This venue is called New Place and is situated a few miles from Southampton, to the north of the M27. It took us about 30 mins to get into Southampton. We managed to park close to our room but the car park looked pretty full when we left each morning.
The hotel has its dining room, bar and function rooms in the main historic house and the bedrooms, swimming pool etc in separate more modern blocks a few yards from the house. If it had been raining heavily this might have been a problem as although umbrellas were available in the house to return to the bedrooms there was not one in our room. The house is set in 32 acres and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and built in the early 20th century with much of the interior (think fireplaces, doors, panelling etc) from a 17th century mansion near Bristol.
We stayed there for two nights in January on a package which included an evening meal and a bottle of house wine each night. Every member of staff in all departments were friendly and helpful.
Our room: This was warm and comfortable with a double bed, TV (limited channels), desk (free wifi) and an armchair. The wardrobe was large but much of the space was taken up by the ironing board, safe and tea/coffee making facilities. There were no drawers and not enough shelves for 2 people for 2 nights who needed somewhere to put warm jumpers as well as underwear etc. And the hanging space would only accept one dress – though plenty of room for shorter items such as skirts, trousers and jackets. This was our only complaint about the room as the bathroom was good, being a decent size with plenty of hot water and large towels.
Dining: The bar was in the main historic building and also served a good variety of bar meals and snacks. All our meals were taken in the main dining room with several interesting architectural features from the old mansion. Breakfast was a good buffet with fried eggs and omelettes available to order. Dinner was taken from a 3 course set menu with 4 or 5 options at each course. All the starters and desserts we chose were excellent but my husband’s beef on the first night was too tough for him to eat and although the waitress apologised nothing was done about it. He ate the vegetables and gravy but I feel he could have been offered something – it is the only time in 50 years of marriage that he has given up on a piece of beef so it must have been tough! We both played safe on the second night and chose the crab cake rather than anything meaty . . . Leisure: The grounds are extensive with plenty of places to walk but we did not explore these as we were out during the days. We went to look at the gym and the pool. The pool was warm and seemed good but there was a mother and baby class on when we looked and when we returned to the hotel in the evening we went straight to eat so can only comment on the appearance.
Summary: We enjoyed our stay and would certainly go back there again despite the minor quibbles. The staff were excellent and we considered our break was good value at £108 per night.
