De Vere Grand Harbour - Southampton, United Kingdom 

We stayed in the Carver Suite (apparently the most prestigious suite in the hotel) for 2 nights, the room although large in size is decorated and furnished in a dated style. The room has a large balcony, with speakers enabling music to be listened to which was very nice. There is a dining area, lounge, separate bedroom, large bathroom with huge bath and separate shower, guest bathroom and a rather strange kitchen area which comprises of a sink and kettle - this room smelt horrible (damp I think). The Carver Suite is located on the top floor next to the lifts, please note that we did not experience any problems with noise of other guests during out stay (despite the close proximity to the lift). The room was relatively clean, although room for improvement. The furniture was generally worn with stains and a well used appearance. Room service is terrible, expect a hour to an hour and a half wait (even though you will be quoted 30 mins). Even after this wait the orders were not correct. Breakfast in the dining room was lovely and the waiter was one of the most hospitable I have ever met. Breakfast in our room the following morning was delivered on time yet did not accommodate our requests. I asked for green tea and some other tea arrived, the toast was burnt, we did not receive all items we ordered however did receive extra things that we did not order. We have stayed in this hotel three times now, the first time was the best and since then each time it gets worse and worse. Unfortunately I don't think that I will be going out of my way to stay here again. If you are planning to stay at this hotel I would suggest booking a room with a harbor view balcony. In my opinion the Carver suite is not worth the additional money. The best thing about the room was the balcony, it was lovely sitting out there watching the ships come and go, however as mentioned above other (less expensive) rooms also have balconies.

This is a spetacular building in a great location, we had a pleasant stay, but it is certainly not 5 Star. The food was below average, the service helpful but inexperienced/untrained. We even complained the restaurant was dirty, the window ledge at the side of us was loaded with crumbs etc. and had ants contstantly running along it. 4 Star yes, certainly not 5 star.