The Coral Guest House

The worst stay I’ve ever endured. The hosts were utterly useless—phone unanswered, messages ignored. When they finally bothered to reply, they sent an address that was a bald-faced lie—nowhere near the advertised spot, banished to the far side of Southampton. A scam from the start. When I arrived, reality hit like a brick: this wasn’t the “private room” promised in the glossy Hotels.com ad. It was a cramped, musty spare bedroom in some old couple’s house, thrown together in a desperate scramble because they’d clearly overbooked. The online photos? Pure fabrication. The place was filthy, stuffed with their tacky personal junk, family photos glaring at me like I was an intruder. The decor? A ghastly purple eyesore, but that’s beside the point—it wasn’t what I booked. Barely cleaned, with grime on surfaces and random crap everywhere. No lock on the door, so I was stuck hearing every creak and cough. Privacy? A cruel joke. It felt like I was squatting in a stranger’s mess. I paid for a proper guest house, not this fraudulent bait-and-switch. I contacted Hotels.com, demanding a refund because this was outright deception—not even close to what was advertised. The hosts had the audacity to refuse. This wasn’t just a bad stay; it was a disgusting ripoff.

When we arrived, he wasn't sure if I had a booking. Waiting outside the property in the pouring rain for 40mins before I got in. When I called they didn't pick up and there was no in the property to assist. The password gave was the wrong one initially and then messaged the right one after waiting for over 40mins. The toilet seat is right by a radiator and could sit properly as the heater continuesly touch you and heat burns. When we entered we had to clean the toilets as they were let dirty. Sheets and towel were clean. We mistakenly took the main door keys into our room and had messages to we were ignoring them but instead we were fast a sleep and woken up at 11pm for the door key. I wouldn't stay there given a choice in the future.