Mercure Southampton Centre Dolphin Hotel 4 stars

nice building but cobwebs everywhere, very basic and looks worn furniture, but a good bathroom. Breakfast not freshly cooked.

Stayed at hotel many times due to location. Room 110 was old and disappointing with cobwebs on ceiling and no hoovering around or under bed. Restaurant even more disappointing, greatly reduced menu choice and not well cooked. Normally the food has been excellent.

Fine, although you suffered a technical outage, it was sorted fairly quickly. And even though we was assigned a room that was already allocated to another party, this was resolved efficiently and we received an upgrade to our room.

We have stayed here on a number of occasions in recent years and the hotel is definitely in need of some refurbishment. We booked a privilege room (Oceana) from Friday 1st October until Monday 4th October and was very disappointed. The stairs to the room were dirty and had not been cleaned for some time. The room itself was not brilliant, the carpet was stained and the chair by the table was frayed and shabby. There were no enhanced toiletries in the bathroom and no complementary soft drinks or water in the fridge. There was no complementary newspaper either and according to reception, this has been the case for a couple of years so your guest information is out of date. The shower In the bath could not be located in the wall mounted bracket as the bracket required fixing properly to the wall and there was no rubber ‘o’ ring between the shower head and hose resulting in more water coming out of the connection than the shower head itself (it was not possible to get this fixed as maintenance did not work over the weekend). We asked for our room to be cleaned (we sent the request to housekeeping via the WhatsApp messaging service and the night manager also requested it) but the room had not been cleaned when we returned to the room on the Saturday afternoon, so we had to make the bed ourselves. It was also not cleaned the following day and we had to chase up housekeeping via reception (and obtain replacement toiletries). All in all, not a very good experience considering the cost. On a positive note, the night manager (Nav/Van?) went out of his way to accommodate our requests and deal with our complaints, but the gentleman was under a lot of pressure and did not seem to have a minute to himself. Also, the staff in the restaurant at breakfast were very pleasant and accommodating. Unfortunately however, after this particular experience, I don’t think we shall be staying at the Mercure Dolphin again.

This was the third time I have stayed at this hotel this year and will more than likely be my last. The room we was given was supposed to be a privilege room however was absolutely tiny doesn’t look anything the photos online at all so very misleading and probably illegal. No coffee machine in room or slippers or robes. The communal stairs, hallway and landing hadn’t looked like it at been hoovered in months disgusting and same goes for our room carpet. Rubbish still in bathroom bin from before and an opened pepsi can in the fridge. Reception staff tried to lighten the mood but failed with stupid jokes and saying you get a better room first come first served. The fire alarm went off 4 times first being 11:30pm then at 8am, 9:40 and I believe around 10:15am told it was because someone was taking a bath. I mean seriously that’s a joke right. Overall very disappointed and not worth the £129

Had dolphin hotel booked for our weeding night, 02/10/2021. Rang up on the 14/09/2021 at 17.24pm and was on the phone for 5 minutes talking to somebody about getting early check in so that my husband and his grooms men could get ready in the room. Was very happy as got told this wouldn’t be a problem and then they would be able to check in from 12. He would Put a note on the room for it to be ready in time and also for somebody to check on it after 3pm to ensure they had left the room in an ok standard for when I return in the evening. I thought this was very lovely of the hotel to do and was very pleased with this. However, on the day when my partner turned up to check in, he was refused early check in and told that no one could get early check in. That the had rung me and spoke to me the day before to tell me we couldn’t have early check in which is a complete lie as no one had spoke to me. Then showed my partner to a disabled toilet and told him he could get changed in there for our wedding!! Absolute disgusting and can’t believe a hotel would treat their guests like this. Why tell me in the first place that he could get in the room from 12 if you never do early check in. I will never recommend this hotel to anyone. What a way to spend your time before getting married! There was also no hot water in the room, so I couldn’t have a shower after a long day. It came out luke warm. The tv did not work, just said no signal. Was all very disappointing and wish we had never chosen it for our wedding night

Great position but room was tired and drab. Plumbing needs looking at as toilet was constantly running water plus the bath plug had to be removed with a teaspoon. The smell of breakfast wafting up the stairway was super inviting. The smell was just the start of a fantastic breakfast. Attentive staff and nice breakfast ambiance.

