Express By Holiday Inn - Southampton West, Southampton

...stayed at the Holiday Inn Express "Southampton West" during the summer with my husband and our two small children. We stayed on a Saturday night.

As the name suggests, the hotel is not in the centre of Southampton, but at its western edge, just off Junction 3 of the M27. It is very easy to find, as you can see it from the road running south from the motorway. It is far enough away from the M27, however, that it doesn't suffer ...
...red brick, three-storey building, although this is "staggered" so at first I thought that it was mostly ground floor. There is a large car park immediately in front of the hotel, and we were able to park the car where we could see it, although apparently there is also CCTV so you should be able to sleep safe in the knowledge that your vehicle will be there in the morning.

On entering the hotel, we were greeted by a fairly ... more

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express "Southampton West" during the summer with my husband and our two small children. We stayed on a Saturday night.

As the name suggests, the hotel is not in the centre of Southampton, but at its western edge, just off Junction 3 of the M27. It is very easy to find, as you can see it from the road running south from the motorway. It is far enough away from the M27, however, that it doesn't suffer immediate road noise.

The hotel is a red brick, three-storey building, although this is "staggered" so at first I thought that it was mostly ground floor. There is a large car park immediately in front of the hotel, and we were able to park the car where we could see it, although apparently there is also CCTV so you should be able to sleep safe in the knowledge that your vehicle will be there in the morning.

On entering the hotel, we were greeted by a fairly bland, modern lobby dominated by the central reception desk. There were a few easy, but not too comfortable, chairs - the kind of place you might wait if you had to, but wouldn't choose to lounge in. The breakfast area was located around to the right, with the entrance to the accommodation to the left. When we visited, late on a Saturday afternoon, the hotel was very quiet, and we checked in very quickly and easily, having pre-booked a non-smoking room via the web. "Express" is the budget brand of the Holiday Inn Group, so we were handed our keys and pointed in the direction of our room, which was on the ground floor just down the corridor to the left.

The main reason that we had booked this particular hotel was because it offered family rooms at a low price. We were looking at property in the New Forest, and just needed somewhere to sleep overnight. Our room comprised a bathroom, wardrobe, double bed and a fold-down sofa bed. There was also a small table housing a kettle, cups and tea and coffee making items, and a TV. There was enough room at the end of the bed to put up the travel cot for our younger son, and while the sofa bed remained as a sofa, this gave enough space for the children to unwind, watch some television and get changed for bed. Overall, we were pleased with the amount of space. However, I think it would be too cramped for any extended stay, as there was no room for more than an overnight bag just inside the door.

The décor of the room was slightly tired, but it was extremely clean. Similarly, the bath looked a little old and scuffed, but the cleaning was meticulous. The sofa bed folded down into a bed that our four year old slept soundly on although it would have been big enough for an adult. Our bed was satisfactory - not the most luxurious hotel bed that I have ever slept in, but firm with no broken springs or sagging mattress, so we were happy. Most importantly, the sheets looked and smelt fresh! There was no air conditioning, but we were able to open the window in the room. This wasn't a problem, as we were on the ground floor, but might have concerned me if we had been on a higher floor with the children.

There was no restaurant at the hotel, so we had expected to have to get back in the car to go to dinner. We asked for recommendations at reception, and the staff very helpfully produced a list of nearby food venues, and even better, handed over a folder stuffed with takeaway menus from establishments that would deliver to the hotel. The menus were marked according to which ones would deliver for free, or had a delivery charge. As the children were tired, we ordered takeaway. I can recommend the local curry house ;-). You can also get a drink at reception to wash it down with, and there were vending machines available for snacks and chocolate.

We had a good night's sleep, although we did hear people coming in from the car park during the night due to the location of our room. However, these weren't "late night revellers"; the hotel is too far out of the city to be a good base for people taking a short break to Southampton, and there are plenty of other budget options that are more convenient. Most of the people that we met seemed to be on their way to somewhere else. I would imagine during the week it would see a lot of sales reps.

Continental buffet breakfast was included in the price, and comprised the usual suspects, although there was a good choice of items, and decent coffee. Check out was swift, and with a smile.

We paid just £45, which I think was very good value. The rate, as with most hotels, would have been slightly more without booking in advance, but overall I would highly recommend this hotel as a budget just-somewhere-to-sleep option.  

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