The Best Hotels to Book Near Spinnaker Tower, Portsmouth

Minutes from Spinnaker Tower, the Holiday Inn Express Portsmouth is a well-located hotel with a cheery red, white and blue colour scheme in the rooms and equally colourful common spaces. Getting to the tower from here is a breeze, through the pedestrianised Gunwharf Quays shopping centre. A buffet breakfast is included in the room fee, ensuring you get a good, hot meal to start your day.

As the name suggests, there’s a distinct nautical theme to the Royal Maritime Club, perfectly suiting the naval surroundings of Portsmouth’s busy waterfront. Rooms are decorated in a delicate blend of wood and aquamarine tones, while the Victory Bar is named after Lord Nelson’s remarkable warship – see it up close only a few minutes away, at the Historic Dockyard. For a more gentile nod to the water, try the circular Compass Cafe, designed to feel like a large cruise ship.

As the Ship Leopard can attest, there are many hotels in Portsmouth that pay homage to the city’s proud naval links. Located on the Hard, overlooked by the train station, the stunning HMS Warrior and the Spinnaker Tower, this boutique hotel is ideally placed. Rooms have an airy feel – often with a glitzy design of purple cushions and mirrored wardrobes – while suites have whirlpool baths and a separate seating area.

Imaginative interior design has transformed two Georgian townhouses into Becketts, a charming hotel in the seaside suburb of Southsea. With a contemporary combination of bare brick, wooden wainscoting and plush bedding, the six bedrooms at this hotel are both comfortable and competitively priced. But Becketts is more than just a hotel; the property’s fine-dining restaurant is spread throughout the lower floor, with a variety of stylish dining rooms and two bar areas.

Along a quiet residential street between Southsea and Old Portsmouth is the self-catering accommodation of Blue Star House. Rooms are neat, clean and have Hypnos beds, while there’s a shared kitchen facility and laundry room where guests can prepare meals and meet fellow travellers. On top of all that, a stay here comes with the benefit of a free parking permit.

South of Spinnaker Tower and close to Southsea Castle, the Somerset House Boutique Hotel treats guests to airy, spacious bedrooms with soft carpets, cosy lounge chairs and chintz wallpaper. Each room is individually designed in a tasteful, contemporary manner throughout the well-restored Edwardian building. Ensuite bathrooms feature black-and-white tiles, rainfall showers and freestanding cylinder basins.

Overlooking the gardens along Portsmouth’s South Parade is the Seacrest Hotel, a classic seaside spot with a glitzy-glam interior. Bedrooms are all individually designed, with nature-themed wallpaper, extravagant lamps and a bright colour palette that, depending on the room, skews purple, turquoise, or pink and gold. Room rates include a full English breakfast, prepared to each guest’s preference, and the lounge bar is a great place to spend a few hours in the evening, relaxing in leather armchairs.

The decor at the Florence Suite Boutique Hotel riffs on the seaside with blue-and-white seashell wallpaper in the main suites. Many of the rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, filling them with natural light. The cosy beds are made up with Egyptian cotton sheets and feather down duvets, while there is also a pleasant garden restaurant serving gourmet pizzas and burgers on-site.