Novotel London Blackfriars
4-star hotel · South Bank, London
Long Weekend score
GoodNo serious reports. in 278 reviews
Guests rate nearly every hotel highly: half the hotels in London are rated 8.2 out of 10 or more. So our score shows how a hotel compares with the rest, not how luxurious it is.
- Rated higher than 70% of London hotels
- 88% of guest comments are praise
- 82% of guest photos show no damage
How this score is made
- Rated higher than 70% of London hotels. Compared with 5,640 hotels in London. Counts for 50% of the score.
- 88% of guest comments are praise. 663 praise, 91 complain. Counts for 30% of the score.
- 82% of guest photos show no damage. 49 of 60 photos. Counts for 20% of the score.
- Serious reports are never counted in. They are flagged beside the score, because one matters even when everything else is good.
- $325 a nighttypical for two, before tax · from $179
- 3 min walkto Southwark station
- 278 guest reviewsfrom the last 2 years
- 60 guest photostheirs, not the hotel's
At a glance
For
- A station within walking distanceSouthwark is 188 m away
- Staff174 praise · 8 complain
- Location160 praise · 0 complain
- Room size28 praise · 2 complain
- Food28 praise · 3 complain
Against
- On a main road: Blackfriars Road27 m from the building
- Guest photos show wear and dirt11 of the 60 photos guests took, and 0 of the hotel's 40
- Value14 complain · 8 praise
- Problems in the bathroom14 of 278 guests
What guests reported
What guests say
278 reviews from the last 2 years. Most praised: staff (174 guests). Weakest: value, where 14 of the 22 who mention it complain.
Location1600Strength
Great hotel in a great location.
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Great location for both business (train and subway near), dining (the Cut is close) and vacation for the same reasons.
Google, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Staff1748Strength
When there was an issue with our room when we checked in Katie (sp) was excellent in addressing the problem.
Google, May 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
The atmosphere is pleasant, the hotel and restaurant staff are very attentive and proactive.
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Staff aren’t the friendliest, pool has to be booked in advance and you only get an hour.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Room size282Strength
The rooms were clean, comfy and spacious.
Google, April 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Clean, very friendly staff, close to the metro station, spacious room, extras provided (iron and ironing board, good hairdryer, water, biscuits and milk, tea, chamomile tea, etc.)
Google, April 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Quiet at night232Strength
The hotel is located in a quiet area for the city center.
Google, May 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Also found the hotel to be very quiet considering it’s in a busy location
Booking network, April 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
Glasvæg ind til bad - benyttes bad/wc om natten vågner alle
Booking network, August 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Food283Strength
Bartender Cleofas who made the best mojitos I have had in this country in years!!!
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Very good food selection and friendly staff.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
Breakfast7914Mostly good
We had a really lovely breakfast at the hotel.
Google, October 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
We ate breakfast and dinner at the hotel restaurant and it was fantastic.
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
It was acceptable food but limited fruit options for breakfast and food wasn’t all that flavoursome
Booking network, September 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Cleanliness7118Mostly good
Excellent stay at this hotel: a spacious, clean room with a refrigerator and welcome tray.
Google, May 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Convenient, clean and comfortable stay with nice facilities.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Room was very dirty table upside down marks all over walls glass pannel between bathroom and bedroom has terrible limescale and mould on the bedroom side walls in bathroom dirty bedding stained
Booking network, June 2026, rated 2/10 by this guest
Views113Mostly good
We got upgraded to a better room on the 11th floor and we had a great view towards the Thames.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
Allowed us very early check-in, pool was great
Booking network, April 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
No view from room (alley) that is all.
Booking network, September 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Pool4914Mostly good
The pool and spa area is great for a relax.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
The swimming pool is a real bonus when you have children, and the breakfast is varied.
Google, May 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
The only minor drawback was that the pool and jacuzzi were quite cold.
Google, September 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Beds197Mostly good
The room with a large balcony and lovely London views was excellent,the bed extremely comfortable and all the amenities including coffee machine were excellent All the staff were friendly and professional,great service
Booking network, April 2026, rated 10/10 by this guest
A 2-night stay with friends; the hotel is very well located, close to transport, the staff are pleasant, the bedding is comfortable, and the swimming pool is a real bonus after a long day of walking!
Google, May 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
The sofa beds were a little squeaky and a little uncomfortable.
Booking network, May 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
Room condition136Mostly good
Swimming pool on site and modern comfortable rooms, with screencast on TV and tasty breakfast.
Google, April 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
It offers modern, well-equipped rooms, a pleasant atmosphere, and very friendly and helpful staff.
Booking network, April 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
The rooms were nice, but could use a little updating.
Google, August 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
Value814Weak spot
You spend over 300 GBP per night and still you need to ask for Bathrobes, Slippers and even Shower mats !
Google, August 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Nice but overly expensive and not worth the money
Booking network, July 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Very quiet restaurant and good value for money.
Tripadvisor, August 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Who stays, and their score out of 10
From every review of the last two years that gives a score and says who travelled, including those with no words.
All 2,889 Google ratings
Problems guests raised
Raised most: problems in the bathroom, in 14 of 278 reviews.
Problems in the bathroom14 of 2781 in 20 reviews
Clean, quiet, good value for money, excellent location..only one problem with the room we got, which is a room for a couple and a child, the bathroom wall is semi-transparent and there is no soundproofing..and that really bothered us..besides, a waste of time
Google, August 2026, rated 4/5 by this guest
The bathrooms have a blurred glass screen looking into the room which wasn’t the best when sharing with family.
