One young man was managing the bar, reception and restaurant when we arrived at 8.30pm but he was friendly if harassed, The room was clean however only one bedside light worked and he was unable to find another. It was chilly and neither he nor we could persuade the heating to work - we took an extra duvet from the third bed to keep warm. The manager was unavailable both in the evening and as we left in the morning.

I stayed at the Blue Keys Hotel during my trip across Southern England and I recommend it! The staff is great (Malcolm is a great host!), the rooms are nice, free parking and wi-fi and a nice pub at the ground floor, where you can have a beer and listen to live music after visiting the city or after a day trip to Stonehenge or all the other place to visit near Southampton.
Good value for money!

Friendly hotel with live music in the bar (can be both good and bad) but otherwise not so special. Southampton is not a very exciting place overall.

Stayed at the Blue Keys for 1 night only and would recommend it.
Conveniently located close the university and Southampton city centre which is about 15minutes walk. The owners were extremely pleasant and very customer focussed (as well as all the other staff we encountered). Whilst it is a bar/ restaurant type hotel this didn’t detract from the hotel side which is decorated and furnished to a quality modern standard.
Food in the restaurant might at first thought seem to be only standard bar food, but it is genuinely good value for money as the portions are more than generous with the presentation and taste on a par with high quality restaurants. (by comparison we also had a meal at the Platform in Southampton and the portions were half the size and slightly more costly).
Whilst breakfast costs are not included in the room rate (most hotels do this now anyway) it was again very good, ingredients excellent and the full breakfast portions more than I have had elsewhere.
Overall for the cost of the stay it is very good value compared to other establishments in the Southampton area and is on a par, if not better on cost, decor and food. By the way, the live music which was on the Friday night we stayed did not penetrate up to our hotel room which in itself says much about how the owners have separated out the hotel from the bar and show genuine customer care.
Will definitely stay again when visiting Southampton .