Novotel Melbourne Preston

The room had plenty of amenities, full stove, full size refrigerator and microwave. The bathroom mirrors were well lit. There were tea and coffee making facilities. There was a nice view from the window. The buffet breakfast was good.

The room was hot and stuffy. The air conditioner (or, at least, the cooling function) did not work at all. The room lights could only be switched off from one side of the bed.

Cleanlines, staff, location (only 10kms from the city & tram nearby).

Nil

From the moment I arrived, the service was exceptional. Seamless doesn’t quite do it justice. Every staff member was genuinely helpful and accommodating, from assisting with luggage before check-in to the outstanding service in the restaurant. The facilities are modern, well maintained and thoughtfully equipped. Even in areas that are a little older, everything is clean, operational and clearly looked after. The gym and sauna are fully equipped, with no damaged or poorly maintained equipment. There’s also a café in the foyer and plenty of comfortable seating throughout. Breakfast at the restaurant was included in my booking and was excellent, with a guest discount available on any meal. The beds and pillows were exceptionally comfortable, the showers were tall with excellent height clearance. Secure, undercover parking was available for just $20 per day. Short walk to Bell station with plenty of regular trains into the city. Everything about the stay was excellent. It’s rare to find a hotel where the service, facilities and attention to detail are so consistently good.

There’s some traces of mould in the shower but not enough to have set me off which is good as I really don’t do well - I suspect the lack of working fan above the shower/in the ensuite is the reason. It’s been looked after.

The bed was very comfortable, and the size of the room was spacious, except for the shower/toilet.

No tissues. No hairdryer. No water bottles. Could not identify shower gel, shampoo as the bottles locked in pump set facing the back wall. Shower was extremely small and narrow with no screen and shower controls were difficult to control temperature. And the location was on Bell Street which is a main road and the traffic noise was very loud. Not a peaceful stay.