Holiday Inn Express Portsmouth - North by IHG — Hotel in Portsmouth

As I was arriving via the car ferry from Spain I had contact with the hotel beforehand as the ship was going to be docking in the evening and I was wanting to ensure beforehand what the parking situation would entail in order to streamline my arrival at the hotel. I appreciated their responsiveness via email, especially a staffer named Tom. HOWEVER, after finally disembarking and getting thru Customs, and in spite of the “10 minutes” my GPS said the drive would then take, I soon discovered the main road to this hotel was Blocked due to street repairs being worked on after-hours.||I’m an American and have never been to Portsmouth before, so I am utterly reliant on my GPS continually as I travel. What ensued was a “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” as we say in the States as first my main GPS and then my secondary GPS took me ‘round and ‘round, in spite of my multiple stops asking for assistance from locals. I should have reached the hotel by 9 p.m. but after this loopy fiasco, by a little after 11 p.m. I was finally in tears – from exhaustion combined with sheer exasperation. I pulled over on a side street and phoned the hotel, wailing “am I going to have to spend the night IN MY CAR?” The phone had been passed to Ali who I understand is the Assistant Manager (he also has a different first name but goes by Ali). Well, this young man could not have been any more reassuring or immediately helpful! After I told him the name of the street I was on, he was immediately encouraging and said something along the lines of, “Listen, my shift just ended but this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to walk over to where you’re parked, and I will make sure you get to the hotel.” He then told me what he’d be wearing and of course asked my car details, and said it’d take him about 10 minutes, but just to sit tight. Sure enough, not only did he arrive on-foot as promised but he even brought me some bottles of water and a chocolate bar (!). ||Before reaching me, it turned out he had also gone over and spoken to the after-hours construction crew who were laying some sort of replacement pipe and arranged for them to stop traffic so I could drive over the median and finallllly make it onto Eastern Road – which, as it happens, is literally the ONLY route in/out of this Holiday Inn Express, period. Thus my 2-hour fool’s errand. But, being as late as it was, plus me having zero familiarity with the area, it surely never occurred to me there would be NO alternate route to reach my destination. ||Ali was just SO incredibly warm, and kind, and supportive amidst his tangible helpfulness. I asked if we could walk over so I could physically see what the median looked like and be sure my SUV could handle it and he said, “of course, but why don’t you have a sip of water first?” SO sweet. He obviously could sense during my wailing distress on the phone that I was completely frazzled. However I had only reached that point at the 2-hour mark. All worked out perfectly as the crew immediately stopped traffic while I then thumped my way over the median and finally drove to the hotel which was just .5 mile or so. I had no passenger capacity so, of all things, Ali then RETURNED to the hotel to ensure my check-in was on-track, even offering to phone me. All told, it was about 11:45 p.m. when me and my luggage were at last at the front desk. Please recall he was OFF-duty all this time...and it was nearly Midnight!! It’s just truly rare to find a combination of the best of humanity wrapped in the level of proactive professional dedication embodied in this lovely young man. My hat’s off to you, Ali, and it’s why I made a point of phoning the next day and speaking to the manager, Carolyn, about his extraordinary rescue of this unwittingly hapless traveler who was truly stranded. I subsequently saw him several times during my 5-night stay (added one add’t. night), and he was so humble in response to my praise. What an asset he is to this hotel – and whatever lucky future employer snaps him up.||I similarly want to call out Lisa who worked each morning’s very early breakfast shift. Her joyful friendliness and obvious efficiency brought such brightness to the day’s start, and when she was not there on my final morning she was missed. She too is such an asset to this HIE location. ||The hotel itself was fine, needs a bit more maintenance here and there, but very soundproof rooms, good full breakfast, large lovely courtyard with tables for outside dining, nice hot shower, well-appointed room, and it’s very centrally located – albeit ONLY accessible by exactly one road as shared! When I recall this wretched nearly 3-hour ordeal I will also always immediately remember the night’s hero who turned a negative that was wholly outside the hotel’s control into a true positive. Well done, YOU, Ali…and my heartfelt thanks once more to you & Lisa for making my stay at your hotel a heartwarmingly...

Bad situation REDEEMED by Extraordinary staff person!!

As I was taking the car ferry from Spain, I purposely selected this hotel within 10-minutes of the dock. However, upon my arrival I discovered the main road to this hotel was Blocked due to street repairs being worked on after-hours.

