Novotel Geneve Centre

“Good location, Weird Executive Suite”

Our interaction with the staff at Novotel Genève Centre was very limited, and it doesn’t help that the reception is tucked further into the lobby, with a little distance to the main entrance. This design somewhat inhibited the staff from interacting with guests. Despite our interactions with the ho… more

Our interaction with the staff at Novotel Genève Centre was very limited, and it doesn’t help that the reception is tucked further into the lobby, with a little distance to the main entrance. This design somewhat inhibited the staff from interacting with guests. Despite our interactions with the hotel staff being limited to check-in and check-out, I found the service in the hotel to be good. They were friendly and welcoming, and processed our check-in with great efficiency. The staff were always seen with a smile and greeted us with a warm bonjour whenever we approached them. We were given detailed information by the staff who checked us in about the location of the hotel and the amenities in the hotel. When we approached the reception for an additional fan and converted the sofa bed in the living room back to a sofa, things were done efficiently. The reception staff were always seen with a smile and stood ready to render any assistance that guests might have. Even the housekeeping staff, whom we bumped into every morning, warmed up our day with a friendly greeting. We checked into the 50㎡ Superior Suite, the only suite category that Novotel Genève Centre offers, which has a weird layout. Not only does the suite have two entrances, but it also has two fully functional bathrooms. It felt as though two rooms were reconfigured into the Superior Suite. The first entryway leads into the living room. At the entryway, we found a full-length mirror and a single hook installed on the wall. This simply furnished entryway is where the entrance to a bathroom is. Past the entrance to the bathroom, a minibar station fully stocked with a Nesspro Machine and a kettle, as well as a mini fridge, is located. An in-room safe is located between the Nespresso Machine and the mini fridge. There are two fully equipped bathrooms in the Superior Suite: one in the living room and the other in the bedroom. The space allocated to the living room bathroom was excellent; it did not feel cramped when using the bathroom. Other than the bathtub in the left corner of the bathroom being a little on the small side, the rest of the bathroom felt spacious. Novotel Genève Centre fitted only one sink in this bathroom next to the bathtub, and there is space on both sinks for us to place our toiletries. The toilet bowl and the European bidet were wedged between the sink and the walk-in shower, which is only fitted with a regular shower head. I find it weird that the living room bathroom is the bigger of the two bathrooms and is better equipped in terms of amenities. Only Bathroom 1 is stocked with full shower amenities, while the other bathroom lacks conditioner and bathroom amenities. The living room took up a bulk of the real estate in the Superior Suite. When we entered the room, we saw the sofa placed against the wall and facing the window being converted into a bed. This sofa bed comes with its own headboard and charging outlets on either side of the headboard. We managed to get the housekeeping staff to reconfigure the bed back into a sofa the next day. The second sofa in the living room is placed by the window and faces the entrance to the bedroom. This two-seater sofa can be split into two single-seater chairs. A chaise lounger is located at the other corner of the living room, by the door to the bedroom. The brown fabric chaise lounger can also be used as a daybed. The only coffee table in the living room is placed in front of the chaise lounger. The wardrobe in the living room opposite the chaise lounger, capable of holding at least one week’s worth of clothing, seems to suggest that the living room of the Superior Suite might have been used to be a Junior Suite. The TV in the living room is mounted on the wall facing the sofa bed, and can be tilted to face the chaise lounger or the sofa placed by the window at the end of the living room. Despite having many channels for us to choose from on the TV, only a handful of these channels are in English. Weirdly, there is another entrance to the suite via the bedroom, hence a second entryway for the suite. This entryway is also only furnished with the wardrobe in the bedroom, and it is also home to the entrance to the Powder Room. The wardrobe has only hanging racks, which limits the amount of clothing we can stow. The limited number of hangers the hotel supplies further limits the number of clothes we can hang. Despite having a ledge above the hanging racks, we found little use for this rack. Next to the wardrobe, and facing the bedroom, is where we found the second minibar and the second in-room safe. A second Nespresso machine, an electric kettle and a second set of coffee capsules and tea bags occupy the open shelving space on top of the safe. In contrast, a second mini fridge is situated below the safe. The Powder Room is a weird situation. The suite does not have a powder room per se, rather it has a toilet that is separated from the bathroom in the bedroom. The toilet is situated in the entryway next to the second entrance to the suite, akin to a powder room. However, unlike the powder room of other hotels, the powder room in the Superior Suite only houses the porcelain throne and does not have a sink. A king bed is placed next to the entrance to the bedroom from the living room. The king bed was comfortable with a firm mattress, but the sleep quality on the king bed was impaired by the soft pillows that were provided. The bedside tables in the bedroom are essentially two wooden planks that were wedged into the headboard of the king bed. The space afforded by these bedside tables is a little tight, which provides us with little space to place our lifestyle equipment to charge overnight. To make matters worse, the phone placed on the right bedside table took up the entire space, rendering this bedside table useless. Next to the entrance to the bedroom from the living room is another two-seater sofa, identical to that one in the living room by the window. Next to the sofa, facing the wall, is a work desk. The already sizeable work desk that has another table top can be swivelled out to face the king bed, further increasing the available desk top area for guests to work. The power outlets are conveniently installed on the wall by the work desk, ensuring guests’ work is not disrupted by keeping their laptops juiced up. The TV, mounted onto the wall, beside the work desk and opposite the king bed, provided us with the same entertainment options as that in the living room. The bathroom in the bedroom is smaller than that in the living room, equipped with only a shower and bathing facilities. The sink lies in the centre of Bathroom 2, which only has a small countertop space. A bathtub, the same size as the one in the living room bathroom, is located on the left of the sink, while a walk-in shower lies to the right of the sink. Due to the space allocated to this bathroom, the walk-in shower is smaller. Not only is the space in this bathroom is reduced, but the amenities are also reduced, such as the absence of conditioners.

