BotB

Glad you had a decent stay, sorry to have missed you as this is a regular haunt for me...

As to the suite upgrades, tomorrow I'll have stayed here 30 times in the last 6 months and have yet to be upgraded to a suite...however, they have upgraded me every time from a basic room to a deluxe room which has been good enough for me...(and considering I have sometimes booked the room for � 49 a night!)

Most staff are very friendly and helpful and the breakfast is indeed great.

BAGoldBoy

Checked in Friday night after ignoring my Sat Navs directions.

Check in was prompt but we were told that breakfast would be an additional �10 each. I queried this and eventually they agreed that as a HH member breakfast was indeed included.

Standard room on the 5th near on the motorway side so quite a lot of background noise. Room was OK, nothing special and amenities were two small waters and some crisps.

Breakfast room wasnt busy but short staffed so had to wait 10 minutes for a table to be made ready. Pretty good breakfast and I did like the fact that eggs/omlettes could be cooked to order and additional items could also be ordered such as black pudding.

Overall an OK experience

BotB

Stayed last night and thought I would update some points:

-parking costs � 3 / 24 hrs for gold or diamond members. (used to be free or only applied occasionally)

-the hotel seems to attract a lot more cruise passengers than before...including foreign bus tours...this means that parking is a nightmare on a regular basis now...as people get parking free here for the duration of their cruise...A real negative as the location means you are reliant on a vehicle and trips to/from downtown and the hotel

-gold and diamonds still get a drinks voucher, two small bottles of water (one still and one sparkling), a pack of crisps and free breakfast

-they still upgrade diamonds to a deluxe room (never a suite) and there are bathrobes and slippers in these rooms.

-breakfast is still very good with lots of choice, fresh fruits, cold cuts, various juices and water, decent tea (but rubbish coffee), a complete full English hot breakfast buffet, breads, pastries and cereals...

Not much else has changed, which is okay, staff are generally very good.

BotB

I stay here nearly every week and thought I should update some points.

Last 4 weeks there have been no bathrobes and no slippers. I have asked about this and was told 'next time we'll make sure you have some Mr. BotB'. Hmmm, not sure if this is temporary or a permanent enhancement.

Breakfast is definitely not as good as it used to be. The cook is new and standards vary quite wildly. Some days quite good and fresh, other days the beans are hard to find in some brown soup sauce, hash browns are burnt, and similar issues with the other hot items.

Front desk staff are still very nice and friendly. ^

Parking is still � 3 / night which is a bit of cheek as there are very few spaces available due to the cruise business and amount of cars left for long periods.

Still not had a single suite upgrade in over 50 stays here but at least they do upgrade me to a deluxe room each time. ^

cjd

Don't stay at this hotel during a heatwave like we did a few weeks ago. Windows hardly open and no air conditioning in any of the rooms. The small fans end up circulating warm air. It was like trying to sleep in a sauna! The staff tried to be helpful, but I think they had quite a lot of complaints over those very hot days and nights. Luckily, we only had one night there.

wizla

i had the same problem at Hilton brighton......that sucks!

Disco Volante

I have had four or five stays here over the last year. It's a very poor hotel. The rooms are extremely dated, small and dark. There is no air conditioning. The bathrooms are antiquated. It's ripe for being knocked down. The front desk staff are barely functioning. I have had to ask for a drinks voucher every time bar one (I am HH Diamond). No reference is made to Diamond status. It's not obvious whether I have had an upgrade, possibly because the rooms are so poor. Once I was given a room with a single bed. Another time the room has smelt of cigarette smoke. The food is the usual poor Hilton fare. I recently stayed in a UK Holiday Inn and was amazed at how good the food was compare to the Hiltons i have been staying at. Basically, try to stay somewhere else. This is a good rule for most UK Hiltons (LGW new wing and LHR T5 excepted). You get the impression that the company is being bled dry by its owners prior to a sale/IPO.

BotB

Agreed, the hotel is stiflingly hot during warm periods and the rooms have no air conditioning or ventilation that cools things down. During that time, the staff were good enough to place me on the bottom floor where it would be 'coolest' of the warm rooms but still too warm. Nice of the staff to do what they could for regulars ^

Everyone has a different standard and certainly compared to the London Hiltons, the Southampton Hilton is not good in terms of the rooms or quality and it has no lounge, etc...so you have fair points there that I can agree with.

