The Wessex Hotel is in an excellent location, next to and overlooking the Cathedral with the main shopping area one street away.
Checking In was not the easiest as we were informed that the Hotel was fully booked and they had no received our booking although we had a written confirmation. After a short while this error was corrected.
Our room was a decent size, nicely furnished and had everything we needed. Extra towels and pillows were located in the wardrobe. We did find the room temperature quite warm, and even with both windows open it still seemed quite stuffy. All room and bathroom appliances in good working order.
We did not eat in the Hotel as there were plenty of other places to choose from. Drinks at the bar were a little expensive but not overly for a hotel of this standard.
Winchester is a great town to explore and a stay at the Wessex Hotel would be recommended - good value too.

Don't be put off by the 1960's outside style of this hotel. Once inside you are greeted by warm and freindly staff who are happy to help, polite and courteous.

The room we had overlooked the cathederal, which meant that there was little traffic noise and apart from the bells on sunday morning very little noise at all.

The room was equipped with everything you could need and was clean and tidy and well serviced during our stay. Additional pillows and towels were available in the wardrobes.

The hotel is situated centrally in the city centre and as such there is an additional charge (£6 per night) for parking at the hotel. The only slight down point on the weekend, but a very minor one.

There are lots of nice places to eat that cater for every budget.

The local surroundings are far from the bustle of normal city life, with little traffic, nice open spaces and pleasant walks along the river and around the narrow roads of the older part of the city.

The decor inside the hotel was 'lived in' and could possibly do with a little smartening up in places, but generally the interior made up for the rather daunting first impressions from the outside. I guess this is why there are no pictures of the outside on their website.

The Cathederal is a busy working church so it's worth checking when you have free time to wander around as they have services and close off sections to the public (unless you are attending the service) for periods of time.

Winchester is also a nice base to explore further afield, with attractions like Stonehenge (30 mins drive) or the New Forest (20 mins drive) near enough to visit in a day.

Another trip down here on buisness!

IM loving this hotel the views are excellent the new rooms really nice and the food is getting better every time i visit the pork belly was absolutly superb and fishcakes are to die for , i had an afternoon tea which was really very good and for money very special the sandwhiches were good if you could go on about sandwhiches plus i like the tapas good show !!

We stayed at the Mercure Wessex in April 08. It was very convenient to the cathedral and shopping district of Winchester. It's a charming town.
Our room looked out over the cathedral lawn and was very comfortable, and clean. The carpet was worn through in some spots, but we didn't get a "run-down" feeling about it. The hotel staff was helpful and pleasant. The common areas were nice. We slept very restfuly. It was a nice quiet location. On the other hand, the restaurant charged me 3 pounds for a cup of coffee.