Check In

Check in took a little longer than expected as there were two guests in front of me, each of whom had a range of queries and requirements that took longer than normal to respond. 

When I got to the front of the line, the reception staff were friendly and helpful.  I was informed that I'd been upgraded from a Superior Room to an Executive Room (courtesy of my Platinum status with Accor), although I wasn't offered a drink voucher (which I didn't realise at the time and then couldn't be bothered to ask for).  Reception staff also informed me of the hours for breakfast and pointed out the restaurant.  All in all, it was fine - the delay wasn't their fault and they seemed invested in giving a warm welcome.

Room

I ended up trying out 3 rooms.  The first room I went to had a TV that didn't work so I ended up going back down to reception.  The receptionist told me that I should have called him (which I could have done but I didn't want to have to wait for someone to come up and given it wasn't clear what the problem was I didn't want to lose time and then be told I had to move) but immediately offered to move me to another room.

Unfortunately the second room reeked of aftershave (as if someone had dropped a bottle on the carpet) and whereas the first room had a bath and a separate shower, the second room only had a walk in shower.  It did have a working TV but I wasn't prepared to put up with the smell so I came back down again and again the receptionist told me I should have called, to which I replied that there wasn't much he would be able to do about the smell.

He did find a third room and this time he came up with me.  This room was perfectly fine and I thanked him for his help.

The rooms were all a good size but as I said, the bathrooms varied in facilities and - weirdly - I also noticed that the amenities in each room differed - some had shaving kits, others had amenities kits and one only had the usual shower cream/shampoo/conditioner on offer.  I think that's a housekeeping consistency issue but it is something they should be monitoring.

The room itself had a Nespresso machine, complementary still and sparkling water and a bathrobe and slippers. There's an in-room combination safe and an ironing board. 

The bed had a firm mattress (slightly too firm for me although I still had a decent night's sleep).  The air conditioning was fine and there's an additional heater provided as well, which I thought was good.

Sound proofing over the street was excellent but sound proofing from the corridor was very poor - quite late in the evening I could hear the entire conversation from 2 other guests chatting in the corridor.

The bathroom was a good size with a bath and separate shower (which had good pressure but the door seal did allow some water through onto the floor).

Service

I wasn't wild about the receptionist telling me I should have phoned when I had problems with the rooms - but I think that came from him trying to be helpful more than anything else.

All staff I dealt with were friendly and helpful, which was nice.  I think there's a consistency problem with housekeeping when it comes to putting out amenities, which they should sort out.

Dining

The breakfast buffet had quite a decent selection of hot dishes - all traditional English food - sausage, bacon, fried and scrambled eggs, baked beans and hash browns.  There was also toast, french bread and American style pancakes.  I didn't see much in the way of continental breakfast options - some fruit, yoghurt and cold cuts - but I had got down to the restaurant 10 minutes before breakfast was due to end so it's possible that some of it had been cleared away.  There was also a variety of fruit juices and tea or coffee on request (although I had to ask for milk to be brought to my table).  All in all, I thought it had a good range of options.

Location

The hotel is about a 10 minute walk from Templemeads train station and another 10 minutes from central Bristol.  The hotel has its own car park - the charge is £10 for 24 hours but on checking out I was told it was free for Novotel guests, which is very good.

Overall

Notwithstanding the problem with the rooms (where I thought the service recovery was good), I had a decent stay here.  There are a number of Accor properties in Bristol and I have to go with price but if the Novotel is competitive then I would definitely stay there again.