It’s surprisingly difficult to find hotel rooms in the UK for families or groups of 5 or 6 — especially if you’d prefer to stay in just one room. But if you know where to look, IHG Hotels — particularly Holiday Inns — offer more options than you might expect.
The part no one explains when you search for rooms for 5+
IHG hotels — mainly Holiday Inns and Holiday Inn Express — are usually a safe, reliable choice for UK breaks. But if you’ve tried to book a room for five or six people, you’ll know it’s not easy. The filters don’t help much, and half the time the sites just try to push you into booking two separate rooms.
So I’ve done the digging for you. Below, you’ll find:
A handy list of UK IHG hotels that do let 5 or 6 people sleep in one room
Quick reviews of two I’ve stayed in with my own gang of five
Links to check prices and availability via Trip.com (which helps support this site)
A useful trick if you’re collecting IHG reward points
What kind of rooms are these?
They’re not all the same setup, but every hotel listed below has rooms that genuinely fit 5 or 6 people. Some are large family rooms with sofa beds and space for an extra bed or cot. Others are interconnecting rooms that are booked as one unit.
In general, you’ll have more luck with:
Holiday Inns (not Express), especially outside the big cities
A few Holiday Inn Express hotels that have flexible room layouts
Crowne Plaza and Voco hotels that offer bigger rooms or suites
Some include breakfast, others don’t — but all let your whole group stay together.
Can I use IHG points for these rooms?
Yes, and it’s worth knowing about. IHG One Rewards used to limit points bookings to standard rooms — which ruled out most family-sized options. But that’s changed.
These days, plenty of IHG hotels do let you book their bigger rooms using points. So if you’ve got a stash of points and want to save some cash on your next family trip, it’s definitely worth checking what’s available at the hotels below.
Airport stopover option with family rooms
View availability here
More Gatwick hotel options
Stylish option near airport, family rooms available
Check availability
More Gatwick hotel ideas
Two we’ve stayed in ourselves:
🛏️ Holiday Inn Express Taunton East
We used this as a base for visiting family, but it’s ideal if you’re passing through or exploring the area. Right off the M5, dead easy to find, and decent value. Rooms for six, breakfast included, and there’s a Harvester next door for dinner. Simple and family-friendly — exactly what we needed.
👉 Check prices on Trip.com
🏰 Holiday Inn Chester South
We stayed here before catching a ferry from Liverpool, but I’d happily book it again for a Chester visit or as a stopover. Just outside the city, free parking, and a decent-sized pool. Breakfast was surprisingly good — free for kids, and the staff were really welcoming. It ticked all the boxes for us as a family of five.
👉 Book your room on Trip.com
💌 Make Big Stays Simple — Join Our Newsletter
Tired of hunting for hotel rooms that actually fit your whole family?
We’ve done the hard work—so you don’t have to.
Sign up for our bigrooms.travel newsletter and get:
🛏️ Hand-picked hotels with rooms for 5 or more
💡 Practical tips for finding space and saving money
🔗 Direct links to family-sized rooms across the UK
👉 Sign up now – and never miss a big room again.
