The best cheap hotels in Southampton

This shipshape hotel and restaurant is part of a 1980s ‘marina village’ in Hythe, just across the River Test. Its terrace settees make the perfect perch for watching the comings and goings of the cruise liners of an evening, a sundowner in your hand. Rooms – ask for a view – are coffee-and-cream suave, and town is a short drive or 20-minute ferry ride away. Doubles are around £85.

If you prefer character to chain, this bar-with-rooms (from £75) has bags to offer. It’s housed in a rather grand Victorian terrace on Oxford Street, once the heart of historic Southampton and now an atmospheric eating and drinking hub (back rooms are quieter). Cargo contributes great Sunday lunches, very decent coffee and a considerable cocktail list. Decor, rooms included, is eclectic shabby chic, and staff couldn’t be nicer.

For a stopover within easy striking distance of town, Days Inn is your best budget bet, with double room from £59. It’s a US-style motor lodge in a service area off the M27 which also has a McDonald’s, a Costa Coffee and a 24-hour restaurant for your dining pleasure. Functional, then, but also friendly and well-kept, and handy for Peppa Pig World, natch.

Budget by name, and budget by nature in terms of facilities. This is a rectangular box of a hotel divided into rectangular boxes of rooms (from £55) with boxy showers, but it’s brilliantly located near the port, station, shopping centre and chain restaurants (with some noise). Prices vary considerably according to demand, but at the lower end they represent a real bargain for a short convenience stay.

This winsome B&B woos customers back time after time with its tip-top facilities and friendly, solicitous service. It’s a handsome, capacious townhouse with broad landings and original fireplaces handily situated near the city centre and SeaCity Museum. The 13 rooms, some en suite, run from a good-value single (£44) to family quarters, via doubles from £73, and breakfast includes copious coffee and orange juice.

Mark and Andy, the hosts of this sleekly stylish guesthouse, are far too tasteful to call it a ‘boutique B&B’, but its distinctive silver-grey decor and the attentive, personal service whisper it for them. The seven en suite rooms have classy toiletries, guest bathrobes, big towels and up-to-date fittings, and there’s an elegant shared sitting room. Double rooms can be had from £82.