Overall I would this hotel has seen better days. 4 star is a joke, 2 at the best. Rooms are not cleaned every day, carpets are dirty, safe is on the ,to use it you have to go on your hands and knees. No info in the room about the location out and about, 1 teabag, no sugar, as the rooms are not cleaned every day they don't get replenished, No beer in the bar. Reception keeps charging £5 per day not knowing if there was any spaces left and often they were all full. NEVER AGAIN.

The room was comfortable but there was some issues with maintenance.

The hotel is well located We paid for 2 nights in a privilege room - to include robes - complimentary soft drinks - newspapers (none of these were included ) when asked in reception for drinks and the towels to be changed - nothing happened The tea tray consisted of dust - It had not been cleaned -and the mugs were dirty - in Covid days I would have thought all mugs would be collected and put through a hot wash Good point the bedding was clean - we were supposed to be given a welcome pack that explained the room was not cleaned daily and towels changed. I know these are bad times but I feel the hotel was not Covid ready and had not been deep cleaned. We have stayed at Mercure hotels and they have been excellent - this one lets the name down

No body in reception went into restaurant a few tables with dirty dishes left on the tables. Stairs and corridors not been vacuumed were dirty. No staff about had to find way to kitchen for someone to serve at the bar other people came in sat down in the bar no one to serve them so they left

Rooms are a bit dated with my room had gaps in windows and very cold

Pleasant stay in a well located area. Would stay again. The weather was terrible one of the nights we stayed which created a funny banging sound outside the window which resulted in little sleep. :(

We have stayed at the Dolphin most years in the past 10. It is in a great location and they used to offer a fantastic cruise package; with a hearty welcome, complimentary drinks and canapes, evening dinner, bed and breakfast, together with parking for the duration of your cruise plus a cab to and from the Port and all for a really competitive price. Over the years there have been minor changes (reductions) to the cruise package, but the service and price remained fairly consistent. Last year we booked our usual package, but the pandemic unfortunately halted cruising almost overnight. This year when we could first cruise again, after a great deal of difficulty trying to communicate with the hotel, we booked a couple of rooms. Just bed and breakfast for one night this time as we had on-port parking included with our cruise. Price was well hiked from what we expected, apparently the cause was the Boat Show in its second week. Our welcome was frosty from a guy (manager ?) who approached us on arrival in the car park, saying, 'you cant park here!'. Room wasn't ready and we had to wait outside for well over an hour. For the enhanced cost, the rooms were very tired - decor (marked and chipped paintwork), poor cleanliness (lots of dust and cobwebs around room), maintenance lacking (door lock seemed incomplete and worked intermittently; light bulbs blown; worst was shower with no control knobs or head adjustment), facilities poor (eg no biscuits etc with tea/coffee tray). Also, the breakfast was appalling for the cost - very limited choice, overcooked hot food with some items quite inedible. All-in-all, especially with the enhanced cost, the overall experience was so disappointing and did not meet any of our expectations. Mentioned of all this to the manager(?) on check-out; the response was quite blasé, 'yes I know, we are trying to improve!' Shame, but we cannot recommend this hotel in its current standard and will look for some alternative in future. We are also surprised that as part of an international chain (Accor) they don't seem to be held to any quality control inspections. On a more positive note, there is one staff member, a charismatic guy who has been there for many years, working in the restaurant and bar, who is friendly and always provides great customer service. Believe he may be retiring soon, if so that will be a great loss to the business.

The staff are very nice and helpful, but too few. I guess this is due to Brexit but more staff are required. The building is tawdry and the area for the car park particularly tatty. Our room was in the ‘new build’ which has no air-conditioning and up a narrow staircase reminiscent of house made into poorly divided flats, we not did see much of the main building but the bar was ok if decorated in rather gloomy colours. Overall, its ok but more the standard of a budget hotel that a four star. I would go back if I had no other option.