I stayed at the Hotel Ibis for one night, before boarding the Queen Mary 2 for a cruise.
After a long international flight, I had hoped to check in right away and this had been pre-arranged, however due to the hotel being very busy my room wasn't ready until 12:30pm (I arrived there at 11am).
Still, the hotel staff did make an effort to prepare my room first (before other rooms) which I did appreciate.
The rooms are clean with everything you need for one night (TV, Tea and Coffee, Internet, Shower etc.) However they are very basic in appearance and decor, which is fine for one night but I wouldn't have wanted to stay there for longer than 2-3 nights.
The shower-over-bath had very low water pressure and the shower head (on a removable handle) wouldn't stay up so had to be hand-held if washing hair.
The hotel has a dining area with a wonderful photograph (2m long on canvas) of the QE2 which was a nice addition given that ship's connection to Southampton. Breakfast is included in the room price and consisted of a buffet style with hot and cold foods.
The hotel is close to the new Ocean Terminal (20 minute walk) or 5 minutes by Taxi, however it would be further away from most cruise ships than the Southampton Holiday Inn.
It is within a very easy walk from the very large West Quay shopping centre, which is great if you want to visit shops such as Orange, Marks & Spencer, Waterstones and food outlets / restaurants.
Families with kids will enjoy it's proximity to fast food outlets such as Pizza Hut, Nando's, McDonalds and Burger King.
It is also a short walk from the Southampton City Railway station making connections from London very easy.
I'd recommend it for price (it's cheap) and location for 1 night.
I'd not recommend it if you want anything more than 3-star rooms, or luxury, as it's very basic.
