UK Blog Post: Southhampton Needs to Spruce Up

[LauraS]

What does it say to you about Southampton’s appeal as a pre- or post-cruise destination that the top ranking hotel on TripAdvisor is not a place down on the city’s quite lovely waterfront – but the Premier Inn Southampton Airport? Clearly Southampton wins, hands down, when it comes to be the U.K.’s busiest home port. [...]

 

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[John Bull]

What does it say to you about Southampton’s appeal as a pre- or post-cruise destination that the top ranking hotel on TripAdvisor is not a place down on the city’s quite lovely waterfront – but the Premier Inn Southampton Airport? Clearly Southampton wins, hands down, when it comes to be the U.K.’s busiest home port. [...]

 

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Both the 5-star de Vere Grand Harbour and Holiday Inn (Herbert Walker Ave) are tired, yes I think almost certainly this is because they feel they don't need to try too hard because of their position - Holiday Inn because of its views & its location right by the City Cruise Terminal, Grand Harbour because of its views and convenient location opposite Holiday Inn & the fact that its the only largish 5-star in the city. Yet Holiday Inn is by far THE most popular city hotel for cruisers, despite its dated '70s appearance.

 

But the other city hotels, both the clones and the independents, are up to the mark and as good as elsewhere in the country for their price range.

 

Southampton has never been a tourist city, it'd be very unfair to compare its hotels to Barcelona. Visitors are nearly all one-niters on cruises, or business visitors.

 

Where Southampton scores well for hotels, though not with cruisers, is in its hinterland. There's a wealth of excellent & highly-rated 4 & 5 star country house hotels within a dozen miles. The New Forest. The Meon Valley. The Test Valley. The Hampshire Downs. Great bases for get-away-from-it-all or for touring by car. But they're inconvenient without a car or for one-nite cruisers - and those cruisers who have a few days pre/post cruise naturally tend to gravitate to London or the Cotswolds or other sight-seeing places.

 

Does Southampton need to spruce-up?

Certainly not.

 

Do Holiday Inn & De Vere Grand Harbour need to spruce-up?

Certainly they ought to, but sadly they don't need to.

 

John Bull