Do you know, Yelp asked me what I thought of this airport. I have reviewed it on Yelp before, but…read moreits evaporated so maybe it's as well Yelp aren't asking what I think of Yelp and if they did it's at two stars now due to two things - not enough words are allowed for detailed reviews and vanishing work. I think this airport is wonderful and the staff who work very hard are marvellous but we pass through and I don't know if they Rio folks off like Belfast's two airports. On arrival we were met by police despite travelling internally within the UK - Belfast being the departure place, so go figure. If I had to guess it's the risk of undesirables crossing the Irish border North going into UK by the back door is why. They were polite and fast, processing everyone promptly. The luggage was out fast and it's a two minute walk to get a taxi and £26 to go from the airport to the main seaport to pick up a cruise. We booked the same taxi service back and it surged a great. All done automatically as they link the journeys so when you call to return you just hit 1 and a taxi is dispatched. Similarly return dropping luggage is relatively easy security a courteous breeze and there's a Starbucks. I'm sure there's also a lounge but we couldn't be bothered as we hadn't long to wait for our flight.

Easy to get to and through this airport! Not the cleanest looking place BUT a whole lot better than…read morethe craziness of (LHR)London Heathrow! The staff at (SOU) Southampton is mostly friendly and efficient! Got through security and to the boarding gate within 10mins which is better than most airports in the United Kingdom. Due to the efficency of this place, I hope to fly through this airport again!

Redfunnel ferries operates Isle of Wight crossings from Southampton to East Cowes…read more To get the review started Red Funnel is much cheaper than Wightlink the other ferry provider to the Isle of Wight by around 50% ... The ferries are much nicer (as nice as ferries can get) with a cafe serving hot, fresh food and a coffee shop and bar. The staff are also very friendly. So if you are planning to go to the Isle of Wight I would recommend Red Funnel for price and service.

Cheaper than I remember. If you're flexible on times that you can travel then you can pick up…read moretickets for a reasonable price. Definitely cheaper than Wightlink (presumably because it's a longer crossing and most people just want to get there). We paid £46 for a car and four people on a five day return over half term week. We booked at the end of August and I was pleasantly surprised at the price, because I'm sure last time I went (a few years ago) it was £70. The negatives are that the ferry 'terminals' are poor quality. There is a coffee bar on the southampton side, but apart from vending machines there was nowhere to buy a quick bar of choccie or similar. East Cowes was truly miserable, but then it was raining and dusk at the time! Nowhere to get a hot drink while waiting for the ferry though. The crossing itself was uneventful, hardly going to compete with the cross channel ferries, but given it's a short hop then you can go prepared with reading material/things to entertain the kids etc.

MARRIOT NO LONGER OWN THIS HOTEL…read more This hotel is a disaster. Checked in no problem. Walked to my room this was the trail of destruction with breakfast tray still in the corridor at 7.30pm. Went to get dinner. Told they had just seated a table of 14 and there would be a very long wait could i order at the bar. Get to the bar to be told starters pizza pasta or salads only. Order chick wings which came with crudites but dirty celery. Report going into environmental health on Monday. Breakfast not available till 8 am. Bacon cold. Hash browns cold everything else barely warm. Again report going into food safety agency on Monday. Avoid the food on site. Decor dated and worn out carpets. In short. A nasty place to stay. Report submitted to Environmental Health as follows The photos taken of the problems I encountered can be downloaded on the following we transfer link https://we.tl/t-bBGYFpvYxt 1 Is a health and safety issue for guests of the hotel 2 Food Safety issues for Guests of the hotel 2 instances Issue 1 - Glasses left in a corridor I checked into the hotel early evening at about 7.30 pm no problem checking in - however when I got to the corridor my room 443 was on - a series of Bar glasses were left in the corridor which fallen on would cause a significant safety risk to the person falling on them - it appeared that they had been there most of the day since housekeeping had been round ? Also left on the corridor was a breakfast tray which has jam marmalade etc. on it which also led me to believe the detritus had been on the corridor for some time Risk - Older guests who could not see the glasses due to poor eye sight could have slipped tripped and fell and had severe lacerations Issue 2 - Evening meal served with dirt on it I went past the bar glasses and dirty dishes and went to the restaurant to be told that they had "just seated 14 guests" and there would be significant delay in serving food I would be best to go to the bar and order there - I did to be told only starters, pizza and pasta available. I order chicken wings with crudités and a mixed meat pizza. The chicken wings arrived but the crudités still had dirt on the celery see photo attached. Risk unwashed / uncleaned salad could infect someone with bad food poisoning Issue 3 - Cold / not well reheated food - meat items breakfast I had paid for breakfast the night before and went down to eat - waited 30 mins for the restaurant to open - 730 am - 8 am. Then helped myself to the breakfast buffet - the bacon served was cold the bacon was folded over the thin bit of the rasher underneath as if it had come out of the fridge and not been warmed through but left under the warming lights , the hash brown potatoes cold, the sausages luke warm, the beans, eggs, mushrooms also luke warm - I think this is contrary to food safety in the UK as all meat should reheated to a specific temperature 75 degrees Celsius? before served? Risk - under heated food could also lead to food poisoning from bacteria.

