Harbour Hotels reveals plans for £25m luxury hotel at Southampton’s Ocean Village

The super-yacht-inspired development will have 70 bedrooms and will be up to five-star standard. It will also boast a champagne roof terrace and a Jetty restaurant, which BigHospitality understands could be headed up by Michelin-starred chef Alex Aitken.

“A hotel on this site is a perfect fit for our portfolio and is an excellent complement to the existing Marina,” said Nick Roach, chairman of Harbour Hotels. “We have a lot to do, but are fully committed to deliver a landmark hotel, spa and dining destination to Southampton.”

The ground floor of the as-yet-unnamed hotel is proposed to include a large open-plan lounge, restaurant and bar area which will extend out onto a terrace at the end of the existing promontory. The hotel will also have a number of flexible function rooms. Harbour Hotels have teamed up with MDL Developments to build the site.

The Jetty restaurant​

The Jetty restaurant will be similar to its namesake​ at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel in Dorset, serving a locally-sourced, seafood-orientated menu featuring local oysters, shrimp and lobster, as well as numerous charcoal-grilled dishes and sharing platters.

Eamonn Feeney, managing director of MDL Developments, said: "The development is being designed to complement the adjacent Allied Development scheme and the proposed residential units coupled with a mix of bars and restaurants will create a vibrant place to live, work and enjoy time by the water.

“Ultimately we see Ocean Village, with its high-quality marina, becoming the new waterfront destination for Southampton, to rival Portsmouth’s Gunwharf Quays."

Along with the Christchurch Harbour Hotel, Harbour Hotels owns and manages the Kings hotel in Dorset; the St Ives Harbour Hotel in Cornwall; the Salcombe Harbour Hotel​ and the Sidmouth Harbour Hotel, both in Devon. This latest development is expected to create around 100 jobs for the area.