Novotel Brisbane South Bank Hotel

The pool was well maintained, and breakfast had a good range of fresh, tasty hot food. The in-house chef made egg dishes to suit your taste. Staff were professional, friendly and helpful. The room was immaculate, quiet, and the bed was comfortable.

We only ended up staying one night, and this was not worth $600 a night. I won't stay there again. I've learned to check email attachments carefully and to avoid this place. I'd originally booked and paid for a non-refundable two-night November getaway for my husband and me. Illness led us to move it to January, and I was told the lower room rate left us with credit for parking and more. When my mother became ill, I changed the dates by phone to February 13-14 and was told the credit remained. After checking in, despite having discussed the room credit, reception called me down and said we still owed $700, bringing the total to just over $1,200 for two nights. The price seemed likely to reflect a nearby event. I hadn't been told about the extra amount during the phone change, and I couldn't understand why credit still showed if we owed money. No one contacted me before the weekend, and with a non-refundable booking I thought payment should have been settled beforehand. They said an attachment to the confirmation email explained it, but I hadn't read it because the changed dates were in the subject line. The manager wouldn't budge, so we got one night.

The view over the park was lovely and the location is excellent, but those were the only positives for us. The lobby had a great vibe, the staff were lovely, and we arrived feeling excited. Then we saw the room and were completely shocked. It may have been modern, but it wasn't the spacious, appealing city room we'd expected. At nearly $600, it was especially hard to accept that breakfast wasn't included, when the room was advertised for about half that at the time of our stay. The bathroom had curly black hair on the vanity and in the corners. We're a blonde and red-haired family, so it stood out. It looked as if someone had just had a haircut there, and made us question whether the bedding and towels were as clean as they appeared. If the vanity hadn't been wiped, what else might have been missed? We booked quickly after getting Ed Sheeran tickets. Room rates were high, as you'd expect with demand, and we worried that waiting might leave us somewhere out in the sticks. We know we could have rolled the dice and waited, but we paid a huge premium and expected more from the Novotel name. I'm bitter about it. At a more reasonable price, this might have been a three-star stay. Hopefully this helps someone avoid the same disappointment. Will we use Novotel Brisbane South Bank again? Probably not. It's a nice hotel in a fantastic location, so they'll keep attracting guests. We just feel we got screwed by a business doing business things.

The room was spacious and spotless, with quiet air conditioning and a lovely view of the city and the South Bank wheel. The hotel itself felt stylish and peaceful, even though it was close to everything. There was even a playground across the park, and the restaurant and bar were excellent. I enjoyed a tasty coffee in the lobby, and the food looked great though I didn't order any. Thien checked us in and was wonderful. We were exhausted after our flight from England, and she came up to the pool herself to tell us our room was ready early. That absolutely delighted us. Nicest Novotel I've stayed in by far. I'd happily return to Brisbane, 10/10, thank you very much.