For those attracted to this hotel by the Novotel name, be prepared: this is the Novotel that time forgot. I don't think this hotel has been redecorated in 40 years. Still, the lapses in décor are forgivable, and this hotel has a nice pool and polite staff. There is a Western supermarket next door which is useful for picking up snacks and water.

The biggest drawback is its distance from the center of Chiang Mai. You’ll need to take a tuk-tak (60-80 baht per ride if you’re not skilled at bargaining) for about 15 minutes to get anywhere. The hotel's night market shuttle only runs between the hours of 7-10 p.m. and holds just 10 people, but it was often full for the times we tried to reserve it. Even though we only paid 900 baht/night for the room without breakfast—the taxi rides added up quickly.

we booked the novotel in chiang mai for one night. we reserved the hotel's least expensive room. first off, the hotel had fantastic service, the room was large and was extremely clean. the only knock is that it is very outdated. the furniture is something from 1960's. this is a fine place if you're looking for cheap and clean without frills. don't book this place for your fantasy vacation.

The hotel is decent, but its a good 10 min. drive to town which is not how it advertises itself. The hotel is clean and up to the standard of Novotel but again, not convenient to town.
Also DO NOT use the hotel tour operator. They basically told us a price and what it entails, but then changed the itinerary to something worthless when we showed up on the date of the trip. A tip is to get all the details in writing. For example, they told us that they would give us an hour of elephant camp tour, and then an hour of riding but only wrote down elephant tour on our receipt, when we showed up - they said we have to pay extra if we want to ride elephants. This seemed to happen a lot to us in Thailand, but this was our first experience with it!
Overall, the hotel was ok but you have similiar if not better choices closer to town.

Good- Next to a supermarket, beauty salon and optician nearby
Bad - a little outside of the city, old. Not up to Novotel standards that we've stayed in the past.

The room we stayed in was big with a very large but hard bed. Needed alot of updating. Olive green worn carpet and very old fixtures like from the 70's. Bathroom was okay. Wasn't moldy, my main concern while traveling, but needed a facelift. Breakfast buffet not bad. Great omelets. Overall okay hotel . Think of it as budget standards. For the price good value as I've found most hotels in Chiang Mai need remodeling and I've been to Chiang Mai 5 times and have stayed a various places. Haven't found the perfect one yet. Not sure if I would stay here again. Didn't feel comfortable walking around the carpeted room in my bare feet.