, which was much too warm given the A/C problem. How very European! When I asked for a top-sheet to be put on the bed, an apparently confused and non-English speaking maid placed a sheet over top of the duvet. Upon discovering this one night, I had to re-make the bed myself, after which it became a daily battle of wills to see how it would be made when I returned each evening. I doubt the duvets are washed after each guest, hence my wish for something else between me and it.

I thought the hotel was pricey for what it was, and the service and responsiveness were completely inadequate. You may wonder why I stayed past the first night? My firm has an arrangement with the chain and we are required to stay at this location. Otherwise I would have moved immediately.

We originally booked the Novotel Tower Bridge for a weekend , as we have stayed there before and enjoyed it , but due to incompetent original novotel booking staff , no room was available when we got there after a long journey at 21.15pm . So we were shunted to the City South sister hotel , which was quite a long way from most attractions and tube ,

OK location if you enjoy the South Bank experience of art etc , but not really for families with children.

Car parking was L20.00 so we parked on a nearby street for free over a weekend ,

Staff were helpful on arrival , but room was quite poor ,constantly flooded bathroom due to blocked drains from bath and shower , lack of pillows on the bed , and broken tv channels .Wifi / ADSL use ,was extra L5.99 per hour ! (well overpriced in these modern times )

We paid for 3 adults and one child and only received 2 cups etc , for 4 persons in the room .

Sofa bed was quite basic for child and extra adult .

The room was well planned out though as you can sit in the bath and watch the tv or listen to your mp 3 player with the help of a speaker in the ceiling of bathroom

Breakfast buffet was good value , with a good choice of quality food , hot and cold ,which will set you up for the day ahead

Cost was L275 for 2 nights , there is better value / location if you shop around over a weekend for leisure use .

Doubt i would stay there again and have lost a lot of confidence in the accor group which we have usually had good experiences with in the past .