Short review
Value for money: 5/5 – Very high due to the location and facilities
Services: 4/5 – Friendly staff; slow wi-fi
Bedroom: 4.5/5 – Reasonable size, good overall design, terrible view
Sleep quality: 5/5 – Comfortable beds, quiet room
Bathroom: 4/5 – A bathtub, which is a rarity in 4-star hotels nowadays
Facilities and amenities: 5/5 – Very good compared to other 4-star hotels
Pros
- Very good location; many amenities nearby
- Good hotel facilities
- High value for money for this particular stay
Cons
- Slow wi-fi
Long review
My family and I were back to Novotel Glen Waverley during the Christmas holiday. This time we stayed here for 11 nights, which perhaps can be considered rather long. Our previous stay was reviewed here.
We arrived at the hotel by car. Check-in was quick and again I was asked to fill in a COVID-19 questionnaire. During check-in, I was also informed that the car park fee was $10 per night, which was reasonable, I think. Last time, they charged me $20 a night. The lobby was nicely decorated with some Christmas ornaments with a blueish Christmas tree as the centrepiece.
There were some COVID-19 restrictions throughout our stay. During weekdays, breakfast was served in take away boxes, while a la carte breakfast was available on weekends. This is an unfortunate arrangement since we enjoyed the breakfast experience in our previous stay. I did understand the need to comply with the government’s restrictions though. In the end, we didn’t have breakfast at the hotel throughout our stay. There was also a booking system to use the pool and the gym. The pool had a maximum capacity of 4 people, while the limit at the gym was 2. Guests could book a one-hour slot to enjoy each facility. During our stay, it was easy to find slots for the gym. The pool was not as easy, but we were still able to find convenient times quite often.
Back to the check-in, after getting my room access cards, I drove my car to the car park in the basement. It was easy to find parking throughout our stay. COVID-19 probably affected the occupancy rate quite severely.
Our room was a standard 28 sqm room with 2 double beds located on the fifth floor. The wood accent and some red twirls made the room appear more contemporary. A welcome note and several welcome gifts were placed on the table.
There were plenty of power outlets, including USBs, on the table, which made charging devices convenient. I quite liked the lighting controls next to the beds and the amount of light in the room. It was bright enough when the floor lamp was on, but could be toned down to make the room feel more relaxed. The beds and pillows were comfortable. The air conditioner was quiet and did a good job in keeping the temperature stable. We had wonderful sleeps throughout our stay. Other amenities in the bedroom were those as expected in a four-star hotel.
What wonderful views could I see from the window you asked? Well … roofs.
Let’s check the bathroom next. The size is adequate, although it was rather crowded when there were 2 people trying to use the counter at the same time. The bathtub is a great thing to have, especially for our young daughter (2.5 years). It’s easy to bathe her with a bathtub and she was happy to play in it as well. I must add that it is quite uncommon nowadays to find a bathtub in a standard room in a four-star hotel, so this is definitely a big plus.
Other facilities in the hotel, as I implied previously, are an indoor heated pool and a gym. The size of the pool is adequate, although it is a bit on the small side for me. The water was heated, so it was pleasantly warm. The 2 sauna rooms within the pool area are nice additions. A relaxing place to warm myself after taking a dip in the pool. I guess a negative that I could notice is the tiles around the pool. I think they could do with some good scrubs to remove some mould around the tiles. I also could feel quite a strong flow of cold air from the gap at the bottom of the door to the changing room.
The size of the gym is also quite reasonable. The equipment seems adequate as well. I did have a few quiet sessions in the gym, which were great.
One facility that I should also mention is the guest laundry. Since we stayed here for a good number of days, this facility was indeed useful for us. It’s $4 for using the washing machine and $2 for the dryer.
When it comes to services, the hotel staff did great. The cleaning staff, for instance, did a great job in cleaning the room daily. The staff in the reception area were very friendly to my daughter. They gave a paper bag containing some art and craft stuff to her. In the end of our stay, she managed to collect a good number of bags. We appreciated this sweet touch.
Since we are talking about services, unfortunately the speed of the wi-fi was poor. The connection was laggy whey we used it for Zoom meetings. The same thing happened when we used it for WhatsApp video calls. Even audio calls with WhatsApp did not work that well either. This is the only major issue that we had during our stay.
Finally, let’s discuss the location of the hotel briefly. In short, the location is excellent, one of the best features of the hotel. Within the same building, on the ground floor, there were a few restaurants and a cinema. Behind the hotel, there were many shops and restaurants. The Glen Waverley train station is also within a walking distance. A big shopping centre called the Glen can also be easily reached by walking. If you like antiques, Waverley Antique Bazaar is located less than 2 km away from the hotel. This is one of the best places to find antiques.
Overall, we were very pleased with our experience. The facilities and outstanding location are big plusses. The value for money was really high as well this time, especially since we stayed there during the Christmas holiday. We are definitely keen to return here again in the future if we go to Melbourne. Hopefully the internet will be better by then.
