We recently had a long weekend in Southampton where we stayed with Zeni Stays. 

Zeni Stays is a newly launched affordable accommodation concept to help with the demand in UK staycations. They use off-peak high-end university accommodation, located in major UK cities and towns, as short-term holiday lets. A lot of their properties are in city centre locations so they are easy to get to and serve as a good base to explore a city’s main attractions. They are also close to high street shops, supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars so you can top up on any supplies as well as have a night out in town.

Depending on your property, there are additional communal spaces that are free to use for recreational purposes. Our property in Southampton had a gym, karaoke lounge as well as a rooftop garden terrace!

There were plenty of tables and chairs on the ground floor for working.

Zeni also organises running clubs, table tennis tournaments, happy hours, yoga sessions and hosted cookalongs, all free of charge to residents.

The interiors are contemporary with modern finishes. Being a new brand, it was all very new and sparkly clean. Our studio came with an en-suite, a kitchenette and a small living and workspace area. It had all the mod cons, crockery, cutlery, pots and pans and other amenities for a self-catered stay. Towels and toiletries were provided. Our room was small but the space planning was done well for such a compact space, with plenty of clever storage.

Things we liked about Zeni Stays was that they are very affordable (some prices start from £25 a night), centrally located and well-maintained, tidy properties. The access to some of the recreational areas such as the gym and roof garden is a definite plus! The property also felt quite safe and secure, with key card access and CCTV as well as a 24-hour security person on site. As a concept, it works well as it uses properties for a purpose which will otherwise be vacant during university term breaks.

Things we didn’t like so much was that the rooms and the beds were tiny. To set expectations, this is not a full fledged hotel type stay/service. There were no tea/coffee provisions in the room and toiletries for the length of the stay would have been useful. Our room also got a lot of noise from passing traffic (in spite of being on the 9th floor) and nearby student parties being held; understandable as it is student accommodation. 

Their properties, given the locations, budget and size, would suit mostly solo travellers, travellers on a budget, short-term stays, overnight stays (for those boarding the cruise ships from Southampton) and business travellers. It’s a perfect choice for affordable city breaks.

You can find other Zeni Stays properties in London, Liverpool, Southampton, Exeter, Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester  and many other major UK Cities and towns.

More information can be found here – https://www.stay-zeni.com/

N.B. Our stay at the Zeni Stays was gifted but all opinions are mine.