Acm. in Southampton

[Queensland Girl]

We will be arriving in Southampton lunch time on 30th August before embarking on Adventure of the Seas 31/8/14. Any suggestions on where to stay and what to do for the afternoon. Thanks:):)

[John Bull]

A précis of the main hotels convenient to the port & city centre, vaguely in order of proximity to City Cruise Terminal - but the furthest of these is only a £7 cab ride, and all are walkable to city centre & old-town :

 

Holiday Inn, Herbert Walker Ave. a rather dated 1970's building, some say it could do with a refurb, but very popular with cruisers because it's right by City Cruise Terminal (used by RCI amongst others). Rooms at the front look down Southampton Water, rooms at the rear look over the terminal & ship. Excellent breakfasts

(note the address, a couple of Hol Inn Express are on the city outskirts & inconvenient without a car).

Premier Inn West Quay. Quite new, again popular with cruisers, most convenient for a combination of city cruise terminal, shopping mall & centre, Nat Express coach station. Good breakfasts.

De Vere Grand Harbour. Also close to City Cruise Terminal, plus shopping mall/centre & the city's few historic sights. Under new independent management since spring of 2013.

Etap, Etap Plus, & Novotel. Share a site between rail station & coach station. Etap is the cheapest in town, Novotel is the best of those three.

Mercure Dolphin Hotel. Whereas most hotels are cloned modern buildings, the Dolphin is an old coaching inn. Refurbed a couple of years back, generally well-appreciated but does suffer from variable room sizes, rabbit-warren corridors, sloping floors etc associated with historic buildings. Right in the historic old-town quarter & close to the modern mall/shops. As a visitor from overseas it's where I'd stay - a bit of olde England.

Southampton Park Hotel. Traditional Brit 3-star hotel.

Jury's Inn. Modern multi-story hotel - in the centre of a roundabout though a high proportion of guests avoid being run over by traffic :D

Premier Inn City Centre (New Road). Railway line at the back, don't know if that's problematic.

Ennio's & White Star Rooms are boutique hotels.

For a useful little sketch map, google London Travellers Toolkit, click on Airport + Port, click on Southampton, click on Southampton Hotels (green box on right)

 

You don't quote where you're coming from, or your transport to Southampton - there may be convenient places, such as Salisbury/Stonehenge or Winchester, on your way to Southampton.

 

For your afternoon consider, in order of most hectic to most laid-back:

- Hourly trains to Bath. About 90 minutes, cost anywhere between £10 & £25 day-return, depending on time of travel.

- Half-hourly direct trains to the historic cathedral city of Salisbury, (journey tome 30 mins, about £10 day-return) & ho-ho from there to Stonehenge.

- Half-hourly direct trains to the naval & resort city of Portsmouth, journey time about 50 mins, cost about £10 day-return. Main attraction is the historic dockyard, but lots else of interest too.

- Take the little Hythe Ferry across Southampton Water to Hythe , then beach-bus or taxi across a little corner of the New Forest to Beaulieu - National Motor Museum, Abbey Ruins, Bishop's Palace, all in one complex.

- Frequent direct trains to the historic cathedral city of Winchester. About 15 minutes, £7 day-return.

No transport needed at any of these places, other than the Stonehenge ho-ho from Salisbury, & mebbe for Winchester a taxi hop back uphill from city to station.

 

Whilst you have no deadline to be back at your hotel, most visitor attractions close around 5 - 5.30. So before setting out, figure your arrival time at these places.

 

- Or just stay in Southampton & visit the city's few sights, including Sea City Museum & adjacent art gallery, Tudor House & Garden, Medieval Merchants House, Solent Sky air museum, Gods House (incorps archaeological museum), & walk the city walls. Solent Sky is a 20 min walk or taxi hop, all the others are walkable on a circular tour & never far from the shopping centre.

 

You can leave the city's sights to the next morning. Or with an early start you can go to Salisbury/Stonehenge or Winchester, but do check latest registration time for your ship.

