Bord-oh what a fab hotel! (Novotel Bordeux Aeroport)

Member Name: apuskiduski

Product:	Novotel Bordeux Aeroport
Date:	10/05/09 (140 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Near to airport,15 mins to Bordeaux, food, price, family rooms, pool, uniforms

Disadvantages: Can't think of any, I'm thinking....... no, none!

Last summer we had a fab fortnight in France and we started our adventure in Bordeaux where we spent three nights at the Novotel Bordeaux aeroport.

I find it interesting that Dooyoo spell Bordeaux for this hotel without an 'a', but the Bordeaux I visited definitely had an 'a' and the hotel I'm reviewing earned an A too for several reasons:
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The simplicity of booking
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We had a tight budget to stick to as our holiday comprised of several chunks and this needed to be a cheap chunk. We looked on www.accorhotel.com for hotels in Bordeaux, found this one, booked a couple of rooms for the eight of us and the deal was done. We paid up front by credit card, as it was a 'no changes' offer, but we figured at the price we paid, it was worth it.

The details were e-mailed and I printed those off as well as a map for my 'holiday project' file. One of these days I might get a degree in tourism with my thesis-like folders I take on holiday!
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Cost
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The brilliant thing about this hotel was the cost. We booked in January for August and it was 79 Euros a room including breakfasts. This was cheaper than a youth hostel in Britain at that time.

So, 79 Euros meant less than 20 Euros apiece a night and breakfast thrown in. (Lunches too therefore - me being a kleptomaniac in that department haha!)

I've checked the website today and the most up to date price is 89 Euros for exactly the same deal. I don't think 10 Euros a night extra is that big an increase considering the economic climate at the moment. I'd pay it again.

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Location and locality
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We landed at Bordeaux airport and the hotel, being only 1 km away, was very easy to find from the website instructions and the ones I'd printed from Google maps. (Got to have a back up in the file!)

It took us ten minutes in our hire car from airport barrier to hotel door. The hotel provide a shuttle bus service to and from the airport from 7am to 11pm, which might be worth noting.

The hotel is located in a typical 'near airport' environment: lots of business units, other hotels and restaurant chains. We visited the Buffalo Grill down the road where we were well and truly ripped off. So my advice is to avoid that one!

There is a bus that stops right outside the hotel drive which takes you to the tram stop where you can go into Bordeaux. The whole journey took us 45 minutes thereabouts and was a great way to see how the locals live. Cheap too.

The immediate vicinity isn't worth exploring I have to say. Better to get in your car and park in Bordeaux (15 mins drive away) or do as we did and have a laugh on public transport.

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First Impressions of the hotel
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The hotel was exactly as pictured on the website and had a sweeping drive with the obligatory ornamental feature in the middle. We were really pleased to have found it so quickly as the previous year in France our hotel finding skills - even with a BMW GPS were useless! So, it looked good to us.

Our friends who arrived from Bergerac airport had a tougher time finding it than us and it was a real sight for sore eyes for them.

Inside, the atmosphere seemed relaxed and casual. We received a warm welcome from reception and I had a feeling that the next three days were going to be great, as there was a very sociable 'buzz' about the place.

Our rooms were ready and we were given all the information needed about meal times, room service and use of the pool.

We were also given a security code for the car park barrier so that we could sleep soundly knowing that some French chavs weren't breaking into our oh so luxurious Laguna estate car!

I sensed that Bordeaux was going to be brill! But, hang on, best get to the room first!

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What about the Rheum?
The Rheum?
That's whet I said you feul, the rheum!
(Think Clouseau and you'll understand)
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The rheum, sorry, the room was big enough for a family of four not a family of five like us- lucky we 'persuaded' our friends with one daughter to go then, so we could palm one of our kids off on them! It saved us a packet. But, I digress.

The room was great, with a king sized bed and a very comfortable bed settee that was easy to fold away for more space each day, a TV, phone, trouser press, bedside lights, mini bar, air con, wifi access and safe.

The bathroom( which included a hairdryer) was pristine with all the usual bits and pieces and a shower that could be used to keep an unruly crowd under control! Worth every penny on its own. I love my hotel showers.

Between the bathroom and the main room was a dressing area with plenty of hanging and other storage, which could be shut off for privacy. This is something the teenagers appreciated. They especially liked the full length mirror too.
The room was perfectly adequate for four and the facilities were excellent, generally.

However, we had an interesting morning on Friday when my hubby messed around with the safe one too many times and it needed an engineer to replace it.

Someone had to wait for the engineer to arrive - I felt this was a job for me as I knew my hubby didn't speak too much French. I was genuinely surprised to find the male engineer was young, in uniform and extremely good looking. And he spoke no English at all. Oh my!!

The others had a fun-filled morning at the pool while I just waited for him to get the right combination, mutter in French a bit, speak to his mate at HQ and look bemused. I couldn't believe my luck!

And before you start thinking the worst of me, for most of the time I was reading my book, not drooling! Either that or looking out of the ground floor window at the kids and dads playing in the pool. My friend, the posh one from Edinburgh, kept popping in to see what was happening....with the safe of course!

