Novotel Caen Côte de Nacre

We stayed here while visiting the DDay beaches. It was very very hot. We arrived at 3pm, were given our keys and arrived at a room that was not made up and smelled of cigarettes. This is supposed to be a smoke free hotel. I complained to a staff member and they just shrugged and said that some people don’t respect the rules. We were shown to another room. This room was average overall. It was certainly tired and it wasn’t the 4 star standard I had been expecting. The air conditioning was poor and would not change temperature on the thermostat. It was very hot. Wifi was strong, with english news channels on the television. The hotel is not far from centre of Caen. We ate in the restaurant on one occasion. I am vegan and there was only one dish. A veggie bowl. Literally a bowl of chopped up vegetables, with no flavour. They really need to look at their offering in this area. Vegans have tastebuds and need to eat too.

This hotel may be good for some and less good for others. It depends entirely on what you think is important, it will determine how well the hotel suits you. The hotel is located on the outskirts of Caen. The advantage is that it is easy to park and has proximity to the major roads, if you are going to have a base for exploring Normandy. However, the hotel is a bit remote, so there are hardly any restaurants around (The hotel has one..) and if you want to visit the center of Caen, it is easiest to take the tram, which is 300 meters from the hotel. The journey into the city center, takes about 10 minutes. It is very easy to get around by public transport. The hotel seems to be a popular hotel for various bus companies, as larger groups often come to the hotel. So, I guess that this hotel, gets most of its guests via bus companies or guests who stay a few days. The hotel is fresh, the rooms are large, and the beds are comfortable. The public areas are concentrated in the area around the reception, they are more functional than cozy. They have a smaller garden with a small swimming pool. The hotel also has a breakfast area, which in the evening is the hotel's restaurant. The breakfast is quite "ok", they serve most of what you are looking for. If there is something that can be improved, it is that the breakfast staff should make sure to replenish what runs out a little faster. I don't know if the staff is too young and inexperienced..... The hotel’s restaurant serves various dishes (meat, fish, vegetarian). The menu changes several times a week. The food served is standard, for a hotel. If you want to change something on your order, it can be a challenge, as English skills are limited. A bit strange is that the hotel reception staff, speaks very good English, then it is deficient among the rest, but not surprised... So if this could be a good hotel for you, is up to what you are looking for. This is not a romantic, central located hotel, with a pool area, where you hang around a whole day. This is more of a practical hotel (sleep and leave during the day), for those who is looking for a hotel, where parking is easy and don´t bother if the surroundings have any restaurants or not… When it comes to service I would divide this into two parts, the hotel reception and cleaning personell, very friendly and very helpful. The breakfast and restaurant personell, there are improvements to be done, when it comes to experience and in some cases attitude issues.. "nope, not everyone speaks French"...