 

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

 

http://www.thestonehengetour.info/

 

http://www.hytheferry.co.uk/

http://thebeachbus.info/

http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/

 

JB :)

[insidecabin]

Etap no longer exist they are now Ibis

 

Grand harbour is no longer a De Vere.

http://www.grandharbourhotel.co.uk/

 

 

one stop shop for Dolphin, Novotel, Ibis

http://www.accorhotels.com

 

for your date

 

£48 Dolphin

£42 Ibis Budget

£59 Ibis

£91 Novotel

 

http://www.premierinn.com

 

£66 west quay (they have deals so often down to £29)

 

we are trying this place next week

 

http://www.starhotel.co.uk/

 

£75

 

and this place looks interesting (walking to city terminal)

 

http://www.thepighotel.com/

[John Bull]

Etap no longer exist they are now Ibis

 

Grand harbour is no longer a De Vere.

http://www.grandharbourhotel.co.uk/

 

 

one stop shop for Dolphin, Novotel, Ibis

http://www.accorhotels.com

 

for your date

 

£48 Dolphin

£42 Ibis Budget

£59 Ibis

£91 Novotel

 

http://www.premierinn.com

 

£66 west quay (they have deals so often down to £29)

 

we are trying this place next week

 

http://www.starhotel.co.uk/

 

£75

 

and this place looks interesting (walking to city terminal)

 

http://www.thepighotel.com/

 

Dammit :o

- knew Ibis & Etap brands had merged but picked the wrong "new" name.:rolleyes:

- knew De Vere had sold-out Grand Harbour. Mentioned that it's " under new independent management since spring of 2013". But force of habit, I still called it De Vere..... :rolleyes:

- forgot about the Pig in the Wall - an interesting new hotel opened only a couple of months ago. Early days, but good reviews. Good location.

 

I avoid mentioning The Star Hotel, cos sad to say it's not highly regarded locally or on reviews - TripAdvisor ranked it plumb bottom!!

(Same applied to the Dolphin til Mercure took it over & spent some money on it a couple of years back.)

Hopefully you'll report back that the Star is very acceptable.

 

JB :)

[photom]

Dammit :o

- knew Ibis & Etap brands had merged but picked the wrong "new" name.:rolleyes:

- knew De Vere had sold-out Grand Harbour. Mentioned that it's " under new independent management since spring of 2013". But force of habit, I still called it De Vere..... :rolleyes:

- forgot about the Pig in the Wall - an interesting new hotel opened only a couple of months ago. Early days, but good reviews. Good location.

 

I avoid mentioning The Star Hotel, cos sad to say it's not highly regarded locally or on reviews - TripAdvisor ranked it plumb bottom!!

(Same applied to the Dolphin til Mercure took it over & spent some money on it a couple of years back.)

Hopefully you'll report back that the Star is very acceptable.

 

JB :)

John Bull,

Loved your comprehensive tour recommendations!!

We are spending 4 days pre-cruise in early November and have booked a B&B in Salisbury.

How would you modify your recommendations for this extended stay?

 

Thanks in advance. :)

[John Bull]

John Bull,

Loved your comprehensive tour recommendations!!

We are spending 4 days pre-cruise in early November and have booked a B&B in Salisbury.

How would you modify your recommendations for this extended stay?

 

Thanks in advance. :)

 

Is the B&B tolerably convenient to Salisbury rail station? The station is a 10 - 15 minute walk from the city centre.

 

Bath is well worth a full day. About 50 minutes away by train, hourly (or better) direct service, £17 day-return. Its rail station (Bath Spa) is in the town centre, all the sights are walkable & most of them clustered in the centre. Don't waste time or money on the ho-ho, it's not permitted in the narrow streets.

 

Sherborne is 40 minutes by direct hourly train, about £15. Again, all very walkable.

 

Exeter is on the same train line, about 2 hours. Most trains are direct but cheaper fares involve a change. Not a city I rate, but has its admirers.

 

Portsmouth is under 90 minutes, hourly or better, around £20. Train is direct, it goes via Southampton - it's the one you'd catch to get to the port if you went by train. Take it to the end of the line, Portsmouth Harbour, right by the historic dockyard & ships, Gunwharf Quays & Spinnaker Tower.

Google Portsmouth and Southsea, it's one conjoined city, plenty to see & do.

 

Winchester has many similarities to Salisbury, though perhaps livelier. Its cathedral is older. If Salisbury is your scene, Winchester will be too. By train you need to change at Southampton or Basingstoke.

 

If you're going to use the train a lot, check out the value of a Rail Card. A £30 card is available to the under 25's & over 60s (including visitors to the UK) & saves one-third on many fares.

http://www.railcard.co.uk/

Sit down with a calculator & a large coffee ;)

 

Wilton (Wilton House) is only about 5 miles from Salisbury, easy by bus or taxi.

Only worth an hour or two, the town has little to offer besides Wilton House & an outlet complex opposite, in the former famous Wilton carpet factory. Combine it into a "local" day.

 

Stonehenge of course. Ho-ho is easiest (there's no local bus service to Stonehenge), it picks up in Salisbury city centre as well as the rail station.

