Help, decent hotel in hampshire,sussex or dorset needed

[pebblemum]

Im planning a romantic night away for Dh's birthday in April. The hotel I wanted, complete with four poster bed seems to be sold out for the night I need it. I now have to find somewhere else. I have looked up several on the internet but could do with personal reccomendations.

Im looking for somewhere with nice en suite bedrooms, breakfast included in the price, pool (optional) and all for under £80 per room, unless half board then willing to pay up to £130

So far I have found:

The Red Lion, basingstoke £84 (half board)
Holiday Inn, basingstoke £98-123 (half board)
Apollo Classic, Basingstoke £123 (half board)
Jury's Inn, Southampton £76 (b+b)
Express Holiday Inn, S'hampton £69 (b+b)
Holiday Inn, Eastleigh £58 (b+b)
Holiday Inn, Portsmouth £78 (b+b)
Metro Palace,Bournemouth £99.50 (half board)
Quality Hotel, Brighton £124 (half Board)
The Grange Hotel, Crawley £45 (room only B'fast

£5 each)

Has anyone had experience of these, good or bad or have any ideas of anywhere else. Not all of the above hotels had photos of the rooms so do not have a clue what they are like. Dont want to book somewhere only to discover it is a dump.

Do not go to the holiday inn eastliegh,it's beastly.

Audleys Wood nr Basingstoke is nice, we've been to a wedding and a christening there. Don't know prices though.

Look at lastminute.com, they do some great hotels in the south at good deals. Look on their auction site too, I've got lots of 4-5 hotel breaks through there.

Book another hotel as back up, that has an easy cancellation policy and then auction away.

Also checkout the hotels on www.tripadvisor.com, they will tell you what the hotels are like that you fancy.

Also try late.rooms.co.uk, for good deals, you could prob get april deals now, or if not wait a bit.

Do NOT go to holiday inn in Porstmouth either

have you looked at the "De Vere Hotel" (or is it the "grand Devere Hotel") in Southampton?

I dont know how much it costs but its very nice (apperently)... all the 'top people' working at and celebrities attending / visiting the boat show stay there when its the boat show!

The Foyar looks amazing + you can see the sea!

you could try the Lythe Hill Hotel in Haslemere - they are doing a deal called a "winter warmer" at the mo. Can't remember if it fits your budget but it certainly has all the amenities. Rooms are fine - a little dated - food is excellent - spa is really lovely.

Could you stretch to \link{http://www.hotelduvin.com/brighton/brighton_rooms.asp\hotel du vin?}

I wouldn't go anywhere where you can't see what the room's like in advance, really. I did a search for cheaper Brighton rooms a while back, let me see if I can find it.

Archived searching is off, sorry.

Which day of the week are you looking at?

Jury's Inn in Southampton is basically in the middle of a roundabout.
Express Holiday Inn not much better.
Would second the DeVere Grand Harbour in Southampton or The Dolphin which is a bit more olde worlde

Thanks for the help. I have decided to settle on the Botley Park Hotel, Golf and Country club. Its only going to cost £84.00 for room incl breakfast and it has all the amenities. Plus on the Sunday my In-laws are going to bring the children up so Dh can play golf with his dad while we all relax, that way Dh gets the best of both world-a romantic night with me and a round of his favourite sport. What more could a man want

Have madea note of all your ideas just in case Dh decides to return the favour one day LOL

good choice

That sounds like a good idea! Enjoy.

Botleigh Grange round the corner is nice too - I got married there!