Thanks go to the receptionist who changed my non-refundable booking for an earlier date following the cancellation of my French Easter holiday later this year by the gite owners. Since we were holidaying on the Isle of Wight during February half term I'm very pleased I didn't lose any more money.

Hotel was clean, quiet and has good sized rooms with comfortable beds. Some redecoration of the corridors was taking place, but any disturbances were kept to a minimum and the hotel used low odour paint - a nice touch.

Conveniently located with access to shops and bars I'd recommend the hotel for both an overnight or longer stay. Isle of Wight ferry company a short distance away.

Reception is on the first floor and the lobby area is ok, but could be made more welcoming since my first impressions were proved wrong, the hotel being smarter than anticipated initially.

I'd book again whenever in Portsmouth.

Our family stayed at the Holiday Inn Express for 4 nights in July 2011, using it as a base from which to explore the Hampshire area. The positives for us were: the convenient location, the staff friendliness and the no-frills breakfast. The negatives were: the shoddy entrance and access to the hotel, the parking inconvenience and the beds that kept moving around (on well-oiled castors!). Overall the hotel offered decent value though - we will revisit.

I have stayed many times in the Holiday Inn chain of hotels, so did have some pre-conceptions of what to expect.

First the positives:
Good sized room , and a comfortable bed, had the option of firm or soft pillows which is a nice touch as many hotels only seem to have the standard option. Had a really good nights sleep.
Staff - all members of staff were really friendly and couldn't do more ot assist, especially the lady on reception.
The bathroom was clean and bright with plenty of space for toiletries etc.

now the negatives:
The decor inside the main hotel was OK, but what was noticeable was the marks all over the carpet. It looked clean, but there were many patches that we ingrained with something!
The airconditioning in my room did not work at all, so there was no other heating rather than the ambiant from the hallway! I did not mention it at the time I realised, as it was getting late and so I got into bed and stayed warm that way.
The carpet in the room had a "nice" iron mark on it and although clean it had obviously seen better days.

We have just reurned from a 3 night stay at the hotel and we could not have chosen better. The location is great for everything, historic dockyard, spinniker tower, waterside and shops, all within walking distance. We left our car in the car park and walked everywhere. The hotel parking was very cheap for city centre parking. The staff were all friendly and helpful and very cheerful. The hotel itself was a typical Holiday Inn Express, quite a good sized room but the standard Express layout. It was very clean, tidy and comfortable and up to our expectationsThe breakfast was excellent although it was reasonably busy we always managed to find a table, it did warn you in the bedroom that the breakfast area was busy between certain hours so we just went a slightly different time to the busy hour and it was great, plenty of choice and the hot meal was fresh and hot.
No complaints at all and would certainly go back to the hotel if I was in Portsmouth again A credit to all the staff working there.