Harbour Hotel Southampton

We really enjoyed lunch at Harbar on 6th, and we're already looking forward to coming back. Our room was very spacious with a lovely view, and the facilities in it were the best. The bed and pillows were comfortable, and the linen was excellent.

The harbour view, with the little boats outside, was quite nice. But I found several hairs on the sheets, stains that hadn't been cleaned properly, and even a hole in the bedding. My friend had said this was Southampton's best hotel, so I was especially disappointed. If sheets are used for too long, shouldn't they be replaced? Are clean bed sheets really that expensive?

Jenny at reception was a star. Check-in was quick, and although our room wasn't ready, we enjoyed a welcome drink at the bar overlooking the harbour. We had a very comfortable, large bed, and it was lovely to relax in our robes with a drink. We also sat out on the balcony with the complimentary gin, and someone kindly brought us a full ice bucket without us even asking. The restaurant was satisfying and left us very full. We had to leave early, so they arranged a small continental breakfast and coffee for us to take along. We didn't get time to use the pool or spa, though we did peek in and wished we could have stayed longer. This was our second visit, and we'd thoroughly recommend it. Our package included everything, and with the port so close, I'd definitely look into another stay with spa time before a cruise.

The car the hotel parked for me came back covered in bird droppings, and nobody tried to clean it. The paintwork on my two-month-old car has been permanently damaged. That level of carelessness is not acceptable. I emailed the COO of Harbour Hotels to try to sort things out, but he said meaningful resolution would require legal action. There were too many problems across the stay for me to consider coming back. The spa was closed, and that hadn't been made clear when I booked through a third-party site. Check-in was slow and disorganised despite few people arriving; my key failed repeatedly and had to be reprogrammed more than once. In the room, the worn mattress had large dips, the shower kept switching between hot and cold, and the fan did little to help with the lack of air conditioning in warm weather. It was hard to sleep. I consider the lack of preparation for basic weather conditions a serious health and safety issue. Service was disappointing as well. I had to come downstairs at night for help, and both breakfast and dinner fell well below expectations, with little basic attention to guests. From start to finish, communication about facilities and the issues I encountered was poor. I wouldn't return and would advise others to look elsewhere.