Winchester Wessex Hotel by Sunday

The only redeeming feature of this hotel is its central location. Beyond that, our experience was extremely poor. The property itself is tired, outdated, and gives an overall impression of being unclean and neglected. From the car park to the entrance, the standard of cleanliness was appalling – dust, dirt, and a general sense of disrepair were evident everywhere. Breakfast was, without exaggeration, one of the worst I have encountered in any hotel. It is outsourced to an external catering company, which shows. The bread was stale, the choice was unimaginative and limited, and the overall quality wholly unacceptable. To make matters worse, the service was marred by a rude waitress, which set a very poor tone for the morning. This is not a hotel I would ever recommend. For the price and the central location, there are far better options nearby that at least maintain basic standards of cleanliness, service, and hospitality. The Wessex Sunday Hotel is, regrettably, an establishment that has long since given up caring about the guest experience.

Four of us stayed in two rooms for four night and the experience was very positive, with the hotel being cosy and situated in a prime location that was close to the high street and the Cathedral.  Having stayed at this very same hotel when I was a student twenty years back, I have noted very little changes to the hotel itself as a structure and in the interior in the sense that it is relatively well maintained.  In the meantime, the service was top notch and members of staff were always genuine and at hand to help.

I had booked the hotel as I was attending and office Christmas party and didn’t want to drive home after. The location was important as I wanted easy walking distance from the venues we were visiting and a central location as I would be walking back alone to the hotel late at night. It felt as though the visit got off to a bad start as although I arrived close to check in time, there was no room to park at the hotel car park. To be fair , the hotel website does mention it’s not big and is on a ‘first come…’ basis, however the site does not explain alternative parking options. I parked at a multi storey carpark about 5 mins walk away. I parked at 3:15 pm with parking expiry at 9:15 am- not ideal- either leave early or make sure you make a note to top up! The reception area is bright and spacious and looked very pleasant; check in was efficient. However, the room was very dated, ( dark furniture which had seen better days, the easy chair was in need of recovering). Hmmm The room looked clean however there was hair (head an ‘body’ hair on the bathroom floor (not one or two strands), and for the first time in over 30 years of hotel stays I had to request housekeeping to clean my room. I requested this upon leaving the hotel for the evening. The receptionist was shocked when I mentioned it and on my return I could she issue had been remedied. Breakfast was ‘ok’.

My son and I stayed at the Mercure as we wanted to explore Winchester. Brilliant location, fantastic comfy beds and a window we could open!! Staff were super friendly and the room was spotless. Bathroom a little old but overall great value and would highly recommend.

Hotel is lovely when you arrive but rooms tatty and need updating. Bathroom okay but worn, rust around plug and bath. Breakfast finished by 9.30 so didn’t get a chance to try it. Paid £75 which was fine as came for Christmas market so great location but wouldn’t want to pay more as not worth it

The staff were all first class, polite, well trained and helpful. A total change to other hotels we have tried in the City. Hugely recommended if you like to be cared for and looked after brilliantly.