The hotel was not luxurious but more...
The hotel was not luxurious but more than adequate and of an international 4 star standard. After having had a number of bad experiences at international 5 star hotels in Asia that were not well-maintained, we were relieved to have had a pleasant stay at the Novotel Rim Pae, with all the plumbing and air-conditioning working the way it should be.
I found the place fairly kid-friendly and the staff members were always eager to help and to entertain your baby while you ate. Our room was interconnected with our children's, which worked well. As they did not have any lifts, it would have been easier if our rooms had been on the ground floor, what with our strollers and baby paraphenalia.
The big plus about the place is that it is on the beach, as long as you don't mind that the sand is golden, not white. The food was only slightly above average, but with three restaurants, there was plenty of variety.
I had a massage, which was terrible. I think the staff double up a lot. For example, one of the waiters was also the fitness instructor who conducted our aerobics class!
They had just enough for you to do so that you wouldn't be bored if you didn't want to venture outside the hotel or take a speed boat ride to the nearby island of Koh Samet. It was low season so the place was not busy at all- a score of Bankokians only descended on Friday night with the usual disco, but this was not near the rooms.
My only surprise was that the hotel's main phone was out of order for the three days before we got there, so I could not check whether they had interconnecting rooms available.