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Hotels Southampton


patrinka
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I know this has been asked and I am getting mixed reviews.

Which would you reserve for a 1 night stay in Southampton - Jurys Inn, Mercure Centre Dolphin or Holiday Inn? There are good and bad reviews for all of them.

This will be for next June so if renovations are scheduled before that which would improve the hotel then please advise.

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A new hotel is opening in Southampton next month in the Ocean Village, close to the port, and it looks to be one of the nicer hotels the city will have. The luxury Southampton Harbor Hotel's design resembles an ocean liner, and the introductory rates are not too bad. We booked a few pre-cruise nights in June 2018, as well and are looking forward to our stay.

 

Southampton Harbour Hotel & Spa, 5 Maritime Walk, Ocean Village, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3QT

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  • 2 weeks later...

We just returned from a cruise out of Southampton and stayed at the Holiday Inn on Herbert Walker the night before sailing. The hotel is nice, clean and pleasant. It is not a 5 star hotel but a very good location and price. There is a lot within walking distance. We were able to walk through the port gate to reach the ship the next morning. We had maybe a 5 minute walk at most. I certainly recommend the hotel.

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Jury's Inn has the poorest location of the three.

It's in the centre of a road gyratory system, though only a small proportion of guests are killed by the traffic when they attempt to cross ;)

It's only a short walk across a park to the city centre, but it's the opposite side of the centre from the cruise terminals.

I've not stayed there but have attended functions and the hotel is rather too bland and "corporate" for me, though I believe rooms are a decent size and well-equipped.

 

Mercure Dolphin is the opposite end of the spectrum.

A well-known & historic coaching inn, oozing with Englishness. But history comes with its penalties - rooms of varying sizes, sloping floors, rabbit-warren corridors, and some noise from the High Street at the front. Some rooms are in the former stable block.

It's in the bottom part of the main street in the old-town area between the Bargate (the original northern entrance to the old walled city) and the Water Gate, at the southern end close to the waterfront. Very handy to the city's few old-town sights, the main shops & malls, and a 5 min walk to the waterfront. Walkable to Ocean cruise terminal (Carnival brands).

 

Holiday Inn (in Herbert Walker Avenue, not the city's two HI Express's which are out on the city limits) is adjacent to City cruise terminal (RCI, Celebrity, NCL & others). Rooms at the front look down Southampton Water, rooms at the back look over the terminal, berth and ship, making the HI very popular amongst those cruising from that terminal. Walkable to Ocean cruise terminal, and also handy to the main mall (West Quay Mall) & restaurants, with the Bargate & main shopping street beyond. And no more than ten minutes from the old-town sights, pubs & eateries.

The building is (IMHO) quite a bland and ugly box typical of the 1970's, but the public rooms got a long overdue make-over a couple of years back.

 

There are plenty of other hotels handy to the city & docks, ranging from modern budget hotels like Etap through Premier Inn & Novotel to the Grand Harbour, or boutiques like Pig-in-the-Wall, Ennios & White Star Rooms.

But if you've narrowed your choice down to three, I can help by narrowing it down to two - Dolphin or HI, depending what you want from a hotel.

 

JB :)

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Jury's Inn has the poorest location of the three.

It's in the centre of a road gyratory system, though only a small proportion of guests are killed by the traffic when they attempt to cross ;)

 

 

JB :)

 

JB

I love your sense of humor, and have been using your advice for years. When traveling, we prefer not to stay in chain hotels, rather get more of a local experience. What do you think bout the Elizabeth House Hotel in Southampton?

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JB

I love your sense of humor, and have been using your advice for years. When traveling, we prefer not to stay in chain hotels, rather get more of a local experience. What do you think bout the Elizabeth House Hotel in Southampton?

 

Sorry, don't know it personally but it has good reputation, I get the impression its more of a large guest-house than hotel.

It's not very convenient - a 15 minute walk north from the Civic Centre, which is at the northern end of the main city centre.

Mebbe 10 minutes less-convenient than Jury's Inn.

 

JB :)

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We stayed at The Pig in the Wall and loved it. They have two. We stayed at the one close to the cruise terminal. It's a boutique hotel. Very nice. Great service. We look forward to going back someday.

 

That one's actually built into the city wall :cool:, just a 5-10 minute walk from City and Ocean Cruise Terminals..

 

As a FYI, the other Pig-in-the-Wall is in the New Forest.

Nowhere near the cruise terminals.

And come to think of it, nowhere near a wall either :D

 

JB :)

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Any thoughts about the Doubletree? I know it's not close to the cruise terminal, but they do have a shuttle to the pier.

 

 

There are two Hilton hotels in the city, I don 't which or either or both have been put under the Doubletree label.

 

The one at Chilworth, on the northern outskirts, is well-established & IMHO quite attractive - low-rise and bounded by woodlands (the M27 motorway is also close but out-of-sight & apparently not noisy). I've never been beyond the reception area.

Yes, they have a shuttle to the pier (I know that because they offer parking+transfer deals, though quite expensive).

