Novotel Dijon Sud Review. When we visited Switzerland and Italy in the Easter half term we took the car down to make life easier moving between locations. After all, we needed lots of stuff for two quite different holidays. To break the journey back up from Italy to Calais I booked an overnight stop in France – Novotel Dijon Sud Hotel. It is a long journey which takes around thirteen to fourteen hours depending on the way you go. And that’s without the necessary toilet and food breaks.
Ideally, we were looking for a stop over somewhere in the middle of th journey. Looking for a large town somewhere on the outskirts just off the motorway I chanced upon the Novotel in Dijon Sud. From Booking.com* it ticked a lot of boxes. With a restaurant on-site, family rooms and free parking. Just in the same way as when I booked our stop over on the way down with the Novotel in Reims. Unlike our stop on the way out though there were not many English families. I initially thought it was because we were not on a popular route. However, it turns out maybe other people had made the mistake before of staying at the 4-star hotel and just did not come back…
Review Novotel Dijon Sud
Finding the hotel
After leaving the campsite we drove for around seven hours before reaching the hotel. The Novotel Dijon Sud is located on the burgundy wine route in the area of the Marsannay-la-côte vineyards. Like many large French towns, the hotel is located in a retail area. Along with many other hotel and restaurant chains as well as various retail shops. The postcode will get you close, but our sat nav decided it could be one of two places. However, google maps worked much better. Located on one side of a roundabout it is a little difficult to spot as the entrance is not very wide. If travelling from the South it is likely you will have to go almost all the way around it before getting to the hotel.
Arriving at the hotel – Review Novotel Dijon Sud
There is plenty of free self parking down the side of the hotel and towards the rear. As you walk in you are greeted with a large modern and colourful bar area to one side. And then a lounging area to the other. With a very bright colour scheme. There is no reception desk as such but a lady checking you in via a mobile phone. It is possible to give a credit card to set up an account for food and drink.
She asked if we would like a sofa bed or bunk beds. Mistake one we let the boys choose bunkbeds. I had also thought that this may give us a bit more space. After checking in we headed to our room to drop off the bag. There is no lift in the hotel. If travelling with a baby you may want to ask for a room on the ground floor. Like previous ones we have stayed in, It’s an odd design with the rooms sprawling out from the reception area spread over three floors.
Our Room at Novotel Dijon Sud Hotel
There are various different room type. We had a standard double room with a huge and comfortable double bed and a sofa bed which had been changed into bunk beds. I was surprised by the spacious rooms. I do not think that rooms are allocated prior to arrival, I think it depends on what they have ready when you check in. If this is right then the later you arrive the further away you will be from the reception area.
Each room comes with a large flat-screen televisions and a fridge with one small bottle of water. There are also minimal coffer and tea maker facilities. The private bathroom has a large shower/bath tub combination and a separate toilet with free toiletries. There is little storage instead a hanging space right next to the door where you could also store a suitcase. The room was functional although a little dated, there was a hair dryer and safe. Neither of the bedside lamps worked and we had to unplug and then replug in the lamp on the desk to get it to work. There is little on the TV for the kids, but with complimentary wireless internet access you can cast off your phone.
Problems…
The issue with the room was the temperature. The air con did not work. In fact, despite turning it all the way down it actually, pumped out hot air? We were roasting all night getting very little sleep. There is an opening window but it is large and not particularly safe, especially with the bunk bed set up which actually restricted you from opening it further than a few inches. But even if they had just a sofa bed it would have been too low down for me to be comfortable with th boys. It is really not safe with young children.
I noticed that number of rooms with a garden view (like ours) all had their windows open when we sat outside enjoying a drink before dinner. I am wondering if the hotel just had the heating on despite it being 20 degrees outside.
