Old Burghclere Holidays from £302

It's such a shame! The building of the old Mercure hotel holds ok. The double room was spacious, clean, comfortable and with an amazing close view of the Winchester cathedral (practically over its grounds). But there was no milk for the tea in the room and the television did not show a single BBC channel (not even radio stations), had no access to satelite, internet or cable. When I called reception to ask if perhaps there was something I was not doing properly with the remote control, I was asked if the TV was showing other channels. When I said that only commercial channels seemed to be available, I was told that this was what was on offer and that's it. In some way, I'm grateful for the experience because it opened my eyes to how miserable life would be without the BBC service. I'll certainly pay the BBC licence with gusto now!

The only issue we had was when we finished our meal in the bar the plates and cutlery were not cleared from our table and were still on the table when we left the bar at the end of the evening

. Great staff. Breakfast was excellent.

The Leonardo hotel in Southampton is decent value for money. The room is spacious, and the staff simply amazing. Little if any noise gets in from outside so you’ll have a great night sleep, and the breakfast is very good for this price bracket. However the location is a bit… weird. If you’ve stepped off the airport bus (itself great value) at Giddy Bridge and approach the hotel it’s just… awkward to get into. Although there are traffic lights right there, you have to walk another block to the next set of lights to be able to cross to the hotel… and if you come from another direction there’s a fair chance you’ll have the same problem because it’s as if it, and it’s partner building, were built in the middle of a roundabout (or should that be speedtrack given the pace the drivers go?) The rooms are also a bit tired. The carpet in my room at the bed leg was completely worn through, and the shower head was not pleasant, I would expect a rainfall one at this price point. But overall a pleasant enough place for a few days.

Nice hotel, good food and facilities and close to the station. Comfortable, clean and quiet.