Trying to decide - hotel in Southampton or London

[vacationdreaming]

My husband and I just booked the October 26 transatlantic cruise on the Independence. This will be our 3rd cruise departing from Southampton. On our prior 2 trips we flew to Heathrow from DFW and spent a couple of nights in a central London hotel and toured London on the Hop on Hop Off bus before traveling to Southampton. Trying to decide if we should try something different this time....maybe visiting Bath and Salisbury. If we traveled from LHR to Southampton the day we arrive, and stay in a hotel in Southampton, are their any good tour options out of Southampton.  Looking for suggestions.  Thanks.

[John Bull]

I'd always encourage a first-time visitor to England to spend a few days in London, there are so many iconic sights.

But yes, there's a lot more to England than the Big Bad City 

 

Southampton isn't a tourist city - it's very much a port city but its city walls and its few historic buildings and museums are enough to amuse a visitor for a day.

More importantly, Southampton is a railway junction, which makes it a good base for exploring much of southern England including direct trains to Portsmouth (40+ minutes), Brighton, (90+ mins), central London (80+ mins), Winchester (15+ mins), Oxford (80+ mins), Salisbury (35mins) (then ho-ho to Stonehenge), Bath (90+ mins) and Weymouth (80+ mins)

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/routemaps/nationalrailoperatorsmapzoom5811December.pdf

and

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

There are also ferries across to the Isle of Wight (for instance, for Osborne House), and the little Hythe ferry across Southampton Water and then a taxi ride across a corner of the New Forest to  https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/

 

Google those places

Also dial them into the search facility on this forum  - type the name of a place in the little search box top right of this page, click on the drop-down to select "this forum", then click on the spyglass at the search box to bring up all posts which mention the place.

 

Depending on your flight arrival time, your transfer arrangements (broadly National Express coach or private transfer or car rental) and your reaction to jet-lag, it's possible to incorporate somewhere into your arrival day. If by National Express coach or direct private transfer you can drop your bags at the hotel ahead of registration time & go explore.

No need to pre-book anything other than transfer & hotel. Any small discounts for pre-booking any of those train journeys isn't worth the commitment and you can make it up as you go along depending on time, weather and mood. Even the advised pre-booking of entry to Stonehenge isn't necessary in October except mebbe for a saturday or sunday.

 

Mention of October brings me to the weather.

Late October is a very iffy time to visit England, it's when I get itchy feet to go find somewhere with better weather.

And sunday 27th October is when we switch from British Summer Time to GMT and it gets dark an hour earlier, around 5.30pm. 

You might be lucky & arrive during an "Indian Summer", you might be unlucky & arrive during stormy weather, or it might be more-typical October weather - not too cold  but a little chilly in the evenings, grey skies but not much rain.

So it's good to be flexible. And most of the places I've mentioned have plenty of inside visits, though Stonehenge is particularly exposed. 

 

All of the hotels on this web-page

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

are in central Southampton and walkable to the coach station & Southampton Central rail station, but Ibis, Ibis Budget & Novotel are just across the road from the rail station and most of the others are a walk of 20 minutes or less (see the map at the bottom of that page)

 

JB 

 

 

[John Bull]

5 minutes ago, John Bull said:

I'd always encourage a first-time visitor to England to spend a few days in London, there are so many iconic sights.

But yes, there's a lot more to England than the Big Bad City 

 

Southampton isn't a tourist city - it's very much a port city but its city walls and its few historic buildings and museums are enough to amuse a visitor for a day.

More importantly, Southampton is a railway junction, which makes it a good base for exploring much of southern England including direct trains to Portsmouth (40+ minutes), Brighton, (90+ mins), central London (80+ mins), Winchester (15+ mins), Oxford (80+ mins), Salisbury (35mins) (then ho-ho to Stonehenge), Bath (90+ mins) and Weymouth (80+ mins)

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/routemaps/nationalrailoperatorsmapzoom5811December.pdf

and

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

There are also ferries across to the Isle of Wight (for instance, for Osborne House), and the little Hythe ferry across Southampton Water and then a taxi ride across a corner of the New Forest to  https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/

 

Google those places

Also dial them into the search facility on this forum  - type the name of a place in the little search box top right of this page, click on the drop-down to select "this forum", then click on the spyglass at the search box to bring up all posts which mention the place.

 

Depending on your flight arrival time, your transfer arrangements (broadly National Express coach or private transfer or car rental) and your reaction to jet-lag, it's possible to incorporate somewhere into your arrival day. If by National Express coach or direct private transfer you can drop your bags at the hotel ahead of registration time & go explore, if by rental car you can visit Stonehenge & Salisbury en-route from Heathrow.

No need to pre-book anything other than transfer & hotel,  and a rental car if that's your scene. Any small discounts for pre-booking any of those train journeys isn't worth the commitment and you can make it up as you go along depending on time, weather and mood. Even the advised pre-booking of entry to Stonehenge isn't necessary in October except mebbe for a saturday or sunday.

 

Mention of October brings me to the weather.

Late October is a very iffy time to visit England, it's when I get itchy feet to go find somewhere with better weather.

