Southampton (Eastleigh) hotel

We booked this hotel as it has recently been refurbished and is only 15 minutes from Paultons Park which is the reason we were down here to visit Peppa Pig World. Our room was on the 3rd floor and while right opposite the lift, we barely heard any noise so the rooms are very well insulated. The room was crisp and clean with an excellent design, the refurbishment looks great. Beds were comfortable and we slept great. Bath a little too high and inside too rounded so not the easiest of things to have a shower in but the rainfall shower was good. Having an air con unit was excellent and we made use of it as it was rather warm. Overall we had an excellent stay at the hotel and we’d probably stay again if needed. The only thing that let this stay down was the farce at breakfast. We stayed at the premier inn for 2 nights so had booked breakfast for each day of our stay. Upon arriving at the premier inn the guy, presumably the manager, checking us in booked breakfast for both days at 7:30am. First day we went down for breakfast and had no issues. Although the second day we went down for breakfast to be told they had no booking for us and couldn’t accommodate us until 10:15am but we wouldn’t have long to order and eat our food. This was inconvenient for us as we needed to leave the hotel at 9am. I asked for a refund to be told we’d need to speak to the hotel reception. I am dubious if we will actually receive the refund.

I stayed at Eastleigh for one night on my way home. It was easy to find and is literally next to the M3. The check in staff were friendly and efficient and it was great to see this PI had a lift. The room (303) was excellent. I was looking out over the car park and there was very little residual road noise. The room is spacious and decorated in a newer style than some other Premier Inns I have been to recently. The bathroom was superb, very clean and I love the new look tiles. I sank into a steaming hot bath after a long hot day and just relaxed. The beds are always comfy, a fact that was brought home to me after staying in another well known chain recently (and never again) I love the choice of pillows and the bedding is always clean and comfortable. I did the meal deal so had a 2 course evening meal with wine and then a full breakfast. This was a real treat after staying at a hotel with no facilities on site and having to live off service station food. I had the steak and salad with the caramel Apple Betty and ice cream. A glass of house white and a jug of tap water. All in all 10/10. The only slightly sore point was the lack of staff at breakfast. I felt so bad for the one member of staff trying to check people in, clear tables, take breakfast order, answer questions and race around like a mad person. It's just not good enough Premier Inn.

This hotel is in a great location being so close to the M3. The SatNav was a great help as we were coming from Portsmouth and the dear lady on said SatNav took us through most of Eastleigh which I believe could have been avoided.
 That having been said, it would have helped if I, when the SatNav lass told me to turn left had glanced at the screen and not just taken the turning I was approaching(I could see the Premier Inn on the corner of the road I took) as I would have seen that she wanted me to turn left 200yds further on. The turning I took went straight past the Premier Inn(there was no chance to turn into the Premier Inn as it led me straight onto the dual carriageway again and I had to make a minor detour and do a u-turn to get back on track. 

Finally got there and the receptionist was super, smiling, helpful and efficient. The check-in process including the car was very easy and quickly sorted.

 We’d taken a “Meal Deal” and had already booked in for 20.00 and also breakfast the following morning at 08.00.
 Reserving in advance is to be recommended as slots in busy periods are soon taken up and due to the kitchen staff having to time everything there are limits as to how many people they can take at a particular time. This was especially the case for breakfast as people were turning up having not booked and they were turned away having been booked in for a later time (anything up to an hour later). 

The restaurant in the evening had a great atmosphere, the serving staff were all smiling, friendly and very efficient and nothing was too much trouble. In this respect Young Jodie shone in making everyone feel at ease and she went above and beyond in many ways.

 The meal itself was excellent, served hot and on warm plates and you weren’t rushed to finish your starters and be presented with your mains which so often happens. Everything was very relaxed and you were given “space to breathe” in between courses.
 We took as starters, Salt & Pepper Calamari and Spicy, Crispy Prawns and then we both had the Beer Battered Haddock, Chips & Mushy Peas. The fish was cooked beautifully and the portion was very large. 
We’ve had some awful fish & chips in other Premier Inns but this experience has restored our faith, certainly with this Premier Inn. 
 Apparently the chef is Portuguese and he can certainly cook fish.

 The breakfast was also a very pleasant surprise as, although the Continental was a buffet(situation normal), the cooked breakfast was made to order which is far better than some of the buffets you get. The breakfast was again excellent and served on warm plates.

 There are however a couple of niggles.
 The first comes from a situation that completely baffles me.

 This Premier Inn has recently undergone a complete refurbishment and it shows in its cleanliness and decor. However, whoever decided that removing the workstation/desk was a good idea needs to rethink their motive for that as it was not a good idea, in my opinion. The desk has been ripped out but as you can see from the picture the sockets remain halfway up the wall which defies all logic. Recharge your phone with the USB socket and your phone will be left dangling in midair.
Try recharging your laptop/tablet and ditto it’ll either be dangling in midair or sitting on the floor. The room is plenty large enough to take the desk without it seeming cramped so what was the thinking behind removing the desk? Personally, I think it should be reinstalled as the useless sockets on the wall are ludicrous.

 Upgrading the bathroom is a good idea but why oh why did they just replace the mirror with another plain mirror which just steams up when you have a shower? If you’re upgrading then install a mist-free mirror so that at least you can use it after a shower and not have to go back into the bedroom to sort yourself out.

 Also, again my personal opinion, I think the bath height is just a tad too high. It’s difficult enough trying to step over it after having used the bath/shower if you’re fit but if you’re somewhat older then it would be a nightmare hanging on to the towel rail to stop slipping.
6ins lower, say and it would still be high enough.

 It would also be useful to leave instructions as to how the shower fitting works when trying to change from the rainwater shower to the hand-held as they’re all different and the mechanism in this Premier Inn isn’t obvious. One final thought would be to provide smaller cups for Espresso coffee. There’s nothing worse than pouring a small amount of coffee into a large mug as the coffee goes cold before you even get back to your table.
 Some Premier Inns do have smaller cups, a lot don’t and Eastleigh is one that falls into the latter category.

We loved the hotel. Cheap and exactly what we needed. We used it as a stop for paultons park and it was perfect. We booked a holiday inn for the next night, that was so much poorer than this in all aspects. We would 100% come back and happily stay a few days. We're looking at it again for next year!

Great location 6 miles cruise terminal in Southampton . Bedrooms very clean, great air conditioning. Only let down, the breakfast not self serve Buffett like most premier in hotels. It’s served. Friendly staff only £100 a night for family room would return. Free onsite car parking.