Our stay at Novotel had its positives, but overall the property is in need of some serious maintenance. The rooms felt quite tired, with noticeable wear and tear throughout. In our room, the windows had black condensation stains, and both the furniture and bathroom looked dated and worn.
The facilities, including the pool, also didn’t feel well maintained and could definitely use some attention.
On the plus side, the location is excellent, and we really appreciated the kids’ room—it was a great touch for families. Breakfast was decent, and the staff were very attentive and friendly, which made a difference to our experience.

I normally try to be fair in highlighting the good as well as the bad. However, the bad this time just distracted from any good. When we arrived, around 4.15pm, we were tired after a long drive. So from the start we were not happy when told our room was not ready. Next day we went out leaving, make up our room sign. We were gone for 5.5hrs, arrived back about 3pm, room was not made up. Tried to ring the service desk, no answer. Then on the evening of the night I checked out, there was a credit card charge from the Novotel. After spending many efforts to ring Novotel, I finally got through. They said the charge was for breakfast we had that morning. We did not have breakfast at the hotel any morning. They said they would check the signed docket and get back to me the next day. This did not happen. Our very first experience at the Nootel Rotorua and very last experience was not pleasant.