Novotel Valencia Lavant

"The Sky Bar at Novotel Valencia Lavant has a really nice atmosphere and is a great place to relax with a drink. Prices are reasonable, and both the cava and beer were good. The pool isn’t particularly large, so it fills up quickly, and it was difficult to find a sunbed when we visited. One downside was that the pool became very busy, with lots of guests wearing sunscreen in the pool, which made it a little less inviting to use. That’s more a consequence of its popularity than the hotel’s fault. We also tried the sangria, which unfortunately wasn’t as good as we’d hoped. It tasted like it had been made by someone inexperienced, with the balance not quite right and only a couple of slices of peach added as fruit. The snacks were fine, although fairly basic. The evening menu was better, but a touch expensive for what it is, so not great value for money wise. Overall, it’s a very pleasant rooftop bar with a good atmosphere. Just don’t expect a large pool or a luxury beach club experience. We’d happily return for drinks, but it’s not top of my list."

"We stayed at Novotel Valencia Lavant as a family and booked three rooms for two nights. The total cost was around €1,250. For this price, the hotel was a major disappointment. The best part of the stay was definitely the staff. The team was friendly, polite, professional and helpful. I want to separate the staff from the hotel itself: the people working there deserve a high rating. However, the hotel itself does not match the Novotel level or the price being charged. In terms of breakfast, rooms, corridors, elevators and the general atmosphere inside the hotel, it felt much closer to an Ibis-level property than a Novotel. We were given two rooms on the 5th floor, rooms 520 and 522, and one upgraded Executive Room on the 11th floor, room 1102. Surprisingly, the rooms on the 5th floor were actually better than the Executive Room on the 11th floor. The hotel provides reusable empty water bottles in the rooms, which guests are supposed to refill from water dispensers in the corridors. This is a good idea in theory. However, on the 11th floor there was no water dispenser at all. So in room 1102, even though the bottle was provided, there was nowhere on the floor to refill it. If you do not have access to another floor with your room key, you simply cannot refill the bottle. This makes the whole system inconvenient and poorly thought out. Room 1102 also had other issues. The sink mixer/tap did not work properly, and the room barely cooled down because the air conditioning was weak. At the same time, the air conditioning in rooms 520 and 522 worked normally. The breakfast was very average and felt more like an Ibis breakfast than a Novotel breakfast. The corridors were not clean enough, and the overall condition and atmosphere of the hotel felt tired and below expectations. The elevators were another serious problem. There are only four elevators, and they are slow and poorly programmed. Many guests also do not understand which button to press when going up or down, which makes the waiting time even worse. On top of that, the elevators are not air-conditioned, so it becomes hot and uncomfortable inside them. The location is convenient in some ways, as the hotel is next to a shopping mall and close to useful facilities. However, if you travel by car, it is very inconvenient because the parking is not actually inside the hotel, but in the neighbouring mall. The rooftop pool is probably one of the reasons why the hotel has a relatively high rating, because it looks good in photos. In reality, it is very small. For a family stay, it is not very practical. More than four people already feels crowded; of course, you could physically fit more people in it, but then it feels more like a large bathtub than a proper swimming pool. A small positive detail is that beach towels were available in the room. Overall, the staff were excellent, but the hotel itself is extremely overpriced. If the price had been much lower, I would have rated it higher as an Ibis-level hotel. But at this price point, the value for money is very poor, and the hotel does not meet Novotel expectations."

"Checked in by Diego who was really helpful. Rooms were located on 8th floor and all recently modernised. They are very practical, however quite small. Air con in our room was inconsistent. Worked on day one but then had some issues on night two. Reception sorted very quickly for us. The main bar is on the roof. Very nice but as it’s used by visitors and not very big you need to book which is a pain when returning from dinner. There is one in reception but it feels more like sitting in reception with a drink than a real bar. We managed to get somewhere to sit on one night but then failed despite there being an area they had closed off. That is apparently only open on certain nights. We were turned away both other evenings so had to go to bars located by the shopping centre. It would seem sensible to have an area open for residents to use without prior reservation. It would probably be the reason I chose a different hotel next time. Pool is very small but a nice place to spend a few hours in the afternoon heat. It was closed for one of the days which was a pain. Walk to Old Town was about 20 mins. The hotel only cost €380 for 3 nights so was good value for the money we paid."