Now, if you’re looking for a family-friendly hotel in central London, could we recommend the Novotel London Paddington? I have never stayed at a Novotel hotel before and to be honest I was a little apprehensive on what to expect from our two night visit.
But how wrong I was, our stay at the four star Novotel London Paddington has completely changed my view of the brand. If all Novotel hotels are as good as our experience at London Paddington then I wouldn’t hesitate staying with them again for a family city break.
This article is our review of the Novotel London Paddington.
The hotel is located in a smart new business district called Paddington Central built for the coming arrival of Crossrail in 2018.
Location wise the hotel is truly a hidden gem for visitors to London from Wales and the West Country arriving by rail. It is a convenient 5 minute walk along the pretty canal side and was the perfect location after our train journey into London Paddington with GWR. (you can read our review of GWR first class here)
The atrium lobby was bright, spacious, modern and child-friendly. We had a lovely warm welcome from the reception staff and the check in process was very quick and efficient.
What instantly caught the girl’s eye as we walked into the lobby of the hotel was the Xbox and the Apple iMac computers, it was a struggle to coax them away to check out our rooms. There was also a children’s area with another video game table to sit at.
The Novotel E-Concierge, a touchscreen display which contained hotel information, live weather updates, dining and entertainment information was really useful. It was a nice interactive facility if you wanted to look for local information with just a few swipes and clicks.
We booked two executive family rooms which were on the 8th floor and were modern and clean. Whilst not luxurious they were perfectly adequate as a base for our London trip.
When we arrived in the room there was a plate of complimentary macaroons with a welcome note from the manager wishing us a pleasant stay which was a lovely gesture.
The rooms had a comfortable king size bed and a sofa bed made into a single. Together with the large wall mounted HDTV there was also a Bose docking station/speaker for your iPhone, safe and tea and coffee making facilities.
There was also a spacious work desk with the necessary connectivity options for you to get some work done (if you are here on business). Wifi was complementary and speeds were good during our stay.
Our 8th floor room had a good view of the surrounding area, the girls in particular enjoyed the view of Paddington Station watching the trains coming into the station. Given the proximity to the railway, the soundproofing of the rooms was excellent.
The bathroom was nicely appointed with a vanity basin and a separate shower . However it was quite cramped and not easy for two people to be in there at the same time. Unusually the toilet was separate from the bathroom which I did find strange especially as you had to make your way back into the bathroom to wash your hands.
Complimentary toiletries were provided by Novotel’s in-house brand which were a range of eco-friendly bath products.
Another great feature of the Novotel Paddington is that it had a lovely swimming pool, which the girls quickly said was the number one attraction of the hotel.
The swimming pool area was a nice way to unwind after a busy day in London. It met our high expectations, as it was very clean, with pool towels, family changing and locker room (£1 returnable), sauna and steam room. The pool was quiet which was great but this could have been because they girls were insisting on going swimming at 9pm on a Saturday evening!
We did not eat in the hotel restaurant as we decided to go out of the hotel for our evening meals. The Paddington Central/Sheldon Square and Little Venice area offered a great choice of restaurants, bars and shops on your doorstep.
We had drinks in the bar at Novotel’s lobby lounge, which was modern and stylish with a good selection of cocktails, beers and wines. Having Apple iPads within the bar area certainly made it more child friendly.
The breakfast each morning was delicious with lots of options from hot cooked breakfast to small pastries, fruit and cereals.
During our stay we learnt that Novotel offer family rooms for two adults and two children. The added bonus of these rooms is that they have an xbox console in the room for children, it’s a shame we were not allocated this room type on check-in.
From the moment we arrived the staff could not have been more welcoming or more helpful. We would be perfectly happy to come back to this hotel in the future, it’s a great base to explore London and offered terrific levels of customer service.