Anyway, it was fixed in a couple of hours - when my husband does anything he doesn't muck about and breaking a safe was no exception thank goodness - and my encounter with the safe French engineer, sorry, the French safe engineer, was over. But well and truly logged.


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Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite...
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I have to say that Novotel have certainly improved the standard of their beds since the days I used to stay at the one in Bradford for my husband's Christmas dinner dances. I can't remember hitting the pillow at all in Bordeaux.

Maybe this was alcohol induced or maybe it was sheer exhaustion from two hectic days walking around Bordeaux. But either way, everyone agreed that the beds were fab - sofas included. In fact this is the only time the kids have not hijacked our bed and we've ended up on the pullout! Hurray!

And no bed bugs!!!

The air con was silent but worked well, keeping the room at a steady and comfortable temperature.

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Twisting by the Pool
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The hotel's main attraction was that it was cheap. But it also had a fantastic little pool set in a pleasant garden area with a deep end no less!
We had a dip every day and enjoyed the evening sun on the first night on the sun loungers that are provided. It is very safe with a security gate and the hotel was quite strict about parents supervising their children at all times.

One disadvantage was that it wasn't heated so great in August but don't be expecting to go for a dip in the middle of February!

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Food, glorious food!
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As I said earlier we made the mistake of going to the Buffalo Grill one night. The other two nights we ate at the hotel restaurant and I have to say that everything we ate: starters, mains, desserts and "lovely cheese Gromit", was fantastic. Main courses ranged between 10 and 15 Euros and the perfectly palatable house wine was about 14 Euros a bottle. The children were adventurous enough to try steak or duck but they also tried a couple of varieties of pasta that they wanted more of the next night.

We were very pleased with the overall value of the meals here. I'd definitely recommend them, especially the duck.

The best bit about the restaurant was the fact that the terrace is completely covered so when a thunder storm rumbles over the horizon at lightning speed, you are well covered when the heavens open. I did feel the odd drip of rain though, but it was only me in our party funnily enough. Maybe I was being punished for the safe repair man.

Breakfasts-
These were very informal, buffet- style affairs offering the usual continental items as well as a limited selection of cooked food. The bacon, egg and sausage tasted great to me, and the cheese, ham and selection of bread tasted even better at lunch time in the little park in Bordeaux! Coffee was divine, (especially when accompanied by two croissants and three pain au chocolate) and there was an extensive choice of teas on offer. Everyone was stuffed after about 20 minutes and had plenty calories to last them for hours.

The Saturday morning was much busier than the previous two mornings, so I would recommend getting in early that day.

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Fancy a nightcap?
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The bar was just off the reception, near the restaurant and was a very cheerful little spot with a TV showing Sky Sports, there was some big event on or other but I wasn't that interested. I was more interested in the wine list (great prices for a hotel.) We paid 13 Euros for a brandy, a beer and a glass of wine.

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Travelling with children
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Not only did this place have a pool( with a deep end though), kids menu and a few TV channels they could watch while you got ready, it also had a little play area indoors with a couple of Playstations and toys for the younger ones. This was a well used area of the hotel, especially as it's in sight of the bar. Wide corridors, a lift and easy access into the garden meant that pushchairs aren't out of the question either.

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Travelling with a wheelchair
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Easy access to the pool area and terrace for dining outside, ramps everywhere - although the one at the back to the car park was pretty steep -meant that anyone using a wheelchair was catered for to a certain extent.
Actually accessing the pool would be difficult I would imagine. There was a tricky little gate and a foot-bath at the entrance to the pool that to my mind would make it difficult for a wheelchair to get beyond. No access to the pool other than steps with handrails.

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Was this hotel good value?
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Absolutely. No doubt about it. We stayed at another Novotel which I shall be reviewing shortly which was 215 Euros a night, so 79 sounds like a pittance wouldn't you agree? At Youth Hostel Prices with a pool, great food and easy transport links to Bordeaux, this was certainly one of the best value places that I've stayed in.

However, there's one thing that made it even better value for me and that was its close proximity to the airport. It meant that we found it very easily. But it also meant that lots of pilots, in full uniform, often walking down corridors in threes, found it easily too.
I'd landed in uniform heaven!

And in case anyone thinks I'm just concentrating on the men, there were plenty of female cabin crew around, I just never noticed them as much. Get it? Got it? Good!

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Would I go again?
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Is the Pope Catholic?

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For more details of this hotel, which has 137 rooms - 122 non smoking, 4 wheelchair accessible

* 80 Avenue J F Kennedy
* 33700 MERIGNAC
* FRANCE
* Tel (+33)5/57531330
* Fax (+33)5/56559964
* E-mail H0402@accor.com
* Hotel Manager :Mr Patrick DUFOURMANTEL
* GPS. N 44° 50' 8.46'' W 0° 40' 59.08''

If you do go, enjoy the uniforms for me!

Summary: A brilliant base for a blast in Bordeaux.