I would not call The Winston a hotel. On the contrary it was a shabby pub pretending to be a hotel. I was visiting Southampton for my son's graduation and wanted somewhere to stay which was close to the university and not too expensive. On arrival my husband and I were told we would be staying in the "Lodge" thinking it would be quite pleasant, but it was more like a small outbuilding which was cold with paint peeling off the walls. Nowhere to hang towels, and a toilet which was not attached to the floor properly. The walls were so thin that we could actually hear the occupant next door on the telephone and when he snored. There were cigarette butts left everywhere outside the hotel and in the smoking area. We were charged nearly £6 pp for breakfast. It was not good, and we decided not to eat there again. I can honestly say I have never experienced anywhere quite like it and I think it would be very worthwhile if there was an unexpected visit from The Hotel Inspector.

I am local to the Winston so have never stayed there but used to eat and drink there regularly. I have had occasion to complain about the service a few times. The first time the owner was not there so I e mailed my complaint when I got home and did not get a reply. I didn't go there again for some time following this but then decided to give it another chance. The owner brought me over a free drink but made no other comment about my complaint. The next occasion it was the owner's wife who caused the problem, she spilt my drink ( a pint of lager) all over the table it spilled off the table onto me and into my handbag ruining some of the contents and incurring a dry cleaning bill. Although she said "sorry" it was not very genuine. She added that waiting on tables was not her "forte" and that they were short staffed, neither of which is my problem! To add insult to injury the spilt pint appeared on my bill!! Obviously customer service is not her forte either.
Sucker that I am I did return and this time had a Sunday lunch that was inedible as it was swimming in water, i don't think the veg had been drained. There were 3 staff behind the bar and it was not particularly busy but I couldn't attract anyone's attention and had to carry the offending plate to them. it was taken from me but no one returned to ask if I wanted another lunch! After sitting and waiting for about 20 mins for someone to come and offer a replacement I gave up and left telling them that I had no intention of paying for the meal which they had tried to charge me for. As the manager was present and didn't even speak to me about the incident I again e mailed the owner when I got home. I got a reply saying that they would talk to the staff on duty and get back to me. That was a couple of years ago and I have heard nothing! Needless to say I have never been back

The good: friendly staff, comfortable pub, grounds and dining area, reasonably convenient to bus, coach and rail and city center, attractive setting and building, good food reasonably priced. The bad: wifi did not work (and even working limited to dining room), room a bit shabby, lots of noise from the bar & street, noisy water pipes, carpet & paint could use refurbishing. Suffers by comparison with other places in the area in terms of both comfort and price. Given the options I would not stay there again, but would (and did) stay someplace else and go there for dining.

The Winston is not a "bad" place, it is only "poor" as a place to stay in comparison with others around. The restaurant is very good.

This is a pub and not a hotel, I booked it because it was cheap and we had a budget for the weekend. Never again, the room was a box, the toilet smelt of pee ( room L ) The only saving grace was that the bed was comfortable. Breakfast was pricey at £6 and didn't seem much but did fill me up for the day. All in all its an experience I don't want to go through again and will pay higher money for at least cleanliness....