Novotel Southampton Hotel 4 stars

I stayed with you with my 4-year old son and the main reason we picked the hotel was because of the pool. I've looked back over the confirmation and pre-arrival emails and can't see where it tells me I needed to pre-book a slot for this and by the time we arrived all slots were taken. Your colleague on reception was lovely and it wasn't her fault and by that point nothing could be done so pointless creating a fuss for something that can't be changed. She recommended a local pool however that was also at full capacity. On booking I asked about parking and any charges - I got no reply and was a bit shocked to be asked for £10 to park when I arrived - again by this point no choice but to go with it! The quality of the food and speed of service at breakfast was far short of any acceptable standard - bacon covered in white fat, a cold fried egg, cold toast with no butter and a sausage that was so hard it could have doubled as a torpedo. The room was comfortable enough but the lack of air con made it warm through the night.

Never knew when booking that the pool had to be booked there was no notification you had to so we missed out. The breakfast was awful booked for 8.30 didn't get seated until 9am when we had to choose what we wanted at desk before seating. Then we had a 30 minute wait for our food which was only 4 breakfasts. The staff were rude when we asked how much longer we had to wait. My partner was ignored when he asked. Considering we had our 3 yr old daughter with us the food wasn't worth the wait as we were wanting to get to peppa pig world for 10am. The beds were comfortable and the rooms clean.

We wasnt happy with how dirty the room was we had ants in the bed we didnt appreciate this for the room we stayed in we have never experianced this before… we have stayed at novotel for many times and havnt had this happen before i wuld like some sort of refund back from it as im not happy bout this.. other than this was ok

Our stay was great and staff were very helpful. The only downside of this hotel is that they do not have air conditioning in the rooms so we had to request a fan.

Found the room dated ,having stayed at the Coldra court in the same week . Yours rooms need some work dust in room and cup marks . Hall way the doors are marked

Cons: well located, newly decorated rooms, clean, firm bed, nice pool and gym, friendly reception staff Pros: paper cups, very small towels, dirty windows, no aircon in rooms and window opening limited

We were given a warm and friendly welcome at reception. It was explained that, due to Covid, the room would not be serviced daily, unless requested, but if we needed anything we just had to ask. When we requested extra toiletries we were given them at the reception. The service in the breakfast dining room was exceptional. Francesco and Aga could not have been more helpful. We were staying for three nights and I explained I had to have a gluten free diet, so I was provided with gluten free bread. On the second morning the chef came out and apologised profusely, because I couldn't have my bread toasted. They usually had a special toaster, which was kept for gluten free bread, but it had been used for normal bread and he said it would be dangerous to use it, for my bread, so he was going out to buy a toaster that day. The next day I had my bread toasted. We felt nothing was too much trouble for the delightful staff at this hotel.

In one word excellent

The room was ideal for 1 night. The pool to ourselves was amazing

Good stay only gripe was that no air con and the rooms were very hot.

Thank you for the happy birthday in our room for the twins birthday, booking the swimming was great and the gentleman who checked us in was lovely. Hotel was clean and tidy. Maybe slightly short staffed. Room was very hot but requested a tan and one was brought up.

I was greeted by a very helpful member of front desk staff, and checked in without issue after being moved from the ibis budget that I had originally booked. That is where the good bits end unfortunately. I had received no notice that my reservation had been moved to this hotel, when I got to the room, a single sofabed had been setup for my 10 month old to sleep in. I requested the bed be put away so we could use our own travel cot, which the staff did do, but the reception staff member I spoke with made it sound like a chore rather than the polite response I would have expected. The room itself was reasonably clean, but there were the following issues.. Room was too warm, with no working air con. Mirror had a crack in it. Used facemask was still in the room from previous guest behind the sofabed. Tea / Coffee etc was in a clear bag which had spilt sugar in it. Overall the room served its purpose for a one night stay, and as I had been upgraded from the ibis budget, I did not complain to reception staff as it was only a one night stay. I would advise looking at alternative hotels in Southampton if staying for more than one night.

The reason we chose this hotel was for the location being very close to the New forest also they allowed dogs to stay in your room .but being a dog friendly hotel dogs was only allowed in the lobby and the room no where else so for this is wasn't really dog friendly enough . I asked if we could sit in the bar to have breakfast away from the main restaurant and was told no the dog has to stay in our room . For an extra £10 a night to keep the dog on our room I would gave expected a bit more friendlyness. Breakfast : you have to tick of a sheet of breakfast items you want but I wouldn't bother as they never got it right always mixed.our orders up and breakfast came 1 hour later and still mixed up our orders. But the location was great . Rooms pretty decent and looking shower bathroom rooms .

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.