Holiday Inn Portsmouth by IHG

Good location just 10 minutes from attractions and the cathedral. Ample parking and I had no problem finding a space, arriving at 16:30. The hotel was as expected; comfortable bed, large room, opening window, clean and adequate shower room. However, the air conditioning was broken and this was during the recent heatwave and I was not told about this on check-in. The lobby area was cool (apparently that air conditioning unit was working).

I would also highlight my experience regarding breakfast; I was told breakfast was £16.95 tomorrow or I could receive a discounted rate if I purchased on check-in. I do not eat much for breakfast; maybe just a coffee and a croissant. At breakfast the following morning, I discovered I had been charged for a full English breakfast having not been made aware of the two options.

I requested a refund since I had a continental breakfast, which the hotel provided. I also requested a partial refund for the broken air conditioning and received a 20% discount. Worth asking.

Very disappointing stay.

We were notified upon arrival that the air conditioning in our room was broken, making for an extremely hot and uncomfortable night. Even more frustrating was discovering that other reviews have been reporting the same issue for months, yet there was no advance warning before arrival.

Room Service was completely unreachable despite repeated attempts, both directly and through Reception. The bar staff were friendly but struggled to process even simple orders, causing unnecessary delays.

The staff we spoke to were polite, but the hotel appears to have several ongoing operational issues that significantly impacted our stay. Until these problems, particularly the air conditioning, are properly addressed, I wouldn't choose to stay here again.

Hottest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I was told the aircon was broken at check in, it felt a little late to tell you when arriving at the property. Looking at reviews it’s been “broken” for well over a year. Personally I don’t think it’s broken, I think they’ve made a choice to turn it off for a money saving exercise. Stephen made checkin really complicated and uncomfortable. He also was abrasive when asking for the complimentary bottled water that’s advertised on the IHG website, he said it’s for premium rooms only however the website doesn’t say this. The hotel overall is quite dated and needs a full refurbishment. The only positive was the hotel was clean but I will not be returning.

Where do I even start? We stayed for two days in July 2026 for my graduation. During our visit, we encountered several issues:

1. No air conditioning in the hotel room despite outside temperatures being 26°C. We were told all rooms had broken air conditioning, although it was working in Reception. A fan was provided, but the window couldn’t be opened wide enough for proper airflow. We had to sleep with the curtains open to get a decent night's sleep. It felt like it was intentionally turned off rather than broken to save money.

2. The website states you receive complimentary bottled water. However, when we asked at Reception, they claimed this was only for premium rooms. This wasn’t specified online. Stephen at Reception could have handled this more politely; he was quite brusque.

3. The bed was rather hard and uncomfortable, which would have been manageable if the air conditioning had worked.

4. There was no ham at breakfast, despite it still being listed on the menu.

5. Overall, the hotel appears quite dated and uncharming. It needs a lot of TLC. Several hotels in the Portsmouth area might offer better value for a similar price.

We will not be returning.

Room clean and comfortable. Loved the pool and sauna

Where it was room was good

Location and cleanliness

Location based upon a previous visit

The location is great. Easy to walk everywhere.

Do not book this in summer or maybe at all.
The Aircon wasn’t working when I checked in and when I followed up reception, they said they need to get somebody to look at it. It could be a couple of days or a couple of weeks!!! This shows the classic turned the Aircon off because they wanted to save energy and it was very interesting how the reception would still have air-conditioning but no one in the room did. Considering that it was a hotel wide issue you think there would be a little bit more urgency than a couple of weeks when it’s the middle of summer!!! What added insult to injury was I went downstairs to order some food. I just wanted to actually ask a question to the bar. There was a man making a coffee behind the bar. I’m not sure if it was from himself or not but he stood there made the coffee. He turned around saw me and just went inside. I thought maybe he was going to go get somebody but he didn’t. He just didn’t come back, so I just went upstairs and had a bowl of noodles instead of eating at the restaurant . Once they’ve got your money, sounds like they really don’t care.

Great location for anyone visiting Portsmouth

Welcoming staff and enjoyed the breakfast! Also appreciated the free drinks and snacks!

Location, clean, nice room

Stayed for one night, arrived just before 3pm check in time to be greeted by a long queue! When we eventually got to the desk 20 mins later we were told the air conditioning wasn’t working but a fan in the room.
Room was adequate in size but no USB points had to use the tv to charge the phone.
Bathroom has no shower gel I had to go down to reception to ask for more.
General appearance of the room was tired. Like so many of this brand of hotel they seem in desperate need of refitting.
Our rate was reasonable for our stay but wasn’t worth what we paid.
Location is good for gunwharf quays, southsea and old Portsmouth which is very nice.