Dolphin Hotel, Southampton

50°54′0.2″N 1°24′13.0″W / 50.900056°N 1.403611°W / 50.900056; -1.403611OS grid referenceSU 42035 11352AreaHampshireBuiltBefore 1454OwnerMercure HotelsOfficial nameDolphin HotelDesignated14 July 1953Reference no.1178854

The Dolphin Hotel is a Grade II* listed 4-star hotel, which is the oldest in Southampton, Hampshire.^[1][2] Recorded mentions of the hotel date back to 1454 although it is believed to older than this and remnants of the original medieval timbers, and stone vaulting are extant.^[2]

The hotel was a famous coaching inn during the 17th-century and became quite fashionable during the city's stint as a spa-town from 1750 to 1820.^[2] The Georgian frontage, complete with coaching entrance and oriel windows, said to be the biggest in England, was added about 1760.^[2][3]

After a period of closure the hotel reopened on 4 May 2010 following a £4 million redevelopment programme.^[2]

In November 2021, the hotel became used exclusively for asylum seekers.^[4][5] In April 2024, plans to convert it to student accommodation were announced.^[6]

Guests and ghosts

Famous guests have included Queen Victoria, Admiral Lord Nelson, Edward Gibbon, William Makepeace Thackery and Jane Austen, who celebrated her 18th birthday there in 1793.^[2]

Molly, a maid seen gliding across the ground floor from the legs up, is the most famous of the hotel's six reported resident ghosts.^[7][2]

References