Novotel Rotorua Lakeside

We stayed here for a weekend family trip to Rotorua with our one-year-old, and overall we had a good experience.nnWe arrived quite late in the evening, but the staff were still incredibly friendly, welcoming, and helpful. Their warm attitude made us feel well looked after from the moment we checked in.nnThe location is excellent. There’s a playground directly across the road, which was perfect for our little one, and it’s also just a short walk to the lake, making it a great place for a relaxing stroll with the family.nnWe also enjoyed the hot pools and public bath. The atmosphere was peaceful and relaxing, although I think the pools could be cleaned a little more thoroughly.nnThe biggest downside was the room itself. While it was comfortable enough, the facilities felt quite dated. On our second night, the hot water kept cutting in and out while I was taking a shower, and I ended up finishing with cold water, which was quite disappointing.nnOverall, the excellent service and fantastic location made our stay enjoyable, especially for families with young children. If the rooms were updated and the hot water issue was resolved, this would easily be an even better place to stay.

Our family of three had another wonderful stay at this hotel. From the moment we arrived, Gurinder made us feel genuinely welcome with his warm and friendly hospitality. He kindly arranged the waterfront room we had requested, and we truly appreciated his thoughtful service.nnThe room was comfortable and well appointed, with stunning views of the water and the surrounding mountains right from our window. Waking up to such beautiful scenery made our stay even more enjoyable.nnWe always choose to stay at this hotel whenever we come here for a holiday because the service is consistently excellent and the location is perfect. The buffet breakfast is another highlight, offering a great variety of fresh and delicious options to suit every taste.nnThank you to Gurinder and the entire team for making our stay so memorable. We look forward to coming back again!

We stayed at the Novotel Rotorua over Matariki weekend during the school holidays, and the hotel appeared to be completely full.nnThere is a lot to like about the hotel itself. Our city-view twin room was spacious, warm and comfortable, with very comfortable beds. Even as a family of four, we had plenty of room for everyone and our belongings without constantly tripping over one another.nnThe bathroom was quite tired, however, and could definitely do with an update. I’m also not a fan of shower curtains, particularly in a family hotel. The water temperature fluctuated between lukewarm and scalding, which was concerning with children. The bathroom wall plug and the desk lamp also did not work in our room.nnThe kids loved the pool, spas, movie nights and the children’s play area with toys and games. The location is excellent too. It is an easy walk to the restaurants, cafés and shops in town, with convenient access to the Village Green, playground and lakefront during the day, as well as the night markets and drone show in the evening.nnUnfortunately, the hotel did not seem equipped to cope with being fully booked. Almost everything involved a long wait. Check-in took close to an hour, and our room was still not ready by 4pm. To the manager’s credit, they looked after us by arranging drinks in the bar while we waited.nnThere are only three lifts, and they were incredibly slow, so there were often queues just to get upstairs. The pool area was extremely crowded, towels were frequently unavailable, and the housekeeping team appeared to be struggling to keep up with demand.nnBreakfast was the biggest disappointment. There were long queues extending around the room, food was regularly running out, and some dishes were left sitting and getting cold rather than being refreshed. There was food on the floor, nowhere near enough seating, and guests were eating in the bar and conference room.nnThe layout also made things more chaotic than they needed to be. The hot buffet was crammed into one area, with people queuing for eggs, hash browns and pancakes, then trying to push back through the line after realising they had forgotten the syrup. Moving the pancake and syrup station to the end would help the flow enormously. The coffee machine was positioned right in the middle of the food area, and on Sunday morning the entire tea and coffee station was removed at around 9.20am, even though breakfast continued until 10am.nnOverall, the staffing levels and facilities felt woefully inadequate for a fully booked hotel, and guests really felt the impact. We enjoyed parts of our stay, especially the room, family activities and location, but we would be unlikely to return during school holidays or another peak weekend.nnOne final positive note: the sweet muffins at breakfast were absolutely top tier.

The location is great and the lake view is incredible! The room itself left some things to be desired for a 4 star hotel. The bathroom fixtures were not becoming of a 4 star hotel, the chrome was rusty and there was a drop ceiling in the bathroom as well. The breakfast option we bought was OK, the room is very big and really nice, the food was just OK. Overall, the staff were very friendly and the room was fine but nothing extraordinary. If I'm lucky enough to make it back to New Zealand and I'm in the area, I'd consider staying here again.

I really loved the location, it’s so convenient and easy to get around. The room was great, comfortable and well set up. The staff were a real highlight, so friendly and welcoming, which made the stay even better. I also appreciated the special touches for Accor Plus members, especially things like the parking, it made a difference. Breakfast was good too, plenty of variety and something for everyone. Overall, a really enjoyable stay and I would happily come back.

Directions to Novotel Rotorua Lakeside with public transportation

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