Booking network, April 2026, rated 8/10 by this guest
Complaints the hotel left unresolved6 of 2781 in 46 reviews
Your staff (who were very kind) came to help, but nothing worked.
Google, July 2026, rated 3/5 by this guest
When I reported the incident to the reception I got the usual common answer it was something wrong in the system
Tripadvisor, May 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Something broken in the room6 of 2781 in 46 reviews
And broken shower button room 501
Booking network, April 2026, rated 9/10 by this guest
A slow check-in5 of 2781 in 56 reviews
Gave us the wrong room, made us wait for an hour for a lower quality room on the lowest floor.
Google, September 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Waiting to check in for 30 minutes behind only one person, no more staff to help 😂
Google, June 2026, rated 1/5 by this guest
Expensive food and drinks5 of 2781 in 56 reviews
Super friendly helpful staff and very clean.
Booking network, July 2026, rated 7/10 by this guest
Heating and air conditioning4 of 2781 in 70 reviews
Plus the view wasn’t great and the air con wasn’t very good.
Booking network, June 2026, rated 6/10 by this guest
Although it wasn't hot outside, we felt the temperature in the room was warm so we used the aircon on low overnight and left the window open during the day when we were out.
Tripadvisor, April 2026, rated 5/5 by this guest
Serious reports
None found in 278 reviews.
Photos, checked
11 of the 60 guest photos we checked show damage or dirt (18%).
Guest photos showing damage or dirt11 of 6018%
Of 60 guest photos, 11 show damage or dirt: stains in 8, dirty surfaces in 4, peeling paint or cracks in 2 and rust or limescale in 2, and some photos show more than one. Of the hotel's own 40, 0 do.
What it advertises, against the photos
Guests’ photos confirm: swimming pool (1), restaurant (5), bathtub (1), private balcony (1).
Price, place and rooms
Price
$325 is a typical night, from 302 dates checked in the coming year.
Weekends cost 7% less than weekdays
A typical night, month by month
Cheapest month: Jan 2027, $191Dearest month: Jul 2027, $427
Prices on booking sites, the day we checked
What each seller advertised on the one day we checked, so these sit outside the year-wide figures above and can fall below the typical price.
- deals.goseek.com$276
- deals.etrip.net$276
- deals.dealbase.com$276
- Vio.com$277
- stayforlong.co.uk$280
- catchit.com$292
- businesshotels.com$292
- travelmyth.co.uk$293
Lowest advertised nightly rate for two adults; taxes and local fees are not included. Shown in US dollars.
Nearby
Southwark station is 188 m away by road, about 3 minutes on foot. There are 5 bars or clubs within 200 metres.
- Nearest main road: Blackfriars Road27 m
- Nearest station: Southwark3 min walk188 m by road
- Nearest shop: Tesco Express3 min walk226 m by road
- Big Ben22 min walk1.7 km by road
- Tower Bridge2.4 km
- The British Museum2.7 km
- Buckingham Palace3.0 km
The lines are 5, 10 and 15 minutes on foot.
Distances follow the streets, not straight lines.
Rooms
10 room types, from 24 to 35 m².
- Executive Room with 1 Queen bed24 m²Sleeps 2
- Superior Room with 1 Queen Bed + 1 Sofa Bed24 m²Sleeps 3
- Premium Queen Room with Two Single Sofa Beds24 m²Sleeps 4Bathtub in its photos
- Superior Room with 1 Queen Bed24 m²Sleeps 2
- Superior Room25 m²Sleeps 41 Queen Bed + 2 Sofa bed
- Premium Room, 1 Queen Bed (Executive)25 m²Sleeps 2
The other 4 room types
- Executive Premium Queen Room with Balcony26 m²Sleeps 2Balcony
- Executive Suite with King size Bed and Two Single Sofa Beds35 m²Sleeps 4
- Executive Suite, 1 King BedNot statedSleeps 4
- Premium Room, 1 Queen Bed, BalconyNot statedSleeps 2Balcony
From the hotel's own room descriptions, checked against each room's photos.
How it compares
How it ranks
Guests who booked rate it 8.8 out of 10. 70% of the 5,640 hotels in London are rated lower, and a typical one is rated 8.2.
Every review site, out of 100
42 Google reviewers ticked "Quiet", yet 2 guests complain about noise, and Blackfriars Road runs 27 m away.
If value matters to you
Here, 14 of the 22 guests who mention value complain. These nearby hotels do better on it.
More hotels in London
The nearest first, with our score for each.
How we know
278 reviews counted · 100 photos checked · updated 10 October 2026
- We collected this hotel's 872 most recent reviews from Google, Tripadvisor and the Booking network. 278 of them describe a stay in the last 2 years and are the ones counted here; the rest were 77 older, 152 in other languages, 346 with a score but no words and 19 about the restaurant rather than a stay.
- The hotel replied to 128 of its 200 newest Google reviews.
- 17 in every 100 reviews thank a staff member by name.
- 9 reviews mention a free upgrade, a cake or a gift.
- We looked at 100 photos: the first 40 of the hotel's own and the 60 newest from guests.
- Every number on this page is counted, not estimated. Anything in quotation marks is a guest's own words.