I’m an American and have never been to Portsmouth before, so I am utterly reliant on my GPS continually. What ensued was a “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” as we say in the States as first my main GPS and then my secondary GPS took me ‘round and ‘round, in spite of my multiple stops asking for assistance from locals. I should have reached the hotel by 9 p.m. but after this loopy fiasco, by a little after 11 p.m. I was finally in tears – so I pulled over on a side street and phoned the hotel, wailing “am I going to have to spend the night IN MY CAR?” The phone was passed to Ali who I understand is the Assistant Manager (he also has a different first name but goes by Ali). Well, this young man could not have been any more reassuring or immediately helpful! After I told him the name of the street I was on, he said, “Listen, my shift just ended but this is what I’m going to do. I’m going to walk over to where you’re parked, and I will make sure you get to the hotel.” Sure enough, not only did he arrive on-foot as promised but he even brought me some bottles of water and a chocolate bar (!).

It turned out he had also gone over and spoken to the after-hours construction crew and arranged for them to stop traffic so I could drive over the median and finallllly make it onto Eastern Road – which is literally the ONLY route in/out of this Holiday Inn Express, period. Thus my 2-hour fool’s errand.

Ali was just SO incredibly warm, and kind, and supportive amidst his helpfulness. I asked if we could walk over so I could physically see what the median looked like and be sure my SUV could handle it and he said, “of course, but why don’t you have a sip of water first?” SO sweet. All worked out perfectly as the crew immediately stopped traffic while I then thumped my way over the median and finally drove to the hotel which was just .5 mile or so. I had no passenger capacity so, of all things, Ali then RETURNED to the hotel to ensure my check-in was on-track, even offering to phone me. All told, it was 11:45 p.m. when me and my luggage were at last at the front desk. Please recall he was OFF-duty all this time...and it was nearly Midnight!! It’s just truly rare to find a combination of the best of humanity wrapped in the level of proactive professional dedication embodied in this lovely young man. My hat’s off to you, Ali, and it’s why I made a point of phoning the next day and speaking to the manager, Carolyn, about his extraordinary rescue of this unwittingly hapless traveler who had been truly stranded. What an asset he is to this hotel – and whatever lucky future employer snaps him up.

I similarly want to call out Lisa who worked each morning’s very early breakfast shift. Her joyful friendliness and obvious efficiency brought such brightness to the day’s start, and when she was not there on my final morning she was missed. She too is such an asset to this HIE location.

The hotel itself was fine, needs a bit more maintenance here and there, but very soundproof rooms, good full breakfast, large lovely courtyard with tables for outside dining, nice hot shower, well-appointed room incl. desk and kettle, and it’s very centrally located – albeit ONLY accessible by exactly one road as shared!

When I recall this wretched nearly 3-hour ordeal I will also always immediately remember the night’s hero who turned a negative that was wholly outside the hotel’s control into a true positive. Well done, YOU, Ali…and my heartfelt thanks once more to you & Lisa for making my stay at your hotel a heartwarmingly...

We were more than disappointed with this hotel. We arrived for a 3.00pm check-in slightly before 3.00pm. There were two people in front of us, but there were no staff in sight. More people arrived to check in and it appeared the Receptionist was sorting out some luggage in storage. When she returned to Reception the phone rang, so we all waited again, by this time there were more people waiting. When I call a hotel I have to call about 10 times before anyone ever answers the phone, I always presumed they were dealing with guests on Reception but perhaps not.||The room was OK, although I never understand why there is only one chair in a room for two people.||The bar and restaurant were another adventure. We ordered 2 x starters, 2 x mains and a side order. We were asked if we wanted starters and then mains and we said yes, we didn't want it all to arrive together. When the food arrived it was all together but only 1 x main had been cooked. I didn't eat with my husband, as I had to wait for my food.||Later, I thought I would have a trip to the bar, as we were in our room watching TV, I just wanted two drinks. I was gone over 20 minutes, as there were two staff members serving, until there was 8 in the queue, then one went to clear empty bottles. Meanwhile, someone who wanted 7 x drinks jumped the queue and the staff member just served them. It was beyond a joke.||We didn't get a good night's sleep, it was noisy from the bar, the door needed oiling between the reception/bar and the corridor to the room, plus people were coming and going all night - yes literally all night!||We had asked for a late check-out and we were told we could have until 2.00pm, as we are Diamond Elite Members. However, when I went back to the room at 12:15 I could not access it. Apparently we had not been given a late check out, according to Reception. I was given a new key to get in and I packed up our belongings and we left. We were lucky they hadn't already emptied the room. ||It is only since we got home we find we have been overcharged, we were never asked to sign anything for the food. I was asked to sign for drinks twice. I phoned to query this and I was told that the Manager would call me back today. I am...