Novotel London Blackfriars

“Family stay”

Our family of two adults and two children (11 year old and 8 year old) stayed here for 5 nights during April. We booked this hotel for its location and having a swimming pool for our kids. It's a 10 minute walk to Westminster Bridge, Waterloo Station and the London Eye. In the other direction, it'… more

Our family of two adults and two children (11 year old and 8 year old) stayed here for 5 nights during April. We booked this hotel for its location and having a swimming pool for our kids. It's a 10 minute walk to Westminster Bridge, Waterloo Station and the London Eye. In the other direction, it's a 10 minute walk to the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Millennium Bridge. The hotel is also next to Southwark tube station for the Jubilee line and if you walk 5 minutes across Blackfriars bridge you can get to Blackfriars tube station for the Circle and District line. Lots of bus options at Waterloo as well going to Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. The family room we stayed in on the sixth floor was great for what we needed. We travelled from Scotland by train so we were travelling light. In addition to the queen sized bed, there was a single fold down bed and the single sofa bed for the kids. That took up most of the room but it was fine as it was just a place to sleep. The bathroom was a decent size with the toilet, sink and walk in shower with both a rain shower and shower attachment. Complimentary Ritual shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and hand soap which was great. The room had a modern finish with a TV, digital radio, safe, kettle, mini fridge with complimentary water (that was gratefully replenished during our stay), hairdryer, iron and iron board. As I am an ALL Acor member, I logged in for their fast WiFi which is free for members. Although it wasn't hot outside, we felt the temperature in the room was warm so we used the aircon on low overnight and left the window open during the day when we were out. Thanks to other reviews, it's true that there is a frosted glass wall between the bathroom and bedroom area. This means in the middle of the night, whoever goes to the toilet and turns on the bathroom light will illuminate the whole room. So we came prepared and brought our own motion sensor strip light from home which lights the bathroom more subtly and doesn't wake everyone else up! Our package included breakfast which was a decent selection of continental and cooked options. The pancake machine was the highlight for our kids! Lots of staff replenishing breakfast items and clearing tables which is appreciated. They work so hard and are a credit to the hotel. We didn't have any other meals in the hotel as there are lots of options nearby on The Cut or behind Tate Modern but we saw people dining in the hotel restaurant which also provides the room service. Staff from reception to the restaurant were all welcoming and friendly. Housekeeping efficient and did a good job everyday. We found the atmosphere of this hotel to be good with a mixture of tourists and people on business. Our room was quiet with very little noise from the street, corridor or above us which was welcome. Good blackout curtains and the window can open for fresh air. We loved the pool and although you can only book an hour slot, it was great to relax in their pool and sauna. It's not a large pool but for our kids and for a few lengths to relax after lots of walking, it was ideal. They have changing rooms with lockers, shower, towels, water fountain. There is no pool staff but it's kept clean and tidy. We didn't use the gym but it looked well equipped. I imagine if you were here on business it would be a good facility pre or post work day. The facilities appear to be available for hotel guests only which means it's not busy compared to ones where the public can also use it under a leisure membership. Overall, for the location, facilities and service we found this to be excellent value for money for our London visit. Enjoy!

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