So I’ve got this friend right and whenever he stays in a hotel, one of international standard, the first thing he does is order a club sandwich from room service.

“You can tell a lot about a place by a club sandwich pet!” he’d insist with a raised eyebrow while regaling me with his latest travel adventures.

He is quite right though, the quality, the variety and the cost of food in a hotel can tell you a lot about the property, not to mention the city you are in. Recently I stayed at the Novotel Canberra – yes boring Canberra some may say – but there is seriously a lot of things to see and do and the Novotel, based in the suburb of Civic in the city centre is a great place to base yourself.

I was pleasantly surprised with my room, with the typical Accor European chic feeling, it was large than normal and featured a king size bed, a two seat lounge and a rather comfortable and swish looking lounge chair with matching ottoman. A flat screen T.V was situated flush to the wall opposite the bed which made it difficult to see from the the desk or lounge area. There was a desk for working and wired or WiFi internet access was available for a fee ($12.95 for 2 hours or $24.95 for 24 hours). Downstairs in the lobby, there was a business area with computers set up, although I didn’t utilise these.

The bathroom had the typical facilities and I know my friend Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella would like to know about the bathroom ‘condiments’ – there wasn’t much, but enough of the Novotel branded soaps and shampoo to get me through a couple of nights.

The hotel operates a bar and restaurant named ONE, and Happy Hour included reasonably priced wines and beers at AUD$6 each. I didn’t eat in the restaurant for dinner but breakfast was included in my room tariff. The hotel also has a swimming pool and gym facilities available to guests.

The next morning I couldn’t wait to get to the buffet breakfast and I was quite surprised with the variety. There were four separate food stations – cereals, muffins and juices on one, another with hot food choices such as sausages, bacon mini hash browns and coddled eggs, a bakery station with muffins, crumpets and a few artisan breads that could be toasted and enjoyed with a variety of jams and spreads and lastly a fruit station with fresh fruits such as cut water melon and pineapple.

Round 1 for me was the hot food and bread station. On my plate I have chicken sausages, bacon, fried potato with spinach grilled tomato and a coddled egg with an English muffin – all delish!

My second visit was to the fresh fruit and bread stations for a few tropical fruits, mini muffins and a croissant. Again I enjoyed everything on that plate – even if I actually snuck the muffins out and ate them later….that’s ok isn’t it?

I had a pleasant stay at the Novotel Canberra, it’s in a great spot being located above the interstate coach terminal. There are all the amenities one needs and the rooms are comfortable, although I think the internet charges are over priced – I’m a believer that WiFi should be always be included in room rates.

Oh and if you are wondering about the Club Sandwiches from room service – they have the:

“Novotel club sandwich – $20.50
bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato, chicken, swiss cheese and a fried egg with fries”

I didn’t order one though, as I said, I have a friend that orders them, but the buffet breakfast was pretty good 🙂

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