Sometimes, the best thing a hotel can do is make your holiday easy. A clean room that feels a little bit fancy, friendly staff and somewhere good to eat without having to pile everyone back into the car. That pretty much sums up our experience at Novotel New Plymouth Taranaki.
I stayed here with the kids for two nights while exploring New Plymouth and the surrounding Taranaki region on New Zealand’s North Island. Our room had two queen beds, the food was a highlight and the service was consistently friendly.
The location wasn’t the most exciting part of the stay, but would I book again? Absolutely. Here’s our Novotel New Plymouth review, including what worked for us and what to consider before booking with kids.
Where is Novotel New Plymouth Taranaki?
The hotel sits on the corner of Hobson and Leach Streets, on a main road into New Plymouth. It’s handy for arriving by car, but this isn’t a beachfront stay where you can wander straight out onto the sand. While the hotel describes itself as within walking distance of the CBD and several attractions, I wouldn’t choose it specifically for walking everywhere with kids. For our holiday, exploring by pushbike and rental car made more sense anyway.
New Plymouth’s Coastal Walkway, Pukekura Park, Puke Ariki and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre are all places to consider when planning your time in the city. Having a car also gives you more flexibility to explore further afield around Taranaki.
📍 Read our family guide to New Plymouth, including the best things to do here.
The hotel currently offers limited complimentary parking on a first-come basis, as well as paid basement parking. If you’re hiring a car, check the parking arrangements when booking rather than assuming a free space is guaranteed.
Two queen beds and everything we needed
We stayed in a Superior Room with Two Queen Beds, which accommodates up to four guests. At around 32 square metres, it was average hotel room sized but not too small that you felt like you couldn’t hang out in the room. The room was clean, modern and felt upmarket, with floor-to-ceiling windows bringing in natural light. It had the familiar feel of a quality city hotel, and we were very happy with it.
Features include air conditioning, an ensuite bathroom, a television, Wi-Fi, a desk, a mini-fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. There’s no separate bedroom in this room category, so everyone shares the same sleeping space.
For families happy with that arrangement, the two queen beds are a useful option. If separate bedrooms are a priority, look at the Superior Two Bedroom Apartment with king beds. The hotel also advertises interconnecting rooms, which could suit larger families.
What is there for kids at the hotel?
This isn’t a resort stay and as such, there are no organised activities specifically for kids. During our stay, the hotel was somewhere comfortable to come back to between outings and it worked well as a base for getting out and exploring.
One useful extra is the complimentary bicycle hire currently advertised by the hotel. We actually didn’t know about it and hired bikes elsewhere but, given how much we enjoyed exploring New Plymouth on pushbikes, that’s definitely worth asking about. New Plymouth has a fantastic coastal walkway that’s easily explored on bike.
There’s also a gym and sauna (which we didn’t visit). The main draw for us was having a nice room and a good restaurant waiting at the end of the day.
Haukai Bistro & Bar was a highlight
The food was probably the biggest standout of our stay. Hotel restaurants can be convenient without being particularly memorable, but we thoroughly enjoyed eating at Haukai Bistro & Bar.
Breakfast
The breakfast buffet struck a good balance. It wasn’t so enormous that you needed to do a reconnaissance lap before committing to anything, but there was enough choice to keep everyone happy. We really enjoyed it, and it made for an easy start before heading out to explore.
Dinner
Dinner was great quality too, with prices that felt fairly typical for a hotel restaurant of this standard when we visited. There was also a kids’ menu, which the kids were happy with. One of my kids is a particularly fussy eater so I’m always grateful for the simpler kids’ menu.
Being able to have an enjoyable meal downstairs, even with the kids in tow, added quite a bit to the stay. We were happy to eat here for the food itself as well as the convenience.
Also, dinner was table service which is always appreciated!
Friendly staff and good service
The staff were very friendly, and we received good customer service wherever we went in the hotel. There wasn’t one big moment that defined it. The service was simply consistently good, which is exactly what you want when you’re travelling with kids.
Was it good value for money?
Novotel New Plymouth Taranaki is officially listed as a 4.5-star hotel. It isn’t a budget option, but I feel the pricing is reasonable for the standard of accommodation and service we experienced. The room felt upmarket, everything was clean and the onsite dining was enjoyable. Those things all contributed to the value for us.
What we liked and what could be better
Let’s start with what we liked. The clean, modern room, friendly service and enjoyable meals were the main positives. It was a comfortable place to return to after exploring and the hotel delivered the standard we hoped for.
Now, let’s talk about what could be better… the location was the main compromise. A beachfront setting would have been nicer, and the main-road surroundings don’t have quite the same holiday appeal. But for the type of trip we were doing, using bikes and a rental car to explore, it wasn’t a deal breaker.
Would we stay at Novotel New Plymouth again?
Yes, I would happily book here again. Sometimes there’s a lot to be said for a hotel that simply delivers. We had a clean, comfortable room, friendly service and meals we thoroughly enjoyed. When you’re travelling with kids, knowing you can come back to somewhere you’re happy to sleep and eat is a relief.
I’d recommend Novotel New Plymouth Taranaki to families looking for a comfortable hotel base while exploring New Plymouth and the wider region. It’s particularly worth considering if you’re happy to share a room with two queen beds and plan to spend your days out and about.
For us, the combination of a nice room and genuinely enjoyable onsite dining made it an easy place to stay.
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