Novotel Canberra

Let’s start positive. The attentiveness of the staff at breakfast and the breakfast itself was good. Also, the pool , spa and sauna were good- unpleasant for our stay only because the hotel was booked heavily and some families seem to think the spa is theirs alone so occupy it for hour long stretches. Not so good was the housekeeping. We arrived to an empty shower gel container in the shower so I specifically asked housekeeping the following morning if it could be refilled. Arrived back that evening after a long day wanting a hot shower and sure enough, no soap. The biggest issue by far is the parking situation. It’s beyond me why you simply can’t book a space for your stay. If it’s full, it’s full. Instead, it’s this ridiculous first come first serve scramble where you really don’t know if you’ll get a park. We had the crappy situation where we were parked in the hotel parking in the afternoon and then drove to dinner, only to find the car park full and thus having to relocate the car at a public car park and walk back to the hotel. Car park musical chairs becomes tiresome very quickly. As a program member, you’re meant to get a free drink but this was not the case

Great central location. Rooms are tired, with threadbare dirty looking carpets. Retro feel. Comfortable enough beds. Definitely stayed at worse, but Novotel seems to be a 3* brand now, so don't expect much. Service is suffering due to clear management decisions (e.g. they now force you to check in via the self-service kiosks - which doesn't allow you to do half the things you need such as parking, restaurant bookings - so you need to speak with a reception agent anyway, and the whole process takes 3 times longer than the ordinary process and is less convenient).

If you are choosing to stay at this place so your kids can have a swim and you might enjoy the spa....forget staying here. The water was freezing, and the spa was so packed it was dangerous. The room was really dated and the sofa bed was about half an inch think, the floor would have been a better option. The buffet breakfast was okay, and they had lots of options. The restaurant.... We went for a look around 3:30pm, Just so we could see what it was like, we were quickly asked to leave by a staff member as the restaurant was closed. We weren't going to stay there, we were just having a look. Not friendly at all. Needless to say we didn't go back for dinner. The location was close to everything which was the positive of staying here. However not enough for me to stay here again.

Agarshan (restaurant staff) and Mai (assistant manager) best customer service. Very professional and helpful. This was the best hotel out of all we visited in 2024, not a single thing I can point which was bad. Staff was genuinely looking after customers, so passionate in what they do. Swimming pool was amazing, breakfast had so many options, parking was available, rooms was nice and tidy. Thanks for making our trip so wonderful 😊

Despite the hotel being really busy we really enjoyed our stay at the Novotel Canberra. Staff were friendly and pleasant and the hotel facilties and location are really good. ||One small thing that irked me was that an easy win I think is when you have a family arriving on a 34 degree day, you could have the aircon turned on in the room - so it's cool when we arrive (a small thing but on such things are great hotel reviews made)

Whilst the hotel and its facilities were good, we were disappointed to not have our room serviced. We did have a do not disturb sign on for one hour, but surely the housekeeping team could have checked a few times. Great location and the staff were nice.

The restaurant staff were amazing. It was busy during the weekend, but the breakfast and dinner experiences were top-class. Reception staff: rude, unpleasing. Not trained to make the first impression the best.

Room was nice, beds were very nice to sleep on. Carpets should be renewed in the room. Bathroom was disappointing old. Breakfast buffet was very large choice of food. With kids very nice they suggest to be on the same floor as the swimming pool.

This hotel was near downtown, many museums and attractions, restaurants, shopping, etc. Very handy. Our room, although a bit dated, provided us with everything we needed for an enjoyable few days in Canberra. The bar/restaurant looked updated, as well as the lobby area. The staff was always friendly and efficient. They had a nice sized pool and hot tub, although we never did figure out how to get the sauna room to work right. There was also a fitness room. Parking was underneath and that was sometimes a challenge, as there didn't seem to be enough spots and most of them were quite small.