Popup Portsmouth

The rooms are barely bigger than a king size bed, with a very small double pushed against the wall. It's also really noisy: the train line runs directly below, and the doors to the rooms and lift have nothing to make them close quietly. This is student accommodation being presented as a hotel, and the nightly price is very high for that. Reception staff were rude and unhelpful when they were actually there, and it was almost impossible to contact anyone before or during the stay. I'd never come back, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone wanting an actual hotel rather than a hostel.

The room stank and was filthy, like it hadn't been cleaned in years. The shower was blocked and too hot, there was no kettle or toilet paper, and the Wi-Fi didn't work. Train station noise kept me awake all night, along with constant banging on the main door whenever visitors used the lift. Parking was limited, too. I couldn't stand another night and left a day early. Extremely disappointing. Book at your own risk.

The room wasn't properly cleaned. I found a dirty tissue and an old toothbrush between the cupboards. For one night, £80+ felt like a rip-off, especially as this is student accommodation taking public hotel bookings over the summer. Checkout at 10AM was early for a bank holiday Monday. Staff were walking around slamming doors, and the building is right by the train tracks. Passing locomotives rumbled by and made it very hard to sleep after 6AM.

It's cheap, so what can I say? For £20 for two people for the night, you can't really complain. It's small and a little dusty, and you'll want to bring a mug if you want coffee. Selling empty student halls while the students are away is a brilliant idea.