England · United Kingdom
Where to stay in Portsmouth
Portsmouth is a city in England, United Kingdom, home to about 248,000 people. This guide covers 4 hotels in Portsmouth, with about 308 rooms between them. Every one carries a published guest score, and the list below is ordered by it.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 4
- Best months
- June to September
- Nearest airport
- SOU25 km · Southampton Airport
- Currency
- GBPpound sterling
- Time zone
- Europe/London
- Language
- Cornish, English, Irish
About
About Portsmouth
Portsmouth is a port city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in England not located primarily on the mainland.
The majority of the city of Portsmouth lies on Portsea Island, though it is separated from the mainland only by a roughly 30-m wide stretch of seawater, so is perhaps more accurately thought of as a peninsula. Historically, Portsmouth has long been an important naval port and builds on its rich heritage with memorials, museums, trails and the fascinating Historic Dockyard. It has 4 mi of seafront, including pebbled beaches. It is a university city, home to the University of Portsmouth, and has a large multicultural student population.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Portsmouth
See
- Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
- Mary Rose Museum
- Spinnaker Tower
- Southsea Castle
- Southsea Seafront
- Southsea Model Village
- Southsea Rose Garden
- Ernest Smith Clock Tower
- Portsmouth Cathedral
- St John's Catholic Cathedral
- Royal Garrison Church
- Royal Marines Museum
Do
- Southsea Common
- Clarence Pier
- The Bandstand
- Portsmouth FC
- Portsmouth Rugby Football Club
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Portsmouth
Ordered by guest score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Scores are shown on their own scale.
| # | Place to stay | Rooms | Guest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travelodge Havant Rowlands Castle hotel | 58 | 4.4/5 583 reviews |
| 2 | Travelodge Portsmouth hotel | 82 | 4.3/5 698 reviews |
| 3 | Travelodge Portsmouth City Centre hotel | 79 | 4.0/5 1,140 reviews |
| 4 | Travelodge Portsmouth Hilsea hotel | 89 | 3.8/5 697 reviews |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Portsmouth to stay in
Accommodation in Portsmouth can be browsed online via the official VisitPortsmouth website and the Visitor Info Centre can make bookings/check availability on your behalf: +44 23 9282-6722.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
More hotels in Portsmouth
16 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Queens Hotel | 1903 | 2.3 km |
| Eastfield Hotel | 2.7 km | |
| The Avenue Hotel | 1.8 km | |
| The Royal Hotel | 7.1 km | |
| Ashbys Accommodation | 2.4 km | |
| Blue Star House | 2.2 km | |
| Florence Gardens Boutique Hotel and Restaurant | 2.8 km | |
| Florence House Boutique Hotel and Restaurant | 2.8 km | |
| Florence Suite Boutique Hotel and Restaurant | 2.7 km | |
| G Boutique Hotel | 2.8 km | |
| Hampshire Court Hotel | 1.5 km | |
| Portsmouth Marriott Hotel | 4.5 km | |
| Seacrest Hotel | 2.9 km | |
| Somerset House Boutique Hotel and Restaurant | 2.8 km | |
| Southsea Rocks Hotel | 2.8 km | |
| Strathearn Hotel | 3.0 km |
All 20 hotels in Portsmouth, with their history and operators
When to go
The best time to visit Portsmouth
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Portsmouth are June to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 22 °C; November is the wettest, with about 99 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Portsmouth: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Southampton Airport (SOU), about 25 km from the city centre in a straight line; Bournemouth Airport (BOH, 53 km) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW, 74 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Portsmouth & Southsea station has National Rail trains run frequently from London Waterloo and take between 1 hr 30 min and 1 hr 40 min via Haslemere. Or about 2 hr 10 min via Winchester (you may arrive earlier by taking a later train via Haslemere than going via Winchester). A cheap day single is about £33. Other major services include Brighton (1 hr 40 min), Cardiff (3 hr 10 min) via Bath and Bristol; and Southampton (1 hour). There are also direct trains from Gatwick Airport (1 hr 20 min).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
SOU · Southampton Airport
BOH · Bournemouth Airport
LGW · London Gatwick Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Portsmouth
Eat
Portsmouth has hundreds of restaurants catering to all tastes. Towards Fareham, the marina Port Solent offers a variety of restaurants in a pleasant environment with a multiplex movie theatre nearby, and ample (free) onsite parking. Throughout the town you find the known restaurants like Taco Bell, JD Wetherspoon and Greggs (bakery).
Stay safe
As with most other large English cities, there can be a problem with violence around the city centre at weekends, around pub and club closing times (around 11PM and 2AM), but with a little common sense, the risk is minor. The same applies to the big pub-laden street of Albert Road in Southsea, where drunk people abound and the pavements are relatively narrow. The area along Southsea seafront can be very quiet and secluded at nights, as it's no longer the bustling nightlife area that it used to be. You should be cautious. The main place to avoid is Somerstown, the high-rise council estate to the south of the city centre, especially after dark.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Portsmouth
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 4 places
of 4 places
of 4 places
Questions
Portsmouth: questions travellers ask
What are the best-rated hotels in Portsmouth?
By published guest score: Travelodge Havant Rowlands Castle (4.4 / 5 · 583 reviews · www.travelodge.co.uk (operator's own guest score)); Travelodge Portsmouth (4.3 / 5 · 698 reviews · www.travelodge.co.uk (operator's own guest score)); Travelodge Portsmouth City Centre (4.0 / 5 · 1,140 reviews · www.travelodge.co.uk (operator's own guest score)).
When is the best time to visit Portsmouth?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Portsmouth are June to September. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 22 °C; November is the wettest, with about 99 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Portsmouth?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Southampton Airport (SOU), about 25 km from the city centre in a straight line; Bournemouth Airport (BOH, 53 km) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW, 74 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Portsmouth?
pound sterling (GBP).
Nearby
Destinations near Portsmouth
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.