Holiday Inn Portsmouth by IHG

Reviews

• DL

  Darren Lewis

  Aug 8, 2026
  1.0
  Do not book here this Summer. The aircon is not working and from other reviews it is clear it has not been working during the recent heatwaves. The pool is closed. It is clear from Speaking to others the pool has had problems for weeks. We asked when booking for an interconnected room as we have young children and were told only on arrival this request could not be accommodated. Staff were mostly dismissive. We were offered a 20% discount which is derisory. Please avoid until these issues are sorted. Especially if you have children.
• KL

  ks lai

  Aug 5, 2026
  2.0
  Not recommended. I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel it is only fair to share my experience so that future guests know what to expect. Reasons: 1. No working air conditioning There was no working air conditioning in either the guest room or the hotel’s restaurant. This was not mentioned anywhere when making the booking. I think most guests would reasonably expect a Holiday Inn to have functioning air conditioning, especially during warm weather. The only area where I noticed the air conditioning working was the reception lobby. If air conditioning was not intended to be available, I question why every room is fitted with an air conditioning unit. Looking at previous reviews, it appears this has been an ongoing issue that has not been properly addressed by the management. 2. Old and poorly maintained facilities Both the guest room and the public areas looked dated and showed significant signs of wear and tear. The carpets also appeared dirty and in need of replacement. 3. Poor value compared with Holiday Inn Express Compared with nearby Holiday Inn Express hotels within the same IHG group, I found the Holiday Inn Express offered working air conditioning, newer rooms and, in my experience, even more spacious accommodation. 4. Very narrow parking spaces The hotel car park has very narrow parking bays. It was difficult to get in and out of the vehicle without worrying about hitting the adjacent cars. This was particularly inconvenient for larger family cars or SUVs and made parking unnecessarily stressful. 5. No meaningful support for guests The reception staff were always polite, friendly and genuinely willing to help. Unfortunately, the lack of working air conditioning was not something they were able to resolve. The only solution provided was a small fan in the room, which was dusty, noisy and made very little difference. I had to keep the window open for ventilation, but for security reasons I did not feel comfortable leaving it open while sleeping or when I was in the shower. As there was no easy way to keep cool, I also had to buy bottled water myself to stay hydrated. Overall Unfortunately, this hotel did not provide the standard I would expect from the Holiday Inn brand. Considering the condition of the facilities, the lack of working air conditioning, and the overall guest experience, I do not believe it offers good value for money. I hope the management will address these issues so that future guests can enjoy a much better stay.
• AO

  Afiza Oaten

  Aug 3, 2026
  1.0
  I rarely complain but it was so bad, I don’t want others to have the same experience. My husband and I stayed there for 3 nights from 29th July 2026. First of all, you should know that we booked a room at this hotel because of the spa facilities there but wish we had gone for a cheaper hotel and not bothered with that. Our experience at the hotel was: 1. The pool and jacuzzi heater was broken, but when asked when it was going to be fixed, the staff told us that 90% of people using the pool liked the cold temperature, like that explains it all. I only used the freezing cold pool once but they never got it or the jacuzzi fixed before we left. It was broken before we were there and we were told it’ll be a while before they get them fixed. Not surprisingly, we weren’t told about it before we arrived. 2. The air conditioning system was broken (also something that has been happening for a while and they knew it wouldn’t be fixed by the time we arrived because they said this to us when we were checking in) so it was unbearably hot in our room. In order to compensate this, the hotel provided each room a fan which turned out to be so loud we couldn’t sleep much throughout the first night. To give them credit, the hotel gave us a quieter fan the next night but it was still too hot to sleep in the room. I woke up every morning with a severe croaky voice because I was so thirsty. 3. There was no complimentary bottled drinking water provided in our room and when we ran out of our own drinking water, we had to purchase a £5 bottled water at the bar to keep us hydrated in our room. There was also no fridge in the room so we have to get ice from the bar 3 times a day to keep our drinking water cold. 4. They do not have a proper container to serve their drinks in at their own bar/restaurant. There’s more but I’m only pointing out the main issues we’ve had. The last one was trivial but had happened at the end of our stay there and it was like the cherry on top of the very-bad-experience cake!
• AM

  A M

  Aug 2, 2026
  2.0
  Air con doesn’t work - when I told reception they said someone is coming in a couple of days or weeks. Shows no intention of getting it fixed and by the sounds of other reviews the is no plan as it’s been broken for a long time. The rooms was unbearably hot. Didn’t sleep with any sheets on. Couldn’t open the windows fully to get air in and not even an apology from reception. Interesting the reception was air conditioned though! My room was skipped by room service, they took all the towels and didn’t replace them or do the bed. Bin was left full. Reception didn’t apologise and said they’d bring towels up and never did. Two bar tenders were lovely, which I didn’t their names. Another time I was standing there and it looked like a staff member was making himself a coffee saw me finished making one and walked off. Thought he was calling someone to serve me and no one showed up. Pillows felt like they were filled with socks so lumpy. Best to avoid completely and definitely in summer.
• HP

  Humera Harmesh Pardeshi

  Jul 25, 2026
  1.0
  Our stay at Holiday Inn Portsmouth, Pembroke Road from 19–21 July 2026 was extremely disappointing and nowhere near the standard we expected from Holiday Inn. The biggest issue was that the air conditioning throughout the hotel was not working during one of the hottest weekends of the summer. We booked our stay over a week in advance, yet nobody informed us before arrival. Even at check-in, there was no mention of it—we only found out after entering our room and having to return to reception to ask why it was unbearably hot. The only solution offered was a small table fan, which was completely inadequate in such high temperatures. We barely slept because the room was so uncomfortable. To make matters worse, the jacuzzi was also out of service, which was one of the reasons we chose this hotel for a relaxing break. Again, there was no prior notification. We had also booked the dinner and breakfast package, choosing this hotel because the online menu showed a good selection of vegan options. However, due to staff shortages, one side of the restaurant was closed and most of the advertised vegan starters, mains and desserts were unavailable on our first evening. We raised this with staff, hoping the issue would be resolved for the second night, but there was still no proper vegan selection available. Advertising facilities and menu options that cannot be provided is extremely disappointing. Overall, we paid for a relaxing weekend with full facilities and quality dining, but received neither. The lack of communication before arrival was particularly frustrating. Had we known about the air conditioning and jacuzzi issues, we would have booked elsewhere. We have submitted a formal complaint to the hotel and requested a refund, as we do not believe the service and facilities provided justified the price we paid. Sadly, this was one of the most disappointing hotel stays we have experienced, and unless significant improvements are made, we would not recommend staying here.

Frequently Asked Questions About Holiday Inn Portsmouth by IHG