Novotel London Stansted Airport, Thaxted

I waited a few minutes to check in as only one person at the desk but was greeted warmly. Room size, layout and facilities good but not exactly clean. It was passable clean but still some marks on the mirror and sink and the towels did not feel clean. For 4 star room with a fridge I would have expected a bottle of water and/ or small pack of biscuits. I am not a messy showerer but the water sprayed around the shower side and onto the floor which it had clearly done many times as the bottom of the door looks very water damaged. No instructions for the room temperature control so that took a bit of trial and error. My main complaint though is of poor soundproofing. I personally chose this hotel as I had read other reviews that said there was no aircraft noise. In the room I was in there was aircraft noise - possibly not as bad as some nearer hotels but in addition to this I heard a baby crying almost all night from the room opposite (I felt very bad for the parents in the room with them and I realise they could not do anything more than they did to comfort the baby). If the hotel was to be improved I would suggest starting with soundproofed rooms - as comfortable as the bed / pillows etc are if there is noise a good nights sleep is unlikely. I ate in the restaurant but was asked to sit in the bar area (Ok but not a restaurant experience) - I assume as I was only 1 person and they were busy and needed a table for at least 2 people. The vegetarian burger was very good. Breakfast was nice in the morning but again it was in the bar area so I had to eat a cooked breakfast on my lap on a sofa. Choices were good but not many staff around. I also used the gym (as I could not sleep) at 6am and that was good with enough equipment for most fitness users and helpful that it was open 24hr/day. I paid to park overnight in the hotel car park (£15) which was cheaper than an extra night in the longstay car park but it was very busy and took a while to find a space. Overall, the public areas were clean and staff I had contact with pleasant and polite but the room was a let down for me, especially for a hotel listed as 4 star.

The senior staff here are rude, unhelpful and enough to make you leave. We did! We looked at 3 rooms that were not clean and hygienic and settled in the 3th room. One had a bad case of carpet month in the corner by the 'patio window'. Watch out for that you don't want to take them home, room 101 from memory. Also stains up the walls, carpets not hoovered woth bits on them including a metal chain link. Tardy house keeping, photos to follow, all 3 rooms that were not upto standard were on the ground floor, some impressive cobwebs. The cleanest room was on a different floor entirely. Obviously a different housekeeper. We do not recommend. Also we left 2 jackets in the wardrobe, by accident one with money in the pocket, yet they did not contact us by email or text. Interesting.... Great for parking at Stansted. Looks nice on the surface but take a proper look.