Novotel Southampton Hotel 4 stars

Great that the hotel stayed open during Covid to support front line workers. Still object that there’s a £10 per night hidden cost to parking. Further object to only 4 disabled spots for such a large hotel (albeit free for blue badge). Breakfast order wrong 2 out of 3 days and stone cold on last day… don’t use room service! On day 3 was informed I was using the wrong form and to stop using it… (1) reception said go to restaurant for form (2) restaurant gave me said form (3) both are wrong… insist on the room service form from reception! I continue to stay there as it stayed open allowing me to cover my front line duties… I know this will have cost the company money to do. I stay out of loyalty, not out of a quality experience

The hotel was spotless and the staff friendly. I paid for an executive room as a ‘treat’ however I felt I would have got more for my money in a budget hotel (nothing wrong with budget hotels). The room had no air conditioning and with the safety catches on the windows (which I know are standard for any hotel) barely cooled the room making it rather uncomfortable to sleep. There was a hole in the plaster in the ceiling and the room overall felt that it should have been at least a ‘basic’ rate room rather than ‘executive’. The restaurant, although serving a limited menu due to COVID which is perfectly understandable had all of around 3 options and really tried hard to make it sound ‘fancy’ when in reality it was just basic meals you would expect from anywhere. I will say however that the breakfast was really good it was a good spread so to speak. All in all I would say my stay in the hotel was adequate and the staff were excellent although the room was stupidly overpriced and uncomfortable for an ‘executive’ room. I probably won’t be returning purely on the fact I feel that I can get better value for money elsewhere

We stayed for one night with our three-year-old. The whole reason for booking this particular hotel was the pool. On arrival we were told that 20 min pool slots had to be booked in advance (there was no mention of this when I booked) and it was fully booked that day. By sheer chance, as we were checking in there was a last minute cancellation for the next session (in 5 mins time) so we rushed and were able to have 15 mins in the pool. Otherwise we would have a VERY disappointed toddler to deal with. The room was a good size and clean but it was SO hot! And the windows wouldn't open because the sofa-bed was in the way. Both my husband and I found the bed to be EXTREMELY hard and we both had backache in the morning. Breakfast was lovely - well organised and a good selection.

This H. is not up to Novotel standard. From the outset devotion were rude and uninterested in making check in/smooth. The room was in a disgusting state, carpets were stained, furniture tired and worn out, paper cups and a zip lock bag contains some very basic provisions (aware this is a covid measure but for £80 per night this could be better presented at least). The toilet was separate to the sink/shower and all light switches were placed in odd areas. There is no air conditioning and you cannot open the windows as it’s too noisy (again aware near a port but also the police station which meant constant sirens). I was left standing for ages to be seated although restaurant staff were friendly at least. My advice - avoid at all cost. This H. is in desperate need of renovations in all areas. It felt like a hostel.

No one knows what they are doing. Answers are always “I’m new”, “I’ve been here 7 days”. It took over 5 days for them to adjust figure out how to print out laundry slips. Breakfast was just okay. No centralized air and you need a fan that the hotel will provide. Spotty on the cleaning. Awkward windows that you just can’t keep open. List goes on.

Very slow check in, couldn’t find my booking. I had to show I’d booked an executive booking. I did the pre check in online so I hoped that it wouldn’t take 20 minutes stood in reception. Went to room, was given WhatsApp number which had a missing digit so had to go back to reception and get correct number. Next issue was there was no dressing gown, slippers, coffee machine or iPod docking station in the room. I paid £20 more for the bigger room with these extras and I had to ask where they were. I was then given a coffee machine and slippers by receptionist from another room. We found 4 black curly hairs in the bathroom and toilet. No guessing what there were. Highly visible in bath and on floor. Breakfast we had as room service. Given no butter, only Margerine. Half a cup of coffee. Luke warm breakfast. No brown sugar for coffee. We left feeling ripped off. I messaged the number to complain about hairs but had no answer.