But there's not even a pub or a shop within walking distance.

 

The other is on city's north-eastern limits at the Ageas Bowl, the county cricket ground which also hosts concerts and such. Rooms on one side overlook the ground & each has a large terrace - I always wondered whether the hotel room prices shoot up when there's international cricket or a famous music star or fireworks nights at the Bowl.

The hotel opened about 3 years ago, I've attended a couple of functions there & didn't like the place. IMHO gaunt, ugly, lacking in charm or character but with a few pointless architectural peculiarities. I took a sneak look at a room or two - again no character or warmth about them, but big and well-appointed. Went to a charity dinner/dance there just a week ago - service was poor, food was OK, the bar staff were clueless and made up the prices as they went along. And the most expensive bar I've experienced outside London.

Also a bit remote, a ten minute walk to local shops & 20 mins to the nearest pub.

 

But mine is just one opinion.

 

JB :)

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Sorry, don't know it personally but it has good reputation, I get the impression its more of a large guest-house than hotel.

It's not very convenient - a 15 minute walk north from the Civic Centre, which is at the northern end of the main city centre.

Mebbe 10 minutes less-convenient than Jury's Inn.

 

JB :)

 

We have a car and I liked the reviews, so we booked the Elizabeth House Hotel.

PS--I am the one that mentioned we were staying in "Winterspoon" before Southampton a while back. HAHA--"Winterslow"

Thank you for your inputs!

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We just returned from a cruise out of Southampton and stayed at the Holiday Inn on Herbert Walker the night before sailing. The hotel is nice, clean and pleasant. It is not a 5 star hotel but a very good location and price. There is a lot within walking distance. We were able to walk through the port gate to reach the ship the next morning. We had maybe a 5 minute walk at most. I certainly recommend the hotel.

 

What cruise line's dock were you using? We're looking for something close to Royal Caribbean's dock.

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There are two Hilton hotels in the city, I don 't which or either or both have been put under the Doubletree label.

 

The one at Chilworth, on the northern outskirts, is well-established & IMHO quite attractive - low-rise and bounded by woodlands (the M27 motorway is also close but out-of-sight & apparently not noisy). I've never been beyond the reception area.

Yes, they have a shuttle to the pier (I know that because they offer parking+transfer deals, though quite expensive).

But there's not even a pub or a shop within walking distance.

 

 

 

JB :)

 

Thanks for the info.

 

 

We're staying at the one in Chilton, using points. Well, at least they have a restaurant & bar on premises.

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What cruise line's dock were you using? We're looking for something close to Royal Caribbean's dock.

 

Royal Caribbean use City Cruise Terminal - that's the one right by Hol Inn.:)

Also walkable are Premier Inn West Quay, Grand Harbour Hotel, Pig-in-the-Wall and Ennio's.

All are also easily walkable to the West Quay Mall & the main shopping street behind (Above Bar St) and the city's few ld-town sights.

 

JB :)

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How about Princess? Is their terminal close to the Holiday Inn?? Thanks so much.

 

They normally use two cruise terminals'

Ocean terminal (berth 46) is only about a ten minute walk, very easy on flat ground along the waterfront. The majority of Princess ships use this terminal

Mayflower terminal (berth 105/6) - if you walk thro the docks past City terminal it's about a 20 minute walk, all within the docks & all flat ground. Boring & featureless, a docks road surrounded by industrial buildings, further than it looks & not along the waterfront. Not difficult but I'd be inclined to take a short taxi hop.. The complex of Ibis, Ibis+ and Novotel hotels opposite the rail station are a shade closer but still worth a taxi ride, so don't choose a hotel for its proximity to Mayflower terminal

 

http://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/live_information/shipping_movements_and_cruise_ship_schedule/cruise_ship_schedule/

(Princess schedule for 2018 not yet posted)

 

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_map.htm

 

JB :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Can anyone give me some information about the Premier Inn Cumberland Place? It looks like it is near the West Quay shopping mall but I know that the Premier Inn West Quay is next to it, so are they close together? I was researching Premier Inn West Quay for next summer and it said it is fully booked already. The Premier Inn Cumberland Place seems to be the next closest Premier Inn to the port. The page I was looking at said it was too new to have any reviews so I’m just trying to get information about it. Thanks for anything you can tell me.

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Premier Inn have just built a new hotel in Cumberland Place and it seems it is due to open this autumn. Here is a news article from last year:

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/14651730.Get_a_glimpse_of_the_vision_for_a_new_146_bed_hotel_in_Southampton/

 

http://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/hampshire/southampton/southampton-cumberland-place.html

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We also stayed at the Holiday Inn. As others said, it's not exciting or pretty from the outside, but the rooms were large, big floor to ceiling windows, nice and roomy for the 3 of us. It also had a good price for the one night we were staying there. Considering we only really needed a place to crash, as we knew we'd be exhausted from the long, overnight flight, we didn't want/need anything fancy. And yes, it's within 10-15 minutes walking distance of the shopping mall, lots of restaurants, etc... And 5 minute walk to the dock!

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