Novotel La Rochelle Centre

The location was excellent, close to the old port, the lovely ‘green spaces’, and the town. It was clean, quite comfortable, had a pool (we arrived on the hottest day of the year), parking. The staff were friendly and helpful. There was a table and two chairs (many hotels only provide one chair). There was a kettle and mini fridge and we liked that the toilet was separate from the bathroom.

The bed was very wide fortunately as at either side it felt like that there was a hole (where people were sitting). The USB socket on one side of the bed wasn’t working and the side tables were tiny. The bed was placed very close to the bathroom doors and there was a lot of room on the other side of the bed. The breakfast, although very good, seemed pricey.

The hotel was a welcome change from the IBIS hotels we had stayed at on this trip. It was more expensive but it was worth it. The hotel has free parking which was great, a lovely pool. Nice bar and restaurant. Water fountains throughout so you can refill your water bottle. The room was comfy and extra pillows were so welcome after 2 weeks of single pillows. Fold out couch bed for kids was very comfy. Nice linen and towels and the rituals shower gel etc were lovely (but watered down and the shower gel was empty). The restaurant was nice but too expensive. The wine was €10 per glass which in france is far too much. Massive thank you to the staff who helped us when we left our passports in the safe. Especially William who helped us find a solution. Also great kids gaming room. Spotless hotel. La rochelle town is nearby and gorgeous

My main gripe was the price of food and drink. Breakfast was too expensive for what it was. Although that said kids eat for free so perhaps i am being a little harsh. The dinner we had was ok..... the child's meal was good value and nice to see a bowl of pasta as an option. The drink was expensive and my €30 for 3 glasses of wine over the evening really annoyed me to the point it made us not eat or drink in the hotel again. Also the glass outside needs to be cleaned as it looks a bit shabby when the hotel is actually lovely inside.

Location in the park setting very pleasant. Easy walk to old town and port. Car park good. Large window sill very useful. The hotel offered dinner which was handy obviating the need to have to go out to find an evening meal especially after a long drive.

Room size generous but relatively poorly designed given its size. WC and bathroom separate - configuration just didn't work. WC was far too small and bathroom double doors opened tight onto bed. Bed at 8ft width was bigger than needed given its location to the bathroom. Room could have done with one more easy chair. Fire alarm went off owing to a technical fault - staff were perplexed and didn't handle it too well.

The hotel is great, nice pool area and bar. We stayed in a family room, double bed and sofa bed which was fine. We were able to check in on arrival even though we were early, the staff were really nice and friendly. The hotel is a ten minute walk from the old port and next to the park. It’s a little further out but the area is quiet and the walk to town is fine. There also plenty of parking.

The pool is great but the area around the pool is limited,

super clean and everything works as it should. the beds are HUGE and very comfortable. there is air-con to help you sleep. breakfast is a tad expensive, but the range of options is outstanding. for the English, there’s not as wide a choice of cooked food, just baked beans, cheap sausages, and rubbery scrambled eggs. but there’s so much else to choose from. several different loaves of bread that you slice to your own liking. cereals. fresh fruit, including hand-cut juicy oranges and RIPE bananas. yogurt. fruit compote. cold meats. a whole range of cheeses, again, you help yourself to as much as you want. fresh croissants and pastries. fruit juices. apart from the lack of English breakfast options, I’d say the weakest link was the coffee. it comes from a bean-to-cup machine and is surprisingly weak and tasteless. I ended up pouring myself a cappuccino, then adding a double espresso to it. still not much punch to it. given the huge range of foods on offer, and that you can graze your way from one end of the buffet to the other with absolutely no limit on how much you eat, I suppose the value is ok if you’ve a hearty appetite. stuff yourself at breakfast, then skip lunch. the dinner menu is short, and not very inspiring. I only ate at the hotel because I arrived quite late, and was leaving early the next day so didn’t really have the chance to eat out. but what I had was well presented, good sized portions, and very tasty. the location is on a quiet road, with lots of trees. however, it’s not near the newly redeveloped quayside, where the restaurants and bars are. it’s probably a twenty minute walk to the thriving hub of the port. also, it’s a nightmare to find. the hotel even warns you in advance NOT to use Google Maps as a navigation tool to get there. problem being, GM hasn’t been updated to take account of the newly pedestrianised waterfront. it merely directs you to follow a route that’s now closed to through traffic.

a bit out of the bustling centre. hard to find on GPS. hot breakfast options are limited, and coffee is quite possibly the weakest I’ve ever had in France. and the hotel isn’t cheap, all things considered

We are not breakfast people, especially with a 5 or 6 hour journey ahead of us. The location was perfect, only 10 minute walk from the port. Very quiet, secure parking, very attentive, friendly, professional staff. Room was spotless and a very comfortable bed. Will we stay there again? Definitely, and recommend it to others.

Could not find anything to fault it on (well, maybe... Bier Moretti on tap or in long neck bottles but that's about it)

Good breakfast, big parking and nice walking to the shore. We enjoy the pool very much.

My husband had birthday while our stay, we mentioned it during check in, however it was totally ignored by the hotel. We didn't expect anything of course but a birthday card would cost nothing for the hotel but highlight their attention to us as guests.

Great location only ten minute walk from the lovely port area and old town. the hotel staff were great, room clean although a bit small. there is a small pool with seating and tables around it. breakfast choice was also great with hot, cold and cereals. There is a large secure (gated) car park suitable for any size car. It also has charging stations for electric cars! A great choice for couples and families visiting La Rochelle. We’ll certainly return. PS: if you walk through the length of the park to the old port you’ll be able to see the small ‘zoo’ and swimming beach. Great for kids!

Only issue is that the carpet in the dining room needs a clean as guest traffic has obviously taken its toll with some spillages on the patterned carpet.

Nice location in the park and only a fairly short walk to the city centre and also the beach. Perfect for small kids with playground nearby in the park. Speaking of small kids, know that the pool is very deep, all over! Nice for adults and our children (13-16), but not for small children. The area is very quiet. Very nice breakfast buffet. Possible to buy nice meals at the hotel restaurant or delivered in the room until 2200 (or maybe even later?)

The pool was nice for cooling down on a record warm day, but the pool area looked a bit nicer in the photos than in real life.

Location was perfect for us. Situated in a park so it was quiet at night yet a very short, pleasant and easy walk to the town. Didn't hear any noise from neighbouring rooms despite being a large and busy hotel. Spacious car park. Hotel not well signed but easy to find using Google maps. Great breakfast. Enormous comfy bed. Pool very welcome in the 40 degree heatwave. La Rochelle is a vibrant and very picturesque town and we'd love to return and we'd stay at the Novotel if we can afford to.

The air conditioning could have been more effective and easier to adjust. It is pricey.