We payed for an executive room this is what it said we would get "experience combining relaxation and focus. Our executive room treats you like a VIP: Free broadband internet, Nespresso coffee machine, Bose Ipod docking station, bathrobe, slippers and amenities and bottled water. Up to 4 people max 2 adultsve room However we didnt get anythink that was on the list of things in the room." all we got was 2 bottles of water we are not happy at all

Checked in at 3, left at 9 am next morning. Need to get an early train and I was staying near Worthing.

I was very disappointed with our stay. I was not informed that there was a £10 parking charge when I booked. The room was advertised with air conditioning but there wasn't any and the room was hot and stuffy. We paid an additional £20 plus for breakfast and it was awful, the toast was like bread and we receied a tiny full English breakfast. With covid restrictions the buffet section is closed but this should not be an excuse for saving money and providing guests with a tiny breakfast.

i wasn't expecting much for a budget stay however a series of issues made it unpleasting -Swimming slot booked in was not saved for our stay (my daughter was looking forward to this and was in tears... she never wants to stay at a Novotel again!) -During check-in another receptionist was have a social conversation with the person checking my family in -The receptionist dealing with me said he just had his jab and was not 'with-it' -could not control heating. It was a hot, humid and horrendous sleep -room was dusty -part of the overflow in bath tub was broken

This stay was meant to be a treat for us after 18 months of staying at home. We specifically chose to return to Novotel because of the pool. I called the hotel several days before and booked our pool slot for 6.30pm on the day of our arrival. On checking in, the friendly receptionist couldn’t find our booking and asked me to sit and wait whilst she consulted a more senior colleague. He arrived but blatantly ignored her request for his help for the next 20 minutes (despite standing less than 2 metres away from her). It was unbelievably rude. I can only think they had had a falling out. Super unprofessional. When he finally acknowledged her he called me over and found my booking straight away but was very, very surly. He did a offer a room upgrade which was appreciated. I then asked them to check my pool booking and the person who had taken my call had booked it for the wrong day. It was fully booked for any times we could do so we were unable to use it. The staff member’s attitude was bored, disinterested and surly with no eye contact and no apologies for being kept waiting or messing up the pool booking. The room was very, very hot and very noisy so we got little sleep. All in all an utter waste of money and a very disappointing end to something we had been really looking forward to. The only positive was the friendly and helpful staff in the bar. Sadly that two minute interaction wasn’t enough to make up for a wholly messed up stay.

The hotel is situated near the town centre and shopping centre. There is a swimming pool which can only be used by rooms at the same time so when you book the swimming pool which is free you get it for yourself and the people that are with you at the hotel. The staff were very friendly and always there when we needed or had any issues. The only thing we didn’t try was the food at the hotel because we found it to be more expensive. However the shops are less than 10 minutes walking to all different types of restaurante convincente stores, clothes shops etc. Very good experience overall

We had two rooms, 409 & 411. The rooms were both dirty, with unhoovered debris under the beds, stains on the carpet in 409 by the window and a ripped carpet under the sofa bed. I don’t think the rooms had been properly cleaned or hoovered in months looking at the state if the carpets under the sofa bed. I know hotels can be well worn but this is one of the worst I’ve stayed in. An unclean room in Covid times is not comforting in any way, and not the standards of our experience of Novotel.

Arrived at a booked stay at Ibis, this hotel was closed and was transferred to the Novotel opposite. The reception was helpful and polite. Room was dated but clean, however was very cold despite heating. Lost loyalty stay due to swap - frustrating.

My room was spotlessly clean, spacious with a very comfortable settee which I later realised was a bed setter. I had an excellent night’s sleep on the best mattress I have ever encountered in an hotel. The shower was also excellent. There was a generous selection of teas and coffee available and, for the first time ever in my experience of an hotel small cartons of fresh semi-skimmed milk. In the past I have been a frequent user of Ibis hotels but on this occasion due to reduced numbers as a result of Covid all Accor guests were accommodated in the Novatel. In the light if my experience here my next bookings will definitely be with Novatel.