But there's not much to see at Stonehenge & its worth only about 90 minutes - total 2.5 hours including the ho-ho. Check ho-ho times, limited service in November.

The ho-ho also stops at Old Sarum, a hilltop earthworks & the site of the original Salisbury, then called Sarum. Also easy to reach by local bus if you don't use the ho-ho. Legend has it that when deciding where to build Salisbury (New Sarum), an archer fired an arrow from Old Sarum & the new city was built where the arrow landed. Great legend - though it overlooks the fact that the two are about two miles apart :D

But in November the weather may be against you, Old Sarum is very exposed.

 

And there's Salisbury itself of course. Impressive cathedral & small but quaint city centre around Blue Boar Row.

You can very easily cover Salisbury & Stonehenge in a day.

 

These & many more options if you rent a car.

Or mebbe consider a car & driver for one day. Perhaps tour of the Dorset towns, villages & Downs, including Sherborne, Shaftesbury, & Cranborne Chase. And a corner of the New Forest (New Forest ho-ho is summer-only).

Or that car for Salisbury Plain, Marlborough, Silbury Hill, Avebury Ring, & various burial "barrows".

 

November isn't a great time to visit the UK - the weather is quite variable, it gets dark around 5.30pm, and some attractions & tourist services will be closed or on limited hours.

 

You'd find it easier to base yourselves in Southampton, which has much better transport links. But Salisbury is much more leisurely & laid-back than Southampton, if that's a priority for you.

 

JB :)

[photom]

Is the B&B tolerably convenient to Salisbury rail station? The station is a 10 - 15 minute walk from the city centre.

 

<<snipped>>

JB :)

 

Thanks JB, you are da man!

 

Tom

[Queensland Girl]

Thanks John for the great information - we have booked Premier Inn. Cheers Judy

[John Bull]

Thanks John for the great information - we have booked Premier Inn. Cheers Judy

 

That's Premier Inn West Quay?

You won't go wrong with that one. :)

Right by the shopping mall.

Five min walk from Nat Express coach station, 5 min walk to Bargate , city walls & old town, ten min walk to rail station, ten min walk to City cruise terminal (less if you cut through the Holiday Inn carpark)

All on level ground.

If you have googlemaps/streetview you can see the Mall behind the hotel, & if you swing the camera left you can see Independence(?) of the seas berthed at City cruise terminal.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?saddr=Premier+Inn,+West+Quay,+Harbour+Parade,+Southampton&daddr=City+Cruise+Terminal+101,+Southampton,+Herbert+Walker+Avenue,+Southampton&hl=en&ll=50.900529,-1.411185&spn=0.004425,0.018582&sll=50.901477,-1.409705&sspn=0.00977,0.018582&geocode=FZayCAMdcILq_yEjQO1Ej40UWylD6Nwms3Z0SDEjQO1Ej40UWw%3BFaGtCAMdjGzq_yGGWezbqwSALilhiRi7uHZ0SDGGWezbqwSALg&oq=City+Cruise+&dirflg=w&mra=ltm&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=50.901294,-1.408283&panoid=GyBPbcFvoXlN4y2DL2pAfA&cbp=11,343.73,,0,0

 

JB :)

[insidecabin]

Dammit :o

- knew Ibis & Etap brands had merged but picked the wrong "new" name.:rolleyes:

- knew De Vere had sold-out Grand Harbour. Mentioned that it's " under new independent management since spring of 2013". But force of habit, I still called it De Vere..... :rolleyes:

- forgot about the Pig in the Wall - an interesting new hotel opened only a couple of months ago. Early days, but good reviews. Good location.

 

I avoid mentioning The Star Hotel, cos sad to say it's not highly regarded locally or on reviews - TripAdvisor ranked it plumb bottom!!

(Same applied to the Dolphin til Mercure took it over & spent some money on it a couple of years back.)

Hopefully you'll report back that the Star is very acceptable.

 

JB :)

 

Hard to keep up sometimes as places change,

 

The PIG has been open well over a year now(Oct 2012) in April we considered it for the Breakaway TA, they do late bookings for £99pn but ended up with a 2n deal in the HI.

 

For 1 night(before the Getaway 1n preview trip) happy to take a risk with the Star it's only a 1night and near the Wetherspoon and the curry house we like.

 

with plenty of notice and waiting for the deals the Premier inn(W.quay is probably the best Southampton option(not sure on the parking).

[Waswo]

Can anyone say which Southampton Hotels have air conditioning? I know that I am unlikely to need it, but some of the hottest times I have had were in England during summer heat waves.

 

Thank you1