And sunday 27th October is when we switch from British Summer Time to GMT and it gets dark an hour earlier, around 5.30pm. 

You might be lucky & arrive during an "Indian Summer", you might be unlucky & arrive during stormy weather, or it might be more-typical October weather - not too cold  but a little chilly in the evenings, grey skies but not much rain.

So it's good to be flexible. And most of the places I've mentioned have plenty of inside visits, though Stonehenge is particularly exposed. 

 

All of the hotels on this web-page

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

are in central Southampton and walkable to the coach station & Southampton Central rail station, but Ibis, Ibis Budget & Novotel are just across the road from the rail station and most of the others are a walk of 20 minutes or less (see the map at the bottom of that page)

 

JB 

Edited to add. Just noticed this is on the "UK cruisers" forum. Do the same search on the "Western Europe / British Isles" forum.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2019 by John Bull

[cabin4three]

Try to book early as the last week in October is a school holiday for many schools in England so hotels can fill up.

And bring your waterproofs 😀

[vacationdreaming]

49 minutes ago, cabin4three said:

Try to book early as the last week in October is a school holiday for many schools in England so hotels can fill up.

And bring your waterproofs 😀

Thank you.  I just discovered this yesterday.  Amazing how quickly the hotels are filling up.  Appreciate your help!

[vacationdreaming]

23 hours ago, John Bull said:

I'd always encourage a first-time visitor to England to spend a few days in London, there are so many iconic sights.

But yes, there's a lot more to England than the Big Bad City 

 

Southampton isn't a tourist city - it's very much a port city but its city walls and its few historic buildings and museums are enough to amuse a visitor for a day.

More importantly, Southampton is a railway junction, which makes it a good base for exploring much of southern England including direct trains to Portsmouth (40+ minutes), Brighton, (90+ mins), central London (80+ mins), Winchester (15+ mins), Oxford (80+ mins), Salisbury (35mins) (then ho-ho to Stonehenge), Bath (90+ mins) and Weymouth (80+ mins)

https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/routemaps/nationalrailoperatorsmapzoom5811December.pdf

and

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/

 

There are also ferries across to the Isle of Wight (for instance, for Osborne House), and the little Hythe ferry across Southampton Water and then a taxi ride across a corner of the New Forest to  https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/

 

Google those places

Also dial them into the search facility on this forum  - type the name of a place in the little search box top right of this page, click on the drop-down to select "this forum", then click on the spyglass at the search box to bring up all posts which mention the place.

 

Depending on your flight arrival time, your transfer arrangements (broadly National Express coach or private transfer or car rental) and your reaction to jet-lag, it's possible to incorporate somewhere into your arrival day. If by National Express coach or direct private transfer you can drop your bags at the hotel ahead of registration time & go explore.

No need to pre-book anything other than transfer & hotel. Any small discounts for pre-booking any of those train journeys isn't worth the commitment and you can make it up as you go along depending on time, weather and mood. Even the advised pre-booking of entry to Stonehenge isn't necessary in October except mebbe for a saturday or sunday.

 

Mention of October brings me to the weather.

Late October is a very iffy time to visit England, it's when I get itchy feet to go find somewhere with better weather.

And sunday 27th October is when we switch from British Summer Time to GMT and it gets dark an hour earlier, around 5.30pm. 

You might be lucky & arrive during an "Indian Summer", you might be unlucky & arrive during stormy weather, or it might be more-typical October weather - not too cold  but a little chilly in the evenings, grey skies but not much rain.

So it's good to be flexible. And most of the places I've mentioned have plenty of inside visits, though Stonehenge is particularly exposed. 

 

All of the hotels on this web-page

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/southampton_accommodation.htm

are in central Southampton and walkable to the coach station & Southampton Central rail station, but Ibis, Ibis Budget & Novotel are just across the road from the rail station and most of the others are a walk of 20 minutes or less (see the map at the bottom of that page)

 

JB 

 

 

Thanks so much for this great information.  It is very helpful.  We really appreciate your taking the time to share your knowledge.

[MicCanberra]

I have found that booking accommodation anywhere in the world, is best when booking early. You never know when the place you are looking at may have a festival or special event which drives demand up.

[brian1]

That's true, we are catching the back end of the boat show this year.Luckily the Holiday Inn turned out to be the cheapest of all the others.Harbour view and breakfast inc. £150 1 night.

Edited May 20, 2019 by brian1

[MicCanberra]

That boat show can really inflate the prices, we found that out last year, luckily we had booked early and other on the same cruise found out the hard way

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

That boat show can really inflate the prices, we found that out last year, luckily we had booked early and other on the same cruise found out the hard way

 

Just so that the OP won't have kittens, the Southampton International Boat Show (yes, it's a biggie) is always mid-September.

This year it runs 13th - 22nd September, plus demand for hotel rooms during the setting-up about a week ahead of it.  

 

JB 

[brian1]

It was better when it was at Earls Ct.Too much water at Southampton.

[MicCanberra]

10 hours ago, brian1 said:

It was better when it was at Earls Ct.Too much water at Southampton.

