Motorway Services Online

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Farlington services

Location:

A27 Farlington Interchange, Portsmouth
(also accessible to traffic on the A2030)

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

PO6 1UN

map and directions

Access/Layout:

Single site located at a junction.


A hotel and petrol station on Portsmouth's busy Eastern Road, which also acts as a service area for the A27.

Facilities

Amenities: Holiday Inn Express Outdoor Space: Farlington Playing Fields; public footpath connections Forecourt: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express, Car Wash, Free Cash Machine

Parking Prices

Short stay customer parking is available for cars at both facilities. No HGV parking is available.

Parking within the Holiday Inn Express car park is free for hotel guests only and you must provide your vehicle registration number to reception in order to receive free parking during your stay.

Chargeable parking is also available and is charged at £2 for up to 2 hours, £3 for up to 8 hours, £4 for up to 12 hours or £5 for 24 hours. Fees can be paid using the pay machine located next to the hotel entrance or via the YourParkingSpace app. These fees are strictly enforced by YourParkingSpace.

Additional longer-term parking is available for vehicles under 2m in height in the adjacent Farlington Playing Fields car park where parking is charged at 50p per hour between 10am and 4pm Monday to Friday only. Outside of these times, parking is free.

Fees for parking within Farlington Playing Fields car park can be paid using the pay machines located in the car park or via the RingGo mobile app using location code 1539. These fees are strictly enforced by Portsmouth City Council.

This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Holiday Inn Express
Eastern Road
Portsmouth
Hampshire
PO6 1UN


Trivia and History

Brick hotel building with a canopy over the doorway.
The front of the Hilton Hotel, as it was in 2011.

The plan was that this part of the A27 would eventually become part of the M27, and there was no allowance for any service area here. The upgrade was cancelled in 1977, allowing the private sector to get to work.

Plans for a hotel here were first put forward in 1979, to be built on the sports ground next to the new A27. A joint plan was made by Shell and Ladbroke, with the filling station opening first, and the 122-bed hotel opening on 8 September 1987, with a ceremony attended by tourism minister John Lee MP. The Farlington Ladbroke Hotel represented a £5million investment from Ladbroke (around £14million in 2024), with restaurants called Trade Winds Piano Bar and Eating House, a courtyard garden with a waterfall, and the promise of a live pianist every night of the week. It was built with a covered drop-off zone much grander than a typical roadside motel, and included space for a 40-bed extension at the back which was never utilised.

The hotel was clearly an upmarket facility for residents that happened to be accessed through an official service station. Ladbroke themselves said it was "designed to attract local people looking for first class food", while also acting as a halt for people heading to the ferry. The decision to designate it as a major service area may even be more to do with the lorry park opposite.

Within weeks of opening, Ladbroke bought Hilton National, and this hotel became the Portsmouth Hilton. A reopening ceremony was held on 19 October 1987. Hilton National became Hilton in 2000. The hotel became a Holiday Inn in 2015, with them calling it 'Portsmouth Park Hotel'. A few months later a £5million refurbishment project began (worth around £7million in 2024), and it became a Holiday Inn Express. The hotel was given a new entrance with the old driveway removed. The tennis courts later closed.

Holiday Inn received planning permission in 2016 to build a KFC Drive Thru and a Costa Drive Thru in the overflow car park. Shell received planning permission to demolish and rebuild their forecourt in 2021.

The road signs imply that this service area has special facilities for HGVs, even though it actually offers very little. It's possible that the lorry symbols are a poor effort to acknowledge the nearby Portsmouth Truckstop.

Alternatives

Previous:Next:
Rownhams (M27, 22 miles)Services on the A27Emsworth (5 miles)
Petersfield (A3 north, 14 miles)