A brand new hotel -- part of the new Luxembourg .
location is excellent -- close to the " shopping city " and banks . Dining room and food is very good.
wish i could visit every month !! --
try and book via hotel websites for better rates !

This was my first time in Luxembourg and my first experience at a Novotel.

After having researched the hotels in the city on tripadvisor and paying 100 Euro for 1 night on a promotional rate (withOUT breakfast) I thought this was a bargain compared to similar hotels in the city and I was hoping I'd chosen the right place to stay. Yet I feel that even 100 Euro is too much for what you get (or rather don't get).

Novotel does deals where you can get rates starting from 50 or 60 Euro per night if you book far enough in advance, or stay for more that 1 night, or on the weekend. I'd look into that before paying any more than you really have to for this place which seemed expensive even at 100 Euro...but bear in mind that most things in this tiny, yet very rich, country will be expensive.


GOOD POINTS:

-This is a brand new hotel, so all the rooms, common areas, fixtures, furniture, etc. are all shiny and clean. The lobby, reception, restaurant and bar area all look very well presented aesthetically. The rooms and bathrooms are modern, bright and clean

-Believe it or not - the common areas and rooms actually DO look like the photos on their website ! (would seem like an obvious thing but if you travel on a regular basis you'll soon notice most hotel interiors and guest rooms do not match their website photos.)

-Staff act professionally

-Free in-room safe & tea and coffeee making facilities
-Average sized digital flat screen TV
-Mini bar
-Decent sized work area with a movable desk table
-There is a couch in every room (possibly turns into a 3rd bed but I didn't test this so can't be sure)
-Shower is spacious and modern with very good pressure

-Apparently there is free wireless access in the hotel but I didn't have my laptop so I could not try this out.

-Hotel is located in quiet area and you don't hear any outside noise

-If you have an afternoon or evening flight or train, you can leave your luggage with reception after check out. (They will label it and put it in a secure room for free until you pick it up again afterwards).


NEGATIVE POINTS:

-Its a 15 min walk (slightly uphill) from the main train station to this hotel

-Despite the hotel's name, it's not in the center it's another 15 min walk from the hotel to the old town and 20 min to the royal Grand Ducal Palace.

-If you don't have a laptop with you to access the wireless, the hotel has only ONE computer in the lobby for which they charge high prices for a few minutes of internet access so forget about going online with that.

-If your frequent flyer card allows you to collect miles with Novotel - beware that you have to pay a NON promotional, NON discounted rate. When I asked reception why we couldn't get miles on our discounted rate - they said "getting miles is the same as getting a discount. You can't have both" (In reality you can, but apparently not at Novotel !)

-Despite checking a vast array of hotel websites for this property - none offered a rate inclusive of breakfast...the hotel charges an extra 15 Euro PER PERSON if you want it. We declined (so I can't comment on the quality) and decided instead to go the delicious bakeries with freshly made pastries in the centre.

-Hallway carpets leading to rooms and room doors themselves are all dark brown in colour. Doesn't look nice and doesn't match the rest of the hotel decor.

-Bathroom amenities are very basic (1 small shampoo, 1 small soap, 1 small shower gel)

-Some aspects of this hotel made it feel like a budget property

-Bed pillows are too thick and make sleeping uncomfortable

-The toilet is in a separate room from the sink and shower. Not hygienic at all. No one leaving that small toilet room has ever washed their hands before getting out.


Construction (see photos attached above):

As of November 2007 this hotel is not yet finished being built. While you won't really notice this from the common areas or the rooms, but all you need to do is if you go to the back of the hotel on Boulevard d' Avranches where you will see that the back entrance is blocked by construction fences and guest rooms are not ready. (Have a look at the photos I attached of the back of the hotel for a better idea of this)

According to the construction sign the building NEXT to the hotel is probably going to become a 5 star Sofitel (Sofitel and Novotel are part of the same hotel group). From the back this next door building is just a skeleton. It seems that they only finished the facade with windows on the Novotel entrance side so you wouldn't notice straight away how much construction still needs to be done. I'm guessing it will be at least another year or two before construction noises stop.

A note from management in our room said the following ( I've typed it in the same exact English as was written on the letter)

"We have to inform you that on both sides from the hotel, we have building on construction. Some days on the early morning, you could be wake up by drilling noises coming from these buildings. We are sorry by the inconvenience out of our control." [sic]

My gripe is this - apart from the obvious noise and the fact that it isn't mentioned on their website - they are still charging standard prices for their rooms. Surely an unfinished hotel should offer rooms at a permanently discounted rate until it is completed - but there you go -corporate greed and deception at its finest.


Windows:
-This was the aspect that really ruined this place for me.
According to reception ALL rooms without exception (even the smoking rooms) have windows that cannot be opened in any shape or form for "security reasons". I really don't understand what that means because if they want to prevent break-ins, suicides and so forth all they need to do is install windows that PARTIALLY open or have a window that has only a section of which can be opened. Many old AND modern hotels all over the world have windows that open like this and seem to do just fine.

We both had a very difficult time sleeping because the air in the room was so stuffy and warm. The air conditioning did not cool the room at all despite putting the temperature on it down all the way to 10 degrees Celsius! (In contrast, the air conditioning in the lifts (elevators) is freezing !)

The rooms at this Novotel will NEVER have fresh air and the odours will linger - I hate to think what they will smell like in a few years. and even if you are a smoker you don't want your room to stink of smoke!


Other aspects to consider:

-All the rooms on all the floors are practically all the same. Not sure if they have any premium or executive rooms

-Their are no bathtubs

-You can't chose on the website if you want a smoking room or not - be sure to make this clear when checking in.



Luxembourg in general:

-You can see almost all of the tourist sites in the city in 6 to 10 hours of daylight.

-If you're thing of staying in a hotel near the train station - beware that its a good 20 to 25 min walk to the old town centre and (like most areas around train stations - its an unofficial red light area and not very pleasant).

-Unless you're flying in from a NON schengen country, you're going to find it very difficult to get your passport stamped as there are no more border controls. The city center tourist office can give you a free (NON official) passport stamp that says "Luxembourg city tourist office" but this isn't the real thing...

-Over the last 30-50 years many modern additions and modernisations have ruined the character and authenticity of the old town. If you're looking for something authentic - you're better off elsewhere, such as in eastern Europe.

Stayed 2 nights in this hotel for business. The hotel is not bad located. Just 10 minutes walking to the center of Luxembourg town.
The room is modern, clean. The bed is comfortable. The bathroom is small, just shower and sink. Limited bath products: shower gel and shampoo. Window cannot be open so no fresh air. It is a good hotel but for the price of 210 eur per night I expected more. Gym is just with a few sport equipments-can hardly be called a gym! Breakfast buffet has quite good choice of food to start the day. While most of the new opened hotels have free wifi internet as an extra service for guest, Novotel still charge 7,50 eur per hour or 20 eur for 24 hours. Radicilious!

We stayed at this Hotel for a 3 day long weekend. The Hotel is newly renovated with modern motiv. The staff are friendly and professional. The room is spacious enough for European standard, excellent modern decor, very comfortable, firm bed, nice and fluffy pillows and comforter. Breakfast buffet was great, several selections from warm to cold cuts. We've tried the hotel restaurant a couple of times for dinner -- it was great, but a little over-priced for normal dinner. Service was great. The Hotel is not really in the center -- it was about 15 minutes walk to the main shopping center. For first timers in Luxembourg, I recommend to buy the tour-bus, it stops at each main attraction. Must see the modern art museum and the history museum. Will definitely stay at this hotel again.