However, for the area of Southampton...well, it is the best of the worst in my opinion, YMMV. There are two local Holiday Inn's and several HIX's in the area...but my goodness, stay in one of those and then compare the Hilton to them...I know where I would rather stay. The only real alternative is the Mercure 'Dolphin' which has a far better location and if you get one of the new renovated rooms, then it is better...otherwise it is very similar to the Hilton and it really depends on pricing as to which I would choose or recommend.

The staff can be quite variable as to knowledge and quality of service, however, I find them to be in general quite good compared to other UK locations outside of London, again, this is something that will vary for each of us depending on situation and experience.

I also have to ask about half the time for the drinks voucher and don't usually get told if I have been upgraded or not...so I can echo your comments there.

I'd love for the chain in general to improve and for this hotel in particular to renovate or improve, however, I can't see that happening...and personally I still find it the best solution for a stay in the New Forest or Southampton area...

I was very surprised to recently find myself upgraded to a suite here on my 60th stay at the property...the suite was in a very good state of repair for furniture and fittings ^ , shame they don't upgrade more diamonds to it...(or at least me )

I wouldn't pay extra for it as it is not that much better, however, a lovely upgrade if you get it. (its room 519).

Bathrobes and slippers do seem to be back again, thank goodness!

gnarly

I'm a Gold, and I experienced my first stay last Thursday. By the time that I checked in, I'd already booked a couple of additional stays. Having read the thread here, I wasn't sure if I'd made a mistake, but overall I think it will be ok.

As most others have said, the main issue is access. I believe that I found the last available parking space at around 7pm. Already people were parked all over the access roads and on every curb.

The next issue is also access. The hotel is not located in a useful place from which to access the M27. If you want Southampton or want to go back up the M3, it's fine. Anywhere east or (especially) west can be problematic.

I was given room 102, the first room on the bottom floor next to the laundry. It wasn't too loud, so I was happy enough. I didn't have dinner in the restaurant, and I found breakfast to be somewhat disappointing with a much worse spread than those seen at the Newbury Hiltons, Watford or Warwick for example.

I received Breakfast as a gold with no issues (apart from being unable to find me on the list). I also received a drinks voucher, which I didn't use, and a wifi code, which I didn't need.

The taps would have driven my wife crazy (separate hot and cold instead of a mixer), but overall the bathroom was of a reasonable size with good water pressure.

It's a standard Hilton....maybe I always stay in dodgy properties, but I didn't find anything too shabby or overly dated.

Of course my next stay is tomorrow, so my opinion my change.

I hope that I manage to bag a parking space.

cjd

Not sure if this new Hilton is to replace existing Southampton Hilton or will be in addition to the existing hotel.

http://www.hiltonhotelsouthampton.co.uk

New Hilton supposedly opening 2014. 175 bedrooms and executive lounge. Hotel overlooks the Ageas Bowl Hampshire Cricket ground. Should be a massive improvement from the existing Hilton Southampton.
However, according to BBC news, the builder, Denizen, has gone into administration with the hotel only 75% complete. Hopefully, a new contractor will be able to complete the project, but would imagine there will be delays.

See:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-24396191

gnarly

FYI, they seem to be refurbishing some of the public areas.
New carpets were going down yesterday, and trucks were delivering large boxes (new furniture?) today. Access to the restaurant and bar has been restricted, with breakfast etc now taking place in the lounge and a table service being offered for the bar.

Expect some disruption over the next day or two, but nothing drastic.

cjd

It's the bedrooms and bathrooms that really need a major refurbishment including the installation of air conditioning!

gnarly

...but it's such a nice carpet!

Anyway, this week the car park barriers are working as opposed to last week. I'm not sure that's an improvement.

BotB

It was great to meet a fellow FTer here yesterday, and a nice person at that as well!

I can confirm the large boxes were new chairs for the public areas and that the bar, elevators and restaurant areas are now newly carpeted and back in use! ( ended up staying a second night here after a long day)

I'll try to get a picture in the morning of the new carpets and chairs and post that.

gnarly

Awww, you're too kind. It was a pleasure meeting you, Giles and Thundercat.

I'll be back in a fortnight to see the new look bar and restaurant, although I didn't think that they were in such a bad shape in the first place.