Southampton precruise hotel

Any suggestions for 1 night precruise hotel in Southampton on April 28?

Thank you!

I have stayed a couple of times at the Premier Inn West Quay in Southampton. Many cruisers stay there.

The following hotels are ideally suited for a pre-cruise stay:

Premier Inn West Quay

Novotel West Quay Road

Holiday Inn Herbert Walker Avenue

A précis of hotels in central Southampton, plus a useful thumbnail location map at the bottom of the page, at https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

All of these hotels are a short taxi ride (£10 or less) from bus and train stations and all cruise terminals. So any will do the job, but some are marginally more convenient than others depending on your planned transportation to Southampton and your ship's terminal.

Check out http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/ for your ship's terminal. If your ship isn't listed, we can pretty accurately predict which terminal.

A few comments that you'll probably not find on sites like TripAdvisor, booking.com etc ..................

Holiday inn is particularly popular with those sailing from City cruise terminal - it's right by that terminal's dock gate - rooms at the back look over the berth and ship, & rooms at the front have views down Southampton Water if you want to watch your ship arriving at daft o'clock in the morning. Hotel has just completed a much-needed renovation so it's pretty safe to ignore out-of-date reviews. Be aware this is Holiday Inn, Herbert Walker Avenue - the city's two Hol Inn Express' are both on the outskirts of the city, so very inconvenient.

Premier Inn West Quay, the Grand Harbour, and Ennio's, are all nearby, and also very convenient to the big West Quay Mall, city centre shops, and the city's few old-town sights. Premier Inn West Quay is also very popular with cruisers - Premier Inn City Centre (aka Premier Inn New Street) is less convenient. Premier Inn is probably the UK's leading budget chain, part of a brewery consortium, and with good inexpensive food on-site.

Travelodge is another major budget chain, this one recently opened in what was a rather non-descript former office block, but I've not been inside.

If arriving by train, Ibis Budget, Ibis, and Novotel share a site opposite the rail station. Novotel is by far the best of the three, Ibis Budget is basic but acceptable for the price. They're a little further from the city shops and old-town, but still walkable.

Other than boutique Ennio's, which is a conversion of an historic warehouse, all the above are cloned modern chain hotels and rather lacking in character

The Mercure Dolphin Hotel is an historic coaching inn in old-town. Ideal if you want something different, but history comes with its downsides - sloping floors, rabbit warren corridors, variable room sizes, etc - and reviews are mixed.

Also a little quirky, & not on that linked list, is the "Pig-in-the-Wall", a boutique set into the city walls just behind Grand Harbour (ignore the location shown on TripAdvisor's map, it's hopelessly wrong).

The city has two Marriots. Both are on the city outskirts and assuming you won't have a car, unless you have a particular reason for wanting a Marriot they're best avoided for that reason.

A number of good pubs and restaurants at the bottom (Town Quay) end of old town.

Most hotels don't have aircon, this won't be a problem in April / May.

JB :)

 

A few comments that you'll probably not find on sites like TripAdvisor, booking.com etc ..................

 

Premier Inn West Quay is also very popular with cruisers - Premier Inn is probably the UK's leading budget chain, part of a brewery consortium, and with good inexpensive food on-site.

 

Other than boutique Ennio's, which is a conversion of an historic warehouse, all the above are cloned modern chain hotels and rather lacking in character

 

A number of good pubs and restaurants at the bottom (Town Quay) end of old town.

 

JB :)

We've stayed at Premier West Quay & it met our needs- not fancy though. Added the package that included dinner & breakfast which was very convenient, and the food was fine (as in good, not fine dining;)).

For our overnight stay in Southampton in October, I've reserved a room at Ennio's. With breakfast included it comes to 106.95GBP. Since we will be traveling and cruising in Europe prior to our TA, I hope to ship some items to the hotel for the cooler weather we'll encounter in Boston & NYC, ports on our TA, rather than schlep them on trains and planes.

A roll call member from England suggested the Dancing Man for food & drink. Do you know this pub, John?

 

A roll call member from England suggested the Dancing Man for food & drink. Do you know this pub, John?

Yep.

And, since you've been to Southampton before, you might do too ;)

The building is the medieval Wool House, used until a few years ago as Southampton's maritime museum.

Then when the Sea City museum opened a few years back, after a spell as an arts venue it was converted to a pub, with its own micro-brewery behind the bar. The proprietors who converted it also run the Platform Tavern, about the same short distance from Ennio's but in the opposite direction.

Attractive & historic building, sympathetically converted, with outside tables in good weather. Good beer, limited menu (intentionally "pub" food) but their beef rag-and-bone is excellent. Probably better for drinks or lunchtime rather than an intimate "dinner for two".

http://www.dancingmanbrewery.co.uk/

Plenty of other pubs & restaurants in the immediate area.

A more standard traditional & historic pub (has been a pub for over 500 years), popular with CC members & with a broader lunch and dinner menu, is the Duke of Wellington - a hundred yards or so up the road (Bugle Street) alongside the Dancing Man.

http://www.thedukeatsouthampton.co.uk/

Ennio's is an Italian restaurant with rooms above. Have dined there - quite pricey but very good. Next door, Regata is a Spanish restaurant - also very good. http://www.laregata.co.uk/

JB :)

Thanks for your helpful input.

if arriving by coach, we are thinking we could walk to Novotel. Also hoping to walk to City Cruise terminal with 4 wheeled luggage. Last time, stayed at Premier Inn West Quay and took a short cut through the Holiday In parking lot. Is there a walking route from Novotel approaching from the other entrance to the port, that wouldn't be much further than this?

