Short review
Value for money: 3.5/5
Services: 4/5
Bedroom: 3.5/5
Sleep quality: 3.5/5
Bathroom: 4/5
Facilities and amenities: 3.5/5
Pros
- Good location near the beach and other attractions
Cons
- Air conditioner blew air too strongly across the bed
- Uninspiring room
Long review
Due to Easter Monday and ANZAC Day days off, my family and I decided to spend 4 nights in Newcastle, a harbour city about 160 km north of Sydney and the second largest metropolitan in the state of New South Wales. We picked the Novotel Newcastle Beach for our accommodation, a 4.5-star hotel as stated in its website.
I checked in online 2 days before our stay. The next day, a hotel staff called me to confirm our stay. She also asked whether I would like to have a baby cot in the room since I mentioned during check-in that we would have an 11-month old in tow. I appreciated the hotel for being proactive on this one.
Secured parking is available in the hotel for a reasonable price of $25 per day. Street parking is also available for a fee, but I think you only can park for 2 hours maximum. The hotel shares a building with an apartment complex. Ground floor to level 5 are allocated for the hotel, while the remaining floors are for the apartment.
The receptionist was ready for our arrival since I have checked in online. We were upgraded from the standard room to the superior room with a harbour view located on the top floor (level 5). A welcome bag containing 2 bottles of water, 2 pieces of cookies, 2 welcome drink vouchers and a Wi-Fi access code were also given to us. I am not sure whether this is the standard practice or was provided because of my LeClub AccorHotels status. The receptionist staff was polite and helpful. She offered a map and a booklet containing places of interest in and around Newcastle.
The room is about 26 sqm in size and has a simple décor. There is a ceiling height window overlooking a distant view of the harbour and part of Fort Scratchley (explanation about this Fort below). The amenities were ok, but a bit disappointed that slippers were not provided. The bathroom looks plain like the room. However, I did like the ring-shaped shower head and the corresponding faucet. The water felt soft on the skin and the faucet was very easy to control.
What I did not like the most was the air conditioner. It did function properly (unlike the other Novotel I recently reviewed here), but it was also rather powerful. It blew the air across the bed even with the lowest setting and was not possible to adjust the direction of the air. In the end, we covered part of the air grilles with a baby blanket.
Breakfast was a standard English breakfast with the usual range of yogurt, fruit, cereal and bread, which was expected in typical Australian hotels. The food variety was limited in my opinion because I was spoiled by wonderful breakfast experiences when travelling to Asia.
My family and I had dinner several times in the hotel’s Bistro Dalby. We enjoyed their delicious barramundi and salmon dishes. The eye fillet was quite nice too, but I think the sauce could be punchier. It was rather runny in my opinion. The pizzas, on the other hand, were delicious.
Other facilities in the hotel include a good size and reasonably-equipped gym, a spa, and a steam room. There is also a kids corner near the hotel entrance.
The hotel staff were polite, but lacks the warmth in delivering the services, except for the receptionist when I checked in. Some appeared uninterested when delivering the dishes when we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Another time, the restaurant staff were overwhelmed by the number of guests so that the quality of the service was perceptibly lower. One day, we left our room at 9:30 in the morning and was back at 14:00 and the room had not been refreshed. Is this really the norm in Australia? However, I appreciated the ‘room maintenance card’ which was provided in the room. Essentially this card allows guests to inform the hotel if there is something that needs to be improved or maintained in the room.
The location of the hotel is its best feature. The lack of swimming pool is well compensated by the beach next door. It was wonderful to stroll around the beach after breakfast. Beach towels were provided in the lobby for guests, although they were much too small to be considered as beach towels.
There are many attractions within walking distance from the hotel too. The first one that we visited was the Obelisk, a navigational marker built in 1850. Located on a prominent knoll, it gives expansive views over the sea and the city. Unfortunately, it is neither stroller nor disabled friendly.
Near the Obelisk, there is the Lead Light Tower, another navigational marker which was built in 1865. This heritage-listed tower was rather uninteresting for me personally though.
The Newcastle Museum is a small, but informative museum worth to be visited. It is free to visit the three permanent exhibitions. First, a Newcastle Story provides a history of Newcastle, including early Aboriginal life. Second, Fire and Earth shows the might of the mining industry in Newcastle. BHP is quite prominent in this exhibition. The steel-making simulation was quite neat. Third, Supernova, which is a science-related exhibition. This exhibition is particularly great for kids.
Another place of interest is Fort Scratchley, formerly a coastal defence installation, which was built in 1882 to defend the city against a possible Russian attack. The guns were not fired in anger until 1942, during the shelling of Newcastle by a Japanese submarine. The Fort is now an interactive museum. We were privileged to go there during the ANZAC day and witnessed the gun salute. Josie did rather well in the midst of the loud noises. I must say that the view from the Flagstaff Hill, where the Fort is located, is amazing. A great place of picnic.
There are many eating places around the hotel. The most prominent one perhaps is Oma’s Kitchen. The restaurant is the unofficial home of Nine’s reality television series Travel Guides and its owners, the Frens, are the stars of the show. The restaurant serves German dishes and they were delicious. We also bought some of their cookies and they were very nice. Perfect for tea time.
Finally, it’s time to check out. It was not as smooth as usual as there were mistakes on their systems. The mistakes were resolved efficiently though. Overall, it was a relaxing holiday in Newcastle. The location of the hotel played a great part in making this trip enjoyable. The issue with the air conditioner was annoying though. The staff were ok, although they could have been more friendly. Also, I don’t know how the hotel can be considered as a 4.5-star hotel. A 4-star hotel is more like it.
