We stayed for two nights in a Superior room (Queen Size bed and Sofa) prior to our cruise. The hotel was easy to find and get to (we used the National Express Coach bus from Heathrow to Southampton). The hotel is about 1/2 mile from the coach station. The hotel staff gladly accommodated our request to have a taxi available for transportation to the cruise ship. This was indicative of how friendly and helpful the staff was. Check-in and check-out were a breeze.

The room was clean, spacious and bright. The television is a 20" LCD flat screen display - very sharp and a welcome change to the normal large television sets that take up a lot of room on the dresser top. The bathroom was basic and clean. It had all the shampoo, soap and lotion amenities.

Out in the front parking lot there is a McDonald's and TGIF restaurant. Further on is a moderate sized shopping center and about a mile away is the large West Quay shopping mall. About a mile in the other direction is the Odeon theater complex which was showing first run movies. The main train station is north about a mile away. It may be a little tricky to walk to and from with luggage because it is across a major highway and there are steps up and down a bridge if you take a direct route.

The Ibis hotel is next to the Novotel at a cheaper rate but we opted to take the better furnished Novotel. We chose not to book the room with the "breakfast included" option because it did not appear to be worth it. The hotel restaurant appeared clean and tidy though we never got around to actually using it. Overall, we were extremely satisfied and would definitely book at the Novotel again.