You know what struck me first about the Novotel London Waterloo? It’s actually got character for a chain hotel. I mean, when you’re walking down Lambeth Road – which honestly feels a bit industrial at first glance – you might wonder what you’ve gotten yourself into. But then you step inside and there’s this unexpected warmth to the place, like they actually thought about making travelers feel comfortable rather than just processed.
The location is properly brilliant once you figure out the area. You’re literally a five-minute walk from Waterloo Station (the main one, not the smaller Waterloo East), which sounds obvious but I’ve stayed at “Waterloo” hotels that were somehow fifteen minutes away. The South Bank is right there – you can wander over to Borough Market on Saturday morning, grab some ridiculous cheese toastie, then walk along the Thames path toward the Tate Modern. What I really appreciated was being close enough to Central London without the insane noise levels you get in Zone 1. Lambeth Road itself is pretty quiet at night, though you’ll hear the occasional ambulance heading to St. Thomas’ Hospital nearby.
The rooms are what you’d expect from a modern Novotel – clean lines, decent space, beds that don’t make you miss your own too desperately. Actually, the shower pressure was surprisingly good, which matters more than people admit after a day of trudging around London. The 7.9 rating feels about right; it’s not going to blow your mind, but there weren’t any of those annoying little problems that make you regret your booking. Check-in was smooth (I arrived around 2 PM on a Thursday), and the front desk staff knew their stuff about the neighborhood – they pointed me toward a brilliant little gastropub called The Ring that I never would’ve found otherwise, tucked away on a side street near the Imperial War Museum. The breakfast is standard hotel fare, but honestly, with Borough Market and all the coffee shops around Waterloo, you’re better off exploring anyway. One small thing – the lifts can be a bit slow during busy periods, but that’s more of an observation than a complaint. If you’re someone who needs to be in the thick of Covent Garden or Oxford Street every minute, this might feel slightly removed, but the transport links are so good it hardly matters. Plus there’s something nice about having a proper base to retreat to rather than being stuck in the tourist chaos 24/7.