Novotel Rouen Centre Cathédrale

This Novotel recently opened in Rouen. I'm adding an English review since there are fairly few here as opposed to French. Built over the building of the old Chamber of Commerce de Rouen, this isn't your typical Novotel, as it has an elegant, certainly more upscale lobby than one would normally expect from this Accor brand. Think more timeless elegance with a touch of contemporary flair rather than the usual very modern, cheap-looking Novotel décor that they have to redo every 5-6 years to stay current. The rooms, however modern they may be, are basic and use cheap-looking IKEA-esque furniture, as do all Novotels. It's a contrast with the lobby. The mattress is some sort of memory foam and it's on the firm side, it isn't plush by any means, but will do if you are tired and have walked the sights all day. The pillows are synthetic and cheap. There are no other options available if you ask. I did and I was told that they only had the one type. It isn't a terrible bed, but Novotel (and Accor as a group in general) just keeps trying to compete with their equivalent American or British counterparts (Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG) and it just doesn't measure up for a "4-star" hotel or to competing brands, who offer better in-room amenities and especially, much better bedding. There's neither a phone or a fridge in the rooms. You can't request either. If you have an issue, you have to go down to the front desk or call from your mobile phone. Luckily, I had a roaming package on my phone, but not all foreigners do. That also means no wake up calls available. I will say their staff was unequivocally welcoming, nice and helpful, and that's a great asset. Their parking was full when we arrived and we were redirected to the adjacent parking lot, which actually turned out to be cheaper anyway. The elevator or stairs from that adjacent parking exit right onto the sidewalk, at the front door of the hotel, so it's just as good of an option as their own. Expensive breaksfast at 21 Euros pp. There's a nice restaurant about 10 minutes away on foot that did a great brunch named Café Crème. Consider it as an alternative if you want a good brunch, while you'll also encourage a local business. Great location in the middle of Rouen, with all the main sights easily walkalble from the hotel. Overall, not a bad choice, but the only reason why Accor/Novotel succeeds so well in medium cities across France such as Rouen is because they have a huge footprint of hotels across the country. If looking for a larger, full-service hotel and an alternative of the abovementioned hotel groups is available, I recommend choosing them over this location. Accor needs to stop removing amenities from "4-star" hotels while continuning to brand and price them as such, all in the name of "we've made changes for the environment". It's all greenwashing in the name of cost-cutting for owners of the franchises.

Absolutely a great experience: well designed spacious room, nice pool, super friendly and flexible service. The breakfast had everything (also plenty of healthy choices which we often miss in other hotels)! My daughter says she already misses our hotel (and we just checked out). Definitely recommended!

This hotel is very central, great location to the square area with shops and restaurants. Fairly well priced with secure parking. Front desk couldn't be more helpful. Hotel has a small pool so idea for a stop with children. We didn't eat at the hotel but had a drink in the small bar area.

Nice new hotel in a central location close to the old town and the best restaurants. Good underground secure parking facilities with easy access to the hotel. Good swimming pool and gym. Good warm and cold selections at the breakfast including a varieties of coffees fresh bread and juices. Staff were very friendly. Clean rooms Would highly recommend this hotel.

This hotel is brand-new and it is beautiful to look at. Very much style over substance unfortunately. We arrived late and had put room requirements on the booking. When we arrived, there was no cot in the room for our baby, the sofa bed wasn't made up for our toddler, and therefore we had to go back down to reception to ask for this to be sorted as there was no phone in the room to call down. There was no coffee machine or fridge which were stated on the booking, and the television didn't work. The person who helped us was really helpful and got everything sorted as quickly as possible but it didn't feel ready for our arrival. Throughout our visit, we had to visit reception multiple times to ask for more coffee pods, and extra paper cups for coffee which meant they replaced multiple times so we have more than one cup. The pool wasn't ready for our visit which was a shame as we wanted to use it with our toddler. The gym is very small and has very limited equipment looks great, but the free weights are almost like kettlebells and difficult to use. Step free access wasn't clear so had to bump the pram up and down each time. Hopefully within a few months everything will be running more smoothly The on site restaurant is lovely