Portsmouth is a great maritime city, and home of the Royal Navy, with an incredible collection of historic ships and museums, in a really beautiful Hampshire spot close to the New Forest, and overlooking The Solent to The Isle of Wight. If you’re looking for the best places to stay in Portsmouth because you’re catching a ferry on from here to the Channel Islands, France or Spain, then we recommend you book for more than one night, because it would be a shame to miss the city's highlights.

The majority of our hotel recommendations in Portsmouth are close to the water or the historic old dockyards, but we’ve also listed a fort-turned-luxury-hotel on the edge of the harbour as it enters the sea — it’s basically a man-made island. But all of our recommendations, including the fort, make great bases for visiting the old dockyards, where you can see Nelson’s HMS Victory, and the carefully preserved wreck of the Mary Rose, which was Henry VIII’s flagship. The dockyards are also rich with other museum ships, and maritime museums (there’s even a museum submarine). And it’s close to Gunwharf Quays, which is a stylish retail outlet centre, with a fantastic lookout called Spinnaker Tower, which, at 170meters high, offers great views all the way out to the Isle of Wight, and a decent afternoon tea.

If you want to see more warships take a harbour tour of some kind and you can get out amongst contemporary navy vessels. And if you want to explore the city’s un-naval history start off with its famous sons, Charles Dickens and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Along the seafront is Southsea Common, a park right up against the water, which has its own castle ruins, again with spectacular sea views. Look inland and you’ll see the spires of Portsmouth’s two cathedrals, and if you look along the shoreline you’ll see two piers.

Don't forget that it's busy here year round. So if you want to guarantee a room in one of the best places to stay in Portsmouth, book well ahead to avoid disappointment.

The Best Places to Stay in Portsmouth

For romance

• The eight room Somerset House Boutique Hotel is an elegant boutique hotel in the historic heart of Portsmouth, close to Gunwharf Quays and Southsea Castle. Converted from an Edwardian mansion, this is a smart hotel with individually styled rooms and suites. The chic pub down the road is owned by the the hotel, and is known for its excellent British cuisine.
• The Clarence Boutique Hotel is an atmospheric, eight room hotel in an historic part of Portsmouth, close to the docks. Each of the rooms is individually decorated, mixing traditional style with contemporary patterns and fabrics. The best rooms have large, sunken bathtubs, and downstairs there’s a pub-style bar.

For great value

• The Florence House Boutique Hotel is a chic, seven room hotel in picturesque Southsea, just minutes from the waterfront, and from some of Portsmouth’s most interesting museums and best shopping precinct. Its rooms are spacious, and all different in style and design, but all blending traditional and contemporary decor with charm. The pub opposite, The Florence Arms, is owned by the hotel and serves hearty British meals.

Prefer a holiday cottage or apartment?

• If you’d prefer to stay in an apartment or private villa we recommend you visit our online partner, booking.com.

Travel Information

• Want to fly to Portsmouth?

• The closest airport to Portsmouth is Southampton Airport (20 miles away) and it’s easy to get to Portsmouth from the airport by train. Gatwick Airport also has a direct train to Portsmouth, which takes about an hour and twenty minutes. Alternatively you can catch the train down from London in about an hour and a half. Or you can catch the ferry over from France or Spain.
• If you’re thinking about hiring a car we recommend checking what our online partners, Rentalcars have to offer.
• Portsmouth isn’t the kind of destination that requires sunny days or warm temperatures. It’s certainly extra good when it’s clear because you can see a lot further, but this is a bit of an unpredictable request, as Portsmouth can be showery all times of year.

Still not sure where to stay in Portsmouth?

• You could expend your search to include the best places to stay on the Isle of Wight, which is just across The Solent or check out our list of the best hotels in the New Forest.
• You might also want to extend your search to include the best places to stay in Southampton which is just ‘around the corner’!
• Or you could really expand your search to include the best places to stay in Hampshire.
• Alternatively, contact one of our friendly Gurus for personalised advice.

Weather

Monthly Weather in Portsmouth