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Holiday Inn Dover is the drive-in hotel on the edge of town. Parking is free around the clock, there are four places to eat and drink, and the rooms have air conditioning — about 5.1 road miles from the cruise terminals by our routing.
You'll see cruise packages for it under its old name. Airparks sells "Ramada with Parking at the Hotel, with 6 minute taxi transfers (included in the price)" and 15 days' parking, price on request, and a 2025 blog says the transfer is included. The hotel's own site sells neither, so it scores nothing for them here.
Its own distances, 10 minutes and four miles, are to the ferry port. Breakfast is a buffet with eggs cooked by the chef; the adult price isn't printed.
Call the hotel, not the reseller, and ask whether it'll hold your car and run you to CT1 or CT2.
Book it if
- You're driving in and want free parking the night before — round the clock, per the hotel
- Your family needs two double beds, or rooms that connect
- Your dog is coming too, and it's welcome everywhere but the restaurant
Look elsewhere if
- You want to walk anywhere — it's on the edge of town at Whitfield.
- You need a cruise package sold on the hotel's own site, not a reseller's.
- Anyone checking in is under 18.
Your night before, from here
From check-in to the gangway, using only what Holiday Inn Dover publishes.
The Olive Tree Restaurant & Bar, the Junction Bar & Grill, the Garden Hideaway and a Starbucks café, with a free 24-hour gym.
The hotel's own pages don't mention a cruise transfer. The reseller Airparks still sells it under the old Ramada name, with "6 minute taxi transfers (included in the price)", and Cruise Mummy's April 2025 blog lists a transfer as included. A reseller lists it; confirm with the hotel.
A buffet with eggs cooked by the chef, 6:30 to 9:30 am on weekdays and 7 to 10 am at weekends; kids eat free, per IHG. The adult price isn't printed.
The hotel says it's "just 10 minutes from Dover's bustling Ferry Port", and IHG puts the Eastern Docks Ferry Terminal four miles away. Both are the ferry port. Our routing gives about 5.1 miles by road to the cruise terminals. By our routing the drive from Holiday Inn Dover is about 8 minutes on empty roads — so leave room for real ones.
Guests park free on site, 24 hours a day, with 4 EV chargers. The hotel's own site sells no cruise parking. Airparks lists 15 days' parking with the room, price on request, under the Ramada name.
Night-Before Score: 28 of 100
Scored only from what the hotel publishes. See how the Night-Before Score works.
Getting here, and on to the ship
From Heathrow it’s about 100.8 road miles to Holiday Inn Dover, from Gatwick about 81.2, and from the hotel about 5.1 to the terminals — our routing, with no traffic. Question marks are rides you arrange.
The hotel doesn't mention airport transport — from Heathrow our routing gives about 100.8 road miles, roughly 116 minutes with no traffic.
The hotel's own pages don't mention a cruise transfer. The reseller Airparks still sells it under the old Ramada name, with "6 minute taxi transfers (included in the price)", and Cruise Mummy's April 2025 blog lists a transfer as included. A reseller lists it; confirm with the hotel.
The hotel says it's "just 10 minutes from Dover's bustling Ferry Port", and IHG puts the Eastern Docks Ferry Terminal four miles away. Both are the ferry port. Our routing gives about 5.1 miles by road to the cruise terminals.
From LHR without a hotel shuttle
By our routing, Heathrow to Holiday Inn Dover is about 100.8 road miles, roughly 116 minutes with no traffic; Gatwick is about 81.2 miles and 91 minutes. The train via St Pancras is the usual way, and fixed-fare taxis publish £146.60 to £275 (about US$195–365) a car. More: the airport page.
The hotel doesn't mention airport transport — from Gatwick our routing gives about 81 road miles, most of it on the M20.
The hotel's own pages don't mention a cruise transfer. The reseller Airparks still sells it under the old Ramada name, with "6 minute taxi transfers (included in the price)", and Cruise Mummy's April 2025 blog lists a transfer as included. A reseller lists it; confirm with the hotel.
The hotel says it's "just 10 minutes from Dover's bustling Ferry Port", and IHG puts the Eastern Docks Ferry Terminal four miles away. Both are the ferry port. Our routing gives about 5.1 miles by road to the cruise terminals.
From LGW without a hotel shuttle
By our routing, Heathrow to Holiday Inn Dover is about 100.8 road miles, roughly 116 minutes with no traffic; Gatwick is about 81.2 miles and 91 minutes. The train via St Pancras is the usual way, and fixed-fare taxis publish £146.60 to £275 a car. More: the airport page.
Guests park free on site, 24 hours a day, with 4 EV chargers. The hotel's own site sells no cruise parking. Airparks lists 15 days' parking with the room, price on request, under the Ramada name.
Parking for your stay: Free on site, 24 hours.
The hotel's own pages don't mention a cruise transfer. The reseller Airparks still sells it under the old Ramada name, with "6 minute taxi transfers (included in the price)", and Cruise Mummy's April 2025 blog lists a transfer as included. A reseller lists it; confirm with the hotel.
The hotel says it's "just 10 minutes from Dover's bustling Ferry Port", and IHG puts the Eastern Docks Ferry Terminal four miles away. Both are the ferry port. Our routing gives about 5.1 miles by road to the cruise terminals.
Landing on sail morning instead? Skip Holiday Inn Dover and go straight to the terminals — the airport page covers Carnival’s transfer and the trains.