The Restaurant for Dinner – Novotel Dijon Sud
When I checked in I asked about reserving a table for dinner and the lady passed me a QR code. Unfortunately, the earliest we could get a table was 7 pm. Although I did notice some families sitting down before the time the restaurant was largely empty. With another day of travel the following day, I would have preferred to eat earlier.
However, we did sit outside on the outdoor terrace next to the outdoor swimming pool for an hour, while the boys played in the play area (more on this below). There is a poolside bar but it was closed when we visited.
The menu is found via a QR code and is available in both French and English. But that is pretty much where the English ends. We do not speak French other than the odd word or phrase, and it turned out none of the waiting staff spoke English. We tried to muddle through but there wasn’t much accommodating going on.
The Menus
The children’s menu is limited but in theory, you also get a drink and a dessert for 13€. Only that didn’t work for us, but I am assuming it was because of the language barrier. The options are burger (no bun) Turkey slice or salmon with either chips, linguine or courgettes. There was either fruit, ice cream or natural yoghurt for pudding. Somehow we ended up with a portion of linguine only and a chocolate ice cream instead of the kid’s dessert (for an extra 3€). The waitress was apparently able to speak English according to the manager so no idea why she didn’t seem to be able to?
The adult menu claims to be traditional French cuisine but is also quite limited focusing mainly on cuttlefish, salmon, steak or beef of some description with a couple of vegetarian options thrown in. Prices vary but most are around the 20€ mark. There was no wine list but she asked if we would want the local wine. Being on the cote route, having its own vines and selling local wine in reception I am guessing this is where its focus lies.
I ordered Steak Tarte and it was very nice. The burgers were average but without sesame much to Charlie’s delight. Although they both came out medium when the husband had requested a rare burger. It just felt like an uncomfortable experience and that we were just a nuisance because we could not speak the language.
Breakfast at Novotel Dijon Sud
The buffet breakfasts were dire… served in the same restaurant it was hidden in the corner but inaccessible when busy due to a counter in the middle. Compared to other Novotels we have stayed in the range that was really limited. Although they only ever offer a continental breakfast. In one area there was orange juice and water. If you want other flavours you had to juice them yourself. (Who has time for this with two kids?).
The food was limited to boiled eggs, a large choice of cheese and limited bread and pastry options. They also had cereals although nothing for the children as such. The cornflakes had run out and my husband just got shrugged at when he asked for some more. It was such a free for all in such a little space. Not helped by the fact the coffee machine was also there. I would not pay extra for a breakfast in this Novotel.
Other facilities – Review Novotel Dijon Sud
What was nice were the public areas – the large outside sitting area overlooking the outdoor pool. There is also a small play frame and a box containing all sorts of outside toys and balls. This at least gave the boys recreational opportunities during our stopover. There is also a 24-hour fitness center on the ground floor. In the reception area, there is an Xbox 360 and a couple of games left for kids to play. When we checked out it was getting quite heated as kids squabbled over whose turn it was. They also offer room service, laundry services and dry cleaning. The hotel had meeting rooms and conference space, making it suitable for a business trip. I believe they offer complimentary newspapers, infant beds and free cribs but this is not something we were offered.
As it is located in the shopping district so there are a couple of petrol stations very close by and the opportunity to stock up on groceries for an onward journey. I may have even spied a Mcdonald’s.
Conclusions of our stay at Novotel Dijon Sud Hotel
I did not enjoy our stay, the air conditioning not working meant we got very little sleep. It is an old hotel which has been given a new lease of life by being painted modern dark colours. Yet it needs a lot of work to bring it up to the standard I would expect. Breakfast was distinctly lacking and service was not very accommodating. I would not stay here again. Our room cost £112 including breakfast for the four of us. We got a considerable discount from booking.com. Advertised room rates were quite a bit more.
Have you stayed in a Novotel hotel before? How was your experience? Let me know in your comments below.
READ MORE – Novotel Reims Review
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One Response
Oh dear that doesn’t sound like a very good experience but at least it was at the end of your holiday l and not at the beginning