More about Hilton Southampton
What did you expect, the Hilton?
by TripAdvisor Member MrSoft
Not one of the better Hiltons out there. Prompt check-in, after quoting my Hilton Honors number I was miraculously upgraded to a "deluxe" room. Nice one! I got to the room. Positives, it was big. It had a sofa. Not comfy but better than sitting on the bed.
Loads of cupboards, cabinets and drawers. Which one has a cold drink in it? None of them. No minibar. Isn't it funny, I know they're a total rip-off, but it's always somehow depressing when your room doesn't have one. Never mind. And it's hot in here, where's the air conditioning? There isn't any!
Furniture solid, chunky, ancient, stained/chipped/cracked you name it. It's a room, and somewhere to sleep but zero of anything else whatsoever to say "I'm in a Hilton".
Rather more worrying was the state of the bathroom which really wasn't cleaned properly, very un-Hilton. The cheapest bog roll known to man. How much longer can Hilton do this to their brand.
I would say that staffing is a bit of a problem. Young kids slouching around. English kids for once. Went to the bar for a drink, no-one serving. Bar top absolutely filthy, and I mean filthy, half-cleared plates stacked up, sticky beer stains everywhere you leant on, mess mess mess and nobody there. The same Mr Nobody greeted us for breakfast, and after 10 chaps stood in a queue for 5 minutes we gave up and just sat down.
Breakfast 10 out of 10. Great choice, good quality, even a chef hanging around if you wanted something special.
Overall verdict : OK does the job. There is no reason to go here rather than any of the other bog standard local / airport hotels, you may as well go to the Premier Inn.
Depressing
by TripAdvisor Member elena2
On the hottest day of a very hot year, all I really wanted was a bit of air conditioning. And to have a leisurely dip in the pool. And to refrigerate the salads I had brought from town (having stayed here before I knew not to expect much from the catering). And for my 17-month-old daughter to get a decent night's sleep. And for my husband and I to get a decent night's sleep. Not too much to ask of a Hilton, surely? For the rate they charged us (£149), I would have expected nothing less. But no. No air conditioning, no mini bar, a window that only opened a crack, mold on the ceiling in the bathroom, a two-hour wait for the travel cot for my daughter, a treacherous descent into the hotel puddle - all that and a £3 charge for the pleasure of parking in the hotel carpark. When I reserved the room I was told that I would get the standard 15% discount for my LivingWell membership, but the checkout staff wouldn't allow it. A shocking rip-off.
This should not have the Hilton name
by TripAdvisor Member BigApple1
We selected this hotel because we were leaving the next day for a cruise out of Southampton. We called Hilton's 800 number and they told us that the hotel had free transfers to the port and to the town. Upon arriving at the hotel they said this was not true. We spent nearly $100 in cab fares to and from the town for dinner and then to the port the next day.
The room was adequate, however the ceiling was filled with spiders and cobwebs. No air conditioning and no minibar or fridge.
The staff was very polite but unsympathetic to our complaints.
Something resembling black mould round the bath did it for me
by TripAdvisor Member r46fy4hf03ndg3t
This was the very first Hilton I've stayed at in my life booked as part of an English Heritage weekend. The guides and holiday organisation of English Heritage was very good but this hotel was disappointing.
Take care to tick the correct boxes on the form at check in otherwise you may find yourself signing up to junk mail bombardment. The small print is VERY small.
The room itself was plain by any standards, but chipped furniture and something resembling black mould around the bath (photographic evidence taken) did it for me.
On arrival every available surface in the room was covered with booklets or "A board" advertising all of which I shoved in a drawer, twice because the room staff chose to not take the hint and laid it out again. Even info provided in the booklets about the hotel's facilities such as the pool missed out some useful facts such as the need to take change for the lockers.
Reception staff were sometimes helpful with occasional lapses.
The 10/15 minute queue for breakfast was unexpected - but the food was fine and the service there friendly.
The whole hotel is covered in a wooden type frame supposedly an architectural feature - but it looked like scafolding to me. Ineed my local Tesco is more architecturally pleasing in my eyes.
I won't be returning.
Good base for the New Forest
by TripAdvisor Member MsTraveller
We have stayed at Hilton hotels before and this one was average compared to the others. We printed the directions directly from the Hilton website but they only took you to the M27 rather than the hotel. We phoned in 5 times but the phone rang off.
Thye room was clean and tidy and they gave us chocolates and a bottle of wine every day which was a nice touch. I always enjoy using the bath robes too.
The food was average and the overall service was average too. Luckily, we got a special offer for the weekend otherwise I would have been disappointed if we had paid full price.
The location was good for the New Forest but you do need a car to get about from the hotel - there are no pubs and restaurants within a short walk away so you are tied to the hotel if you don't drive or if you don't want to drive!
