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
- ^ "Mercure Southampton Centre Dolphin Hotel". Mercure.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Mercure Southampton Centre Dolphin Hotel - A Brief History". Mercure.
- ^ "Dolphin Hotel". Historic England. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
- ^ "Mystery as 'exclusive booking' sees ALL reservations cancelled at city hotel". Daily Echo. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "MP hits out at plan to house asylum seekers in city centre hotel". Daily Echo. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Southampton historic hotel set to become student housing". BBC News. 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
- ^ "Ghost of City's Past". Daily Echo. 31 October 2002.
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