Which terminal
CT1 and CT2, Western DocksShips start their cruises at CT1 and CT2 on the Western Docks — about 5.1 road miles from Holiday Inn Dover by our routing, measured to the terminals’ postcode point, so approximate. More in the Dover cruise guide.
Source: portofdover.comDistance
~5.1 mi, our routingThe hotel says it's "just 10 minutes from Dover's bustling Ferry Port", and IHG puts the Eastern Docks Ferry Terminal four miles away. Both are the ferry port. Our routing gives about 5.1 miles by road to the cruise terminals.
Source: holidayinndover.co.ukShuttle departures
No shuttle statedHoliday Inn Dover runs no shuttle to the ship — book the taxi ahead, about 8 minutes to the terminals with no traffic, by our routing, not a rush-hour promise.
Source: holidayinndover.co.ukParking while you sail
Cruise parking
Cruise parking unconfirmedGuests park free on site, 24 hours a day, with 4 EV chargers. The hotel's own site sells no cruise parking. Airparks lists 15 days' parking with the room, price on request, under the Ramada name.
Source: holidayinndover.co.ukOff-site park-and-ride
£9 (about US$12) a day, per RelyonRelyon’s park-and-ride on Poulton Close is about 3.5 road miles from Holiday Inn Dover by our routing: £9 a day with a £30 (about US$40) minimum, per Relyon, and a door-to-door shuttle to the terminal — a published rate, not a hotel deal, against free guest parking, 24 hours, with four EV chargers here.
Where the car goes while you sail · Dover cruise parking, compared.
Source: relyongroup.co.ukThe evening and the morning
The evening
Food or bar on siteThe Olive Tree Restaurant & Bar, the Junction Bar & Grill, the Garden Hideaway and a Starbucks café, with a free 24-hour gym.
Breakfast
Not statedA buffet with eggs cooked by the chef, 6:30 to 9:30 am on weekdays and 7 to 10 am at weekends; kids eat free, per IHG. The adult price isn't printed.
Address
Whitfield, off the A2Singledge Lane, Whitfield, Dover CT16 3EL
Hotel website
The fine print, in one place
Times, fees, rooms and the small stuff, as Holiday Inn Dover publishes it. The gaps here are the price of the Airparks package and the adult breakfast price — a call to Holiday Inn Dover settles both.
Check-in and check-out
Minimum age
To check in, per the hotel.
Extra fees
None stated
Wi-Fi
Free
Parking for your stay
Free on site, 24 hours
Breakfast
Buffet, 6:30–9:30 am weekdays, 7–10 am weekends; price not stated; kids eat free
Pool
No pool mentioned on the pages we read
Pets
Dogs are welcome everywhere except the restaurant and the Grand Marquee.
Food and drink on site
- The Olive Tree Restaurant & BarRestaurant
- Junction Bar & GrillBar and grill
- The Garden HideawayOutdoor
- StarbucksCafé
Rooms
Doubles, twins, family rooms with two double beds (some interconnecting), Executive rooms with a sofa bed, and accessible rooms.
Accessibility
A limited number of adapted rooms — contact the hotel.
On site
- EV chargingYes
- Guest laundryNot stated
- GymYes
- Pets allowedYes
Nearby, by the hotel’s count
- Eastern Docks ferry terminal4 mi
- Dover Castle10-minute drive
Distances as Holiday Inn Dover or its brand lists them, on a square-root scale so short walks stay visible.
Also worth knowing
- Air conditioning in the rooms
- Four EV chargers
- Free 24-hour gym in the B wing
- Dogs welcome except the restaurant and Grand Marquee
- Sold by Airparks as "Ramada Dover" with parking and transfers, price on request
Before you book
Worth knowing
- Check-in 2:00 pm, check-out 11:00 am; minimum age 18.
- Free on-site parking, 24 hours; 4 EV chargers.
- Air conditioning in the rooms, per the hotel.
- Formerly the Ramada Dover and the Leaf Hotel — some sites still use the old names.
What we couldn’t confirm
- The price of the Airparks package
- The adult breakfast price
- Luggage storage
Every hotel fact here comes from Holiday Inn Dover’s own pages, read October 3, 2026, unless we name another source — so before you book, confirm whether it sells the parking-and-taxi package Airparks lists, and the price.
Worth a look alongside it
Around Holiday Inn Dover: the Dover cruise guide, Dover cruise parking and the splurge list.
Wake up in Whitfield, off the A2.
Tell us your sail date and we’ll check Holiday Inn Dover for the night before. No payment on the form.
Holiday Inn Dover FAQ
Is Holiday Inn Dover the old Ramada?
Yes — it's the same Singledge Lane address in Whitfield, formerly the Ramada Dover and the Leaf Hotel. Airparks and some booking sites still use the old names.
Does Holiday Inn Dover offer park and cruise?
Not on its own site. The reseller Airparks sells a Ramada Dover package with 15 days' parking and "6 minute taxi transfers (included in the price)", price on request. Confirm with the hotel.
Is parking free at Holiday Inn Dover?
For guests, yes: free on site, 24 hours a day, with four EV charging stations, per the hotel.
How far is Holiday Inn Dover from the cruise terminals?
The hotel's "10 minutes" and IHG's four miles are to the Eastern Docks ferry terminal. Our routing gives about 5.1 road miles to CT1 and CT2, roughly 8 minutes with no traffic.
What's the minimum age to check in at Holiday Inn Dover?
18, per IHG. Check-in is from 2:00 pm and check-out by 11:00 am.
Booking the cruise too?
Tell us your dates and we'll line up the ship, the hotel and the ride. A real advisor does the work. No obligation.
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