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“Excellent service, sub par room”

A tale of two halves for this hotel really. Location is ok. Not far from the station but in an area that felt cheaper than the prices suggest. The room we had was a standard one and this feels very much setup for a single business traveller rather than a leisure couple , so it was functional more… more

A tale of two halves for this hotel really. Location is ok. Not far from the station but in an area that felt cheaper than the prices suggest. The room we had was a standard one and this feels very much setup for a single business traveller rather than a leisure couple , so it was functional more than anything. However, it was clean and the bathroom well appointed, and the toiletries were really pleasant. The coffee station was Nespresso based but the milk was powdered, which was odd. We had not considered the weekend structure in Switzerland, so dining out options were surprisingly limited. After being on trains all day, we opted for room service and were very pleasantly surprised. With a basic pizza and some chips, we weren't expecting much but they were both of really good quality. The pillows are always an issue, 1 not enough, 2, too many. Now that would never been on if the advertised air conditioning actually worked like you would expect. It doesn't. The temperature remains too warm regardless of setting and the windows don't open. It made for a broken night's sleep. Breakfast did in some way make up for an average night's sleep. Amazing choice throughout and everything cooked well. Checkout was a breeze and the personable service provided was very welcoming. A hotel really let down by the rooms limitations rather than anything else.

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“Housekeeping let the hotel down”

I stayed at Novotel Geneva for 5 days, and overall it was okay. The best thing about it is definitely the location — it’s right by the train station, so getting around was really easy. What let it down for me was the housekeeping. Condiments weren’t topped up at all during the stay, the bed cover … more

I stayed at Novotel Geneva for 5 days, and overall it was okay. The best thing about it is definitely the location — it’s right by the train station, so getting around was really easy. What let it down for me was the housekeeping. Condiments weren’t topped up at all during the stay, the bed cover wasn’t changed even though it had a visible mark on it, and the rubbish on the table was left there. Even a dirty glass I used stayed in the room the whole time. The hotel itself is fine, but the housekeeping really needs improving.

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“Average”

The experience was average. The buffet isn’t worth it, and the hotel’s only advantages are its cleanliness and nice location. Everything else is ordinary and outdated, especially the gym and the sauna