Never felt so upset!!
by TripAdvisor Member DGuite
I have stayed in many hotels but this one is very bad. I had to wait for check in after a long journey. The lady in Reception was very rude and told me to wait for a room till 3. She did not bother to explain and store my luggage or let me know if I can use the facilities. Later on the Manager came and saw us sitting with the suitcases and offered help and and apologised for the delay (Reception never said sorry! I know check in time is at 3!) The Manager came back to us later and told us we could do check in.
The dinner was horrible. I do not know who manages the Kitchen but that was not right for a restaurant and we were in a Hilton. They brought the vegetables 10 minutes later!! They were pretty busy and there were some guests complaining about the food. (one lady said "sorry we are very busy") They do not manage well. It was such a mess.
The waiters were talking about the weekend and two of them were having an argument about work.
The health club was fine, but they need to make a bigger swimming pool. It is simply too small.
On check out the young English receptionist was very polite and when we told him some suggestions after listening he called his Manager before we paid. The Manager came (the same Italian/Spanish guy as on the previous day, did he have a rest?) and he asked us to have a seat and discuss through it. He took notes and felt very sorry. After checking with the restaurant he came to us and decided to make some discount. We had 3 rooms booked that day. I understand mistakes happen... but I thought the Restaurant might be a little faster and the chef needs to change the whole ktichen or staff!
The French (?) waiter was very polite.
We will not come back but we feel sorry for the staff who helped when we left. They were really great. The Hotel should have more staff like them in every department. Ben from the health club was very good. I do not remember the rest of names. My friends think the same. In France Hiltons are up to the standards!
Good luck if you go there!
Make your own mind up
by TripAdvisor Member anniewChessington
We have just returned from a two night stay, although slightly dubious about it due to previous reviews. We were pleasantly surprised to find that most of the complaints were unfounded. The staff were pleasant & helpful, our room was lovely with bathrobes supplied & our special deal of a bottle of wine duly arrived along with fruit & chocolates. The same treats arrived on the second day as well!!
The breakfast was fab with everything you could want & more if you asked the chef. The dinner was a carvery, but you could opt for a la carte for a small increase.
The hotel isn't that difficult to find if you follow the directions carefully.
Overall we spent a very pleasant two days. We maybe easy to please, but I don't think so. Give it a try & you maybe as pleasantly surprised as we were.
Good Value
by TripAdvisor Member MoosegooseCheshire
Very friendly and helpful staff,comfortable deluxe room maintained to a good standard.
Breakfast very good but menu for inclusive dinner very limited in choice although buffet for starters and dessert on 2nd night of stay was a big improvement on limited choice on 1st night.Have stayed in Hiltons with far superior evening menus.Leisure club OK but changing rooms leave a lot to be desired but friendly staff compensated somewhat for this minor niggle.
Visiting for a weekends sailings off Lymington and although some distance from our venue it reprensented much better value for money than simliar establishments in the New Forest.Would have no hesitation in booking again
Good value if you get a cheap deal
by TripAdvisor Member Melbo77
We got a very good deal at £40 per night for a standard double room and stayed for a long weekend. Would have paid a little more than that, maybe £60 per night, but not £100's that it can sometimes cost. You do get the luxuries of a big room with desk, table & chairs and a dressing table, plus nice smellies in the bathroom, but it isn't anything special. It is advertised both on expedia and Hilton's website that the standard rooms have a PlayStation. Ours didn't, not that bothered as it would have only been played briefly for novelty value, but they shouldn't advertise it if it isn't there! We also didn't have a clock-radio on the first night, but a brand new one appeared the next day which had a lead to connect MP3 players which was useful.
There is a (very small) pool, gym, sauna and steam room which was nice for about an hour before you get bored! Was going to have dinner in the restuarant, but after seeing the very limited menu where main courses were £17 each, we decided to pay the extra to get a cab into town and go to a much cheaper restaurant. The restaurant was also very quiet and had no ambiance whatsoever. Our booking didn't include breakfast, and at over £10 each we didn't bother, so again went out to eat. Drinks at the bar are also very expensive.
The hotel is quite far away from anything, if you do not have a car or cannot afford to pay for taxis beware! The car park said it would cost residents £3 per day, but they didn't seem to charge us when we checked out, maybe we were just lucky!
Overall, nice if you can get a good deal, but i wouldn't pay full price for it. A lot of people think Hilton's are going to be amazing but many of them really aren't that special.
Another lovely stay
by TripAdvisor Member AndyMillman99
I stayed here again in April and very much enjoyed the experience. We checked in very late (gone 11pm) but we called and they held the room for us which was good as we had children and fuss would have been unwelcome.
We ate in the restaurant the first night and food was nice, nothing amazing, but there was a decent choice.
Reception were first class and the bar staff very friendly. It wasn't
busy so we had good talks to the staff about the area and their jobs and they were helpful and polite, and just normal people, not robots.
Would go again, definately.
Photos
Heading For The Shade!
Citylink Freebie Bus Heading Towards Rail Station
Old Walls, New Malls
Queen Mary II
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