We just had our second wonderful stay at this Marriott. As a Platinum member I try to frequent…read moretheir branded properties. This one is the closest to Southampton from where we catch the Cunard Queens. The grounds are gorgeous and offer a golf course for those who enjoy such a thing. Rooms are bright; service is delightful. And I found the price very reasonable. We will be back!

If you're not prepared to swim, there are 3 ways to cross from the mainland to the Isle of Wight…read morewith dry feet. Thr girlfriend and I had done the hovercraft, which was fun and the fastest crossing as a passenger On our weekend trip this weekend, we took the car and chose the Portsmouth to Fishbourne route as it's the shorter of the car ferry journeys (Red Funnel leave from Southampton) The route is well signposted from the M27 and we encountered no traffic, coming down for the 8pm ferry on a Friday night. Nice to see that, especially as it was the weekend of the IOW round the island race On arrival, we were directed to a lane to wait for the ferry. There was no mention of the 45 minute delay we then noticed on the large dot matrix sign. The time for the next ferry was also wrong as it was for 19.30 and we arrived at 19.45. There were no announcements or explanations about the delay but one of the marshalls we spoke to at least tried to be helpful but perhaps, they could try and keep their customers informed a bit better We popped into Greggs, located in the car park area, for a little nibble. There's also a Costa Coffee available The other slight annoyance was the lack of firm marshalling when the time came to board. There wasn't enough vigilance to stop some naughty cars from cutting in line ahead of other cars which had arrived before them The journey itself was pleasant enough with some light refreshments available though we chose to enjoy the lovely sun-dappled views of the Solent from the outdoor promenade deck Incidentally, the 3rd way to cross over is by catamaran to Ryde

As far as ferry crossings go, seamless. Immaculate. Piece of cake checking in. No hassle or…read moredrama. Arrived quite early and instead of making us wait just loaded us straight on the next ferry. When you get on the ferry seems to have thought about everything even though only a short crossing. Dog friendly zones, teen zone, a Greggs, Costa, snacks and selection of alcoholic beverages. Toilets immaculate. Seating areas well thought out. Really impressed. Apart from the rude crappy service from Costa. Abrupt, stroppy and not helpful. When they finished their overall service they proceeded to stand and have a proper go at a member of the team over the rota or something. Not on. It was a case of "whoa" who shot your cat. Rude mares. Would have been 5* for all the other parts Costa dragged it down to 3*. Disembarking was super quick easy and no dramas. Big thumbs up and thanks!

