Whether you are out for business, an event or just plainly trying to break your daily routine, staying at Novotel is a great choice! Located just beside Araneta Coliseum, this is the perfect place to come home to after a concert. 😊
Managed by Accor Hotels, the same hotel group that operates Sofitel and Raffles, you can expect the same great hospitality at Novotel. It’s a 4-star hotel with 401 rooms all designed with a modern vibe while still keeping its classy style.
The hotel lobby was bright and welcoming. Check-in process was also a swift. I booked for a Superior Room but they upgraded it to the next category which is a Deluxe Room, for free! 🤗 Aside from that, we were also able to check out late without extra charge. 👍
What we got in the Deluxe Room:
- Flatscreen LED TV
- City view – Araneta Coliseum entrance which is perfect so I can monitor the volume of people at the concert 😁
- 2 Twin Live N Dream Beds – super comfortable!
- Smart pillows!
- Daybed couch and a work desk
- Complimentary bottled water and coffee / tea making facilities
- Mini bar with set of candies
- Glass wall separates the bathroom with electronic privacy curtain
- Fair Trade bathroom amenities
- Has both handheld and rainshower! 😊
- Safety deposit box, slippers, bathrobes, iron, hairdryer were provided
- Free in-room and hotel wide wifi connection
- Almost floor-to-ceiling window for natural light
- But I don’t understand why the bathroom door doesn’t have locks? 🤔Novotel, pls enlighten me.
The room was also well lit with different switches so you can choose which lights/lamps to use and combine them to your preference. Let me also highlight the abundance of power outlets! I swear, you will not run out of sockets to charge your gadgets all at the same time. Both sides of the bed has them plus some more at the front wall and bathroom. Plus they have included a panel with all the connecting ports that you might need; from hdmi, usb, audio/video ports for the tv and more!
The hotel also has an in-house restaurant and ice cream store. But if you want to eat out, there’s Gateway Mall just few meters away and different restaurants at the other side of the road (Army Navy, Pizza Hut, Bonchon, J.Co, Buddy’s, etc).
Amenities
There’s a kid play area, gym and swimming pool at the 6th Floor. The Premiere Lounge is at the 24th floor which can be accessed by guests staying at least in an Executive Suite.
There is a kids pool and an adult pool with lounge chairs and lifeguard.
Breakfast
Our accomodation comes with free buffet breakfast at the Food Exchange at the ground floor. They have a wide variety of food choices from usual Filipino breakfast to Middle Eastern dishes. There are different kinds of breads, pizza, cereal, salad with dressing of your choice, cold cuts, pastries, arabic condiments, a pickle station, eggs cooked your style, make your own taho!, congee station, freshly pressed juices, and most importantly 2 kinds of bacon! 🤗
As if traditional bacon is not enough, they added Canadian Bacon to the selection! It is a low fat version of the usual bacon but equally good! 🥓
For me though, the star of the breakfast would be the Stromboli. It’s like a turnover filled with thick slice of meat, almost like bacon. Super tasty and a perfect combination of meaty and starchy. It’s like a pizza but not really. 😋
In all, this hotel has by-far provided one of the best staycations I’ve had. Staff are nice, always all smiles and willing to help. The price? I suggest that you check their website or FB page from time to time for available promos and perks. I got this stay for P4,500 from their summer promo which is a much lower rate than an already discounted price from other 3rd party booking sites.
Let me end this post with the main reason why I chose this hotel. I attended day 2 of Lany’s Manila concert and didn’t want to stress myself commuting with the surge of crowd coming from the show. Since Novotel is just next door to Araneta, it was perfect. So here’s Lany with their hit ILYSB as their closing song of the night. ❤️🌹