Salisbury: make room for the cathedral city
Salisbury fits a Wiltshire visit that deserves more than a monument stop. Keep the cathedral area and central streets within the main day, then enjoy a local evening. The Riverside gives a Harnham hotel comparison outside the central streets. Weigh that setting against the actual route to dinner and the room you will use, rather than treating every Salisbury address as equally central.
Good for: A city break with history, meals out and the option of one separate excursion.
Before you choose: The Riverside has room-specific access constraints and its statement does not offer walk-in showers. Check the complete room route and bathroom instead of assuming a ground-floor request solves both.
Amesbury: focus the stay on Stonehenge
Amesbury is useful when Stonehenge is the main reason for the trip and you want a town evening alongside it. The George provides a High Street inn comparison. Plan the visitor-centre arrival first, including the date, entry arrangement and journey from town. You can then choose a bedroom and dinner without building the entire stay around a longer city programme you may not want.
Good for: A short monument-led break or an overnight stop with a clear next-day plan.
Before you choose: Amesbury is not the Stonehenge visitor entrance. A nearby-town description does not establish a walking route to the stones, admission or access within the circle.
Marlborough brings a different Wiltshire emphasis: a High Street stay with independent browsing and the possibility of a planned Avebury or downs outing. Castle & Ball is the inn example here. Keep time for the town itself so that dinner does not become an afterthought at the end of a long drive. Choose this side of the county deliberately if your interests lie around its northern landscapes.
Good for: Visitors wanting a market-town evening and one focused countryside or heritage day.
Before you choose: Marlborough is a separate base from Salisbury and Amesbury. Establish the route to your chosen site and any rail connection before booking; a county map alone is not a useful measure of transfer effort.