We all know that boats are designed to go on the water but that is also where they can sink.

[jbmom2120]

Hello,

I am trying to find the email address for the Premier Inn West Quay hotel in Southampton to confirm our reservation.  

 

Would any of you be able to point me in the right direction?

 

Kind regards, K

[John Bull]

26 minutes ago, jbmom2120 said:

Hello,

I am trying to find the email address for the Premier Inn West Quay hotel in Southampton to confirm our reservation.  

 

Would any of you be able to point me in the right direction?

 

Kind regards, K

 

I don't think they publicise e-mail addresses for any of their hotels.

 

To contact the chain over the web you need to use their contact form

https://secure2.premierinn.com/gb/en/feedback-form/feedback.html

(click on "I have a question" and you have the opportunity to ask them about your booking)

 

Or here's a different form

https://secure.premierinn.com/en/contactUs.action

 

I hate those forms, used by a lot of organisations - you don't have a record of what you sent, altho the screen usually says it's been sent successfully, often followed by an automated e-mail acknowledgement.

I usually copy what I've put on the form, and e-mail that to myself.

 

If you have a booking reference you should be able to trace your booking here

https://secure.premierinn.com/en/searchForBooking.action

 

You can also try by their facebook page.

 

The phone number for PI West Quay from the USA is +44871 527 9298

But that's a premium rate number, even phoning from Southampton 

 

JB 

ps - you're not my mom  

[jbmom2120]

6 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

I don't think they publicise e-mail addresses for any of their hotels.

 

To contact the chain over the web you need to use their contact form

https://secure2.premierinn.com/gb/en/feedback-form/feedback.html

(click on "I have a question" and you have the opportunity to ask them about your booking)

 

Or here's a different form

https://secure.premierinn.com/en/contactUs.action

 

I hate those forms, used by a lot of organisations - you don't have a record of what you sent, altho the screen usually says it's been sent successfully, often followed by an automated e-mail acknowledgement.

I usually copy what I've put on the form, and e-mail that to myself.

 

If you have a booking reference you should be able to trace your booking here

https://secure.premierinn.com/en/searchForBooking.action

 

You can also try by their facebook page.

 

The phone number for PI West Quay from the USA is +44871 527 9298

But that's a premium rate number, even phoning from Southampton 

 

JB 

ps - you're not my mom  

You are the best, even though I’m not your mom 😂. 

I had created a login on their website several months ago. When I tried to sign in the other day, the message said I had been locked out and would need to call, not at £13 per minute YIKES! Plus my rates from here.  

I was able to see my booking & it said I can check in online a couple of days before arriving. I feel better now. 

I had received an email, this morning, from Hilton regarding our stay in London & it had the wrong arrival date. I about had a heart attack 😳. All is well there now. 

 

I appreciate all the help you & the others have provided. Thank you very much!

[MicCanberra]

LOL, it is like an episode from Mother and Son.

[brian1]

There is a phone number for the hotel on the booking email. Never bothered before,but this weekend in Basingstoke,we wanted a ground floor room and the guy behind the desk said we should have phoned to book it.It had to be when my OH has a knee injury,sods law.

[Balticdream]

22 hours ago, jbmom2120 said:

You are the best, even though I’m not your mom 😂. 

I had created a login on their website several months ago. When I tried to sign in the other day, the message said I had been locked out and would need to call, not at £13 per minute YIKES! Plus my rates from here.  

I was able to see my booking & it said I can check in online a couple of days before arriving. I feel better now. 

I had received an email, this morning, from Hilton regarding our stay in London & it had the wrong arrival date. I about had a heart attack 😳. All is well there now. 

 

I appreciate all the help you & the others have provided. Thank you very much!

 

It's only 13 pence per minute, not £13.

 

Additional phone numbers for amending bookings:

 

+44333 003 8101.

+44333 003 0025

 

 

[MicCanberra]

That is a big difference.

[jbmom2120]

6 hours ago, Balticdream said:

 

It's only 13 pence per minute, not £13.

 

Additional phone numbers for amending bookings:

 

+44333 003 8101.

+44333 003 0025

 

 

Thank you so much!  That makes much more sense!

[John Bull]

12 hours ago, Balticdream said:

 

It's only 13 pence per minute, not £13.

 

Additional phone numbers for amending bookings:

 

+44333 003 8101.

+44333 003 0025

 

 

 

5 hours ago, jbmom2120 said:

Thank you so much!  That makes much more sense!

 

I was gonna post the same correction.

But the total cost will probably be about the same after you've listened to endless "for training purposes we record all calls", "press 1 for this, press 2 for that ........", and "we're experiencing a high volume of calls at the moment, your call is important to us and will be answered shortly". Followed by a musical interlude . 

 

I must be the unluckiest guy in the world - whatever large organisation that I phone, and whatever time I phone, I always seem to pick an unusually busy time 

 

End of rant.

 

JB 

[MicCanberra]

They are always busy, they seem to think that people having issues with their service somehow provides validity of the company success in attracting large numbers of customers.