Holiday Inn Express Southampton - West By Ihg

“Excellent staff and lovely hotel — one disappointing first impression”

We stayed at the Holiday Inn for two nights, arriving on Monday 10th August 2026 and leaving today, Wednesday 12th August. Overall, we had a lovely stay, and I’m giving the hotel 5 stars, despite a disappointing experience when we first arrived. We arrived at approximately 9:50am from the airport … more

We stayed at the Holiday Inn for two nights, arriving on Monday 10th August 2026 and leaving today, Wednesday 12th August. Overall, we had a lovely stay, and I’m giving the hotel 5 stars, despite a disappointing experience when we first arrived. We arrived at approximately 9:50am from the airport after being awake since around 2am, with two very tired children. I completely understood that we were extremely early for check-in and wasn’t expecting to be given our room straight away. I simply wanted to see if we could leave our bags and head off to Paultons Park. Unfortunately, our first interaction at reception really put a dampener on things. I had to try to get his attention as he didn’t greet me. I said, “Hi, I’m here to check in,” to which he replied, “For what?” I explained that we had a booking, and he very abruptly told me that we couldn’t check in early. I then asked if we were too late for breakfast, and again the response was quite abrupt, simply telling me we were too late. I completely understand that breakfast had finished, but given that I had two exhausted children with me after travelling since 2am, a little kindness would have gone a long way. Even offering a cup of tea and some toast for the children would have made such a difference. I then said we would come back around 3pm and started to leave, only to realise that we still had all of our luggage. The bags were clearly visible to him, but I had to turn back and ask if we could leave them there. I would have expected this to be offered proactively. I do appreciate that everyone can have a bad day, and perhaps he was having one himself. However, as someone working in a hotel, you never know what the guests walking through the door are going through either. A friendly greeting and a little empathy can make such a difference, especially when someone has travelled for hours with tired children. Even my older son commented afterwards about how rude the gentleman had been. It honestly left me feeling quite upset and dreading coming back to the hotel. Thankfully, everything changed when we returned. We were greeted by Lucy, who was absolutely fantastic. She was so friendly, welcoming and helpful and explained everything to us in detail. She genuinely couldn’t have done enough for us and completely changed how I felt about staying at the hotel. I also want to mention Sam on reception, who was fantastic when I had a query regarding breakfast this morning. I had actually rang reception late last night about it, and Sam was extremely helpful when dealing with my query. There was also a lovely lady working in the breakfast area this morning who was fantastic. We had an early flight and she very kindly brought out the rashers early for me, which I really appreciated. And finally, the lovely girl at reception when we were checking out today offered me a cup of tea to take with me as we were leaving. Such a small gesture, but after travelling with two children it was genuinely appreciated. I’m sorry I didn’t get everyone’s names, but Lucy, Sam, the gentleman who helped me with the key cards, the lovely lady at breakfast and the girl who offered me the tea were all absolutely fantastic and a real credit to this hotel. The room itself was lovely — very clean, comfortable and had everything we needed. We had no complaints whatsoever about the room or the facilities. So, despite the poor first impression on Monday morning, the staff we encountered afterwards were so friendly and helpful that they completely turned the experience around. I’m giving 5 stars because I don’t want one bad experience with one member of staff to tarnish what was otherwise a really good stay. The kindness and professionalism shown by the other members of staff far outweighed that initial experience. To management, I would simply ask that the attitude shown by the first gentleman on reception be addressed. Staff are dealing with people from all walks of life, and you never know what someone may have been through before they arrive at your hotel. A little warmth and empathy can make an enormous difference. Thank you to all the staff who made the rest of our stay so enjoyable. You really are a credit to the hotel. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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