Nearly missed writing this review; it was all very pleasant indeed. Just off a motorway and easily…read morefound, in our case after a five hour drive. Parking is free; there's a nearby minimum wage Tesco - 'every penny counts' or something like that - and a Pizza Hut. The staff gave a warm welcome and when I realised I needed a document printed they very kindly and gracefully took trouble to print for me at short notice, despite being noticeably busy. The room was a good space, cosy very warm, darn comfy bed with a telly, tea and coffee facilities. I think ours was a premium room. For reasons unknown to me there is the ability to change the in-room bedroom lighting, greens thru blues and maybe more. I think it's called 'mood lighting' but it's a bit naff. These places always are a nuisance when trying to get through heavy internal doors with suitcases - here a room card was needed too just to make life more difficult - maybe there's the reason for mood lighting after all to dilute the exasperation to get from reception to a room. I do wish the designers of these places would come up with novel ideas to sort this out. The one thing we always avoid in these places is the food as it tends to be low grade (and relatively low and fairly priced) and prepared off site to a high degree but it's not an issue as a car is needed for most of these places so getting food that is appealing isn't too much of chore. The staff make it. We'd go back anytime.

Literally situated next to Portsmouth and Southsea mainline station, EXTREMELY convenient if…read moretravelling by train. Easy check in by machines in the 'lobby' although I was helped by the efficient, helpful friendly Andy who also took my breakfast order the following day. Comfortable bed and nice TV hub gadget in the room which also had a kettle and a hairdryer. Two double plugs situated at the desk to charge up phone, ipod etc. Would have been nice to have another plug by the bed at eye level but not a game changer. Only downside was that the shower curtain was a bit smelly in the otherwise neat and tidy bathroom.

Located down at the hard Interchange is the First Bus Travel shop. It's the place where you can…read morepick up all the bus timetables, speak to them about bus stuff and check for lost property. They also do national express coach stuff, and the stops just outside the door. You can also find out about holidays and day trips and other travel stuff. They sell a few bits and bobs there. I got a plug adapter which I needed for a trip to France.

Since I was planning to go on a solo cruise out of Southampton, I needed to find the perfect and…read moremost affordable hotel for me to stay at the night before. After doing some research, I discovered this hotel. Selecting a room was easy and straightforward online. When I arrived on the day of check-in, I was two hours earlier than expected. I was still able to check in and get to my room and relax for the rest of the day. Later on that day, I went to their restaurant and ate some of the dinner. I dealt with two waiters while I waited for my food and both of them were very lovely. While I was in the restaurant I ate the chicken burger sandwich, which was very tasty. The gravy sauce on it gave it a nice flavor. For dessert, I decided to try the chocolate fondant which did not disappoint. As for my room, the bed was very comfortable. The room was very clean, but you do occasionally hear noises from either side of your room and in the hall. Another thing that was kind of annoying was the AC in the room. I am an American so I'm used to having AC at all times. The hotel here have AC, but they don't work that well in my opinion. Mine randomly decided to shut off in the middle of the night and I woke up kind of hot. I had to turn it back on and then it was fine, but that was one downside . Thankfully, that has not really bothered me and I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay here. If I ever take another cruise out of Southampton, I will more than likely book here again for convenience and familiarity.

Very impressed with this Holiday inn property. Although it's obviously a bit of an old structure,…read morethey've done an amazing job keeping it nice. Large comfortable pool. Hot tub that could be a bit cleaner. Friendly helpful front desk. 15 minute walk to City center.

Holiday Inn Express is pretty cookie cutter. But this one is quite good. Breakfast was delicious…read moreand everything well stocked. Rooms were comfortable and quiet despite being in a busy area. Nicely designed modern building. The location is great, with all the restaurants in Gunwharf Quay right outside and an easy walk to the Historic Dockyard. And service was particularly friendly.

Conveniently located next to Gunwarf Quay, this newly built 130 room Express by Holiday Inn is in a…read morenice spot for exploring the Spinnaker Tower, shops and the whole quays area. Within a mile you can walk to the centre of Portsmouth, the Guild Hall, the university and the Mary Rose. Plenty of parking is available in the nearby multi-storey car park.