Thanks!

Thanks for your helpful input.

if arriving by coach, we are thinking we could walk to Novotel. Also hoping to walk to City Cruise terminal with 4 wheeled luggage. Last time, stayed at Premier Inn West Quay and took a short cut through the Holiday In parking lot. Is there a walking route from Novotel approaching from the other entrance to the port, that wouldn't be much further than this?

Thanks!

Coach station to Novotel is a simple 5-minute walk across parking lots.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/50.905904,-1.4088022/50.9056313,-1.4147848/@50.9056565,-1.4123792,352m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e2

Then a ten minute walk to City cruise terminal, this time using dock gate 10 rather than the dock gate by Holiday Inn.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Novotel+Southampton+Hotel,+1+W+Quay+Rd,+Southampton+SO15+1RA/50.9006813,-1.4145011/@50.902837,-1.4168302,683m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476bbedfad35b:0x83cdca5717d3667e!2m2!1d-1.415272!2d50.905611!1m0!3e2

Use the traffic lights to help you across busy West Quay Road.

Inside the docks some of the route doesn't have a separate sidewalk, just a yellow line between you & the traffic. But safe enough if you keep to the edge.

JB :)

Coach station to Novotel is a simple 5-minute walk across parking lots.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/50.905904,-1.4088022/50.9056313,-1.4147848/@50.9056565,-1.4123792,352m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!4m1!3e2

 

Then a ten minute walk to City cruise terminal, this time using dock gate 10 rather than the dock gate by Holiday Inn.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Novotel+Southampton+Hotel,+1+W+Quay+Rd,+Southampton+SO15+1RA/50.9006813,-1.4145011/@50.902837,-1.4168302,683m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!4m8!1m5!1m1!1s0x487476bbedfad35b:0x83cdca5717d3667e!2m2!1d-1.415272!2d50.905611!1m0!3e2

Use the traffic lights to help you across busy West Quay Road.

Inside the docks some of the route doesn't have a separate sidewalk, just a yellow line between you & the traffic. But safe enough if you keep to the edge.

 

JB :)

Thanks, J Bull!

We always vote for the Premier Inn (West Quay) in these type of Threads.

Stayed at so many hotels throughout the U.K and Southampton. Premier Inn always been a great hotel. Modern (basic), clean and well priced. West Quay, good location close to Terminal(s).

And there is a little tip for beating the ques of cruises taking taxis. We phone from the lobby and ask for a pick up from the back (door on other side of Lobby). Everyone's always at the front of the Hotel, no-one thinks (or knows) about the back entrance and drive way. However the local drivers know, and they're there straight away to take us away...:)

We've stayed at the Grand Harbour three times, and we've always had large clean well decorated rooms, good service, and a delicious breakfast. We wouldn't stay anywhere else. We had a terrible experience at the Holiday Inn a few years ago including a headboard that wasn't attached to bed, and it fell on dh's newly replaced shoulder.

My cousin and her dh stayed at the Premier Inn and were happy with it.

We had a terrible experience at the Holiday Inn a few years ago including a headboard that wasn't attached to bed, and it fell on dh's newly replaced shoulder.

Just to reassure those booked at Holiday Inn, last spring the place had a long-overdue multi-million-pound re-furb.

Which hopefully included firmly nailing headboards to the wall ;)

JB :)

Just to reassure those booked at Holiday Inn, last spring the place had a long-overdue multi-million-pound re-furb.

Which hopefully included firmly nailing headboards to the wall ;)

 

JB :)

Glad to hear that. The hotel has a great location, and I'm glad they put some $$ into it.

Just to reassure those booked at Holiday Inn, last spring the place had a long-overdue multi-million-pound re-furb.

Which hopefully included firmly nailing headboards to the wall ;)

 

JB :)

Why does that bring up an instant image of Basil Fawlty?

Why does that bring up an instant image of Basil Fawlty?

I know nooothing.

I am from Barcelona

JB :D

Stayed in Ennios last June and really enjoyed it. Didn't eat there but it was so close to the port we ended up cancelling the taxi we had booked for the next morning and walked for 5 mins so it was perfect and we would stay again.

We usually stay at the Holiday Inn and have never had any complaints. We stayed during the renovations and, apart from the lack of a decent dining room, it was still ok. However, OH had always fancied the look of the Grand Harbour, so we tried it for our last cruise. We were distinctly underwhelmed. The public rooms are very nice but you need to book a higher priced room if you want a view, whereas the Holiday Inn isn't surrounded by other buildings so most of their rooms have a reasonable outlook. The room itself was quite pleasant but hadn't been checked thoroughly; the previous guest had left the room safe wide open but locked. We didn't want a full meal, just bar snacks, but the bar menu was very boring, so we went across to the Holiday Inn to eat anyway. The Reception staff at the Grand Harbour were very pleasant and efficient, but the dining room service for the very run-of-the-mill breakfast was appalling. I went to get fruit juice and found an irritated guest there who said she'd been waiting for nearly 5 mins for staff to bring fresh glasses as they had run out. After a minute or so, I approached a waitress who said she would see what was happening. She returned eventually to say that glasses were on their way. By then, the other guest had got fed up and gone, but more people had arrived. I waited another couple of minutes, but no-one appeared, so I never got my juice. Not what I expect in a 4 star hotel. Needless to say, we've booked the Holiday Inn for our next cruise.