Gatwick Hotels

Hi all,

We are travelling to Vegas from LGW in December. We are travelling down from the North!!!! on the Friday night for our Saturday flight.

Would we be better staying in Central London on the Friday and getting the Gatwick express early Saturday, or staying at the Hilton or something at Gatwick on Friday. Has anyone got any reviews on the Hilton at Gatwick or ideas for an alternative.

Thanks Again,

Danny

I really like staying at the Hilton because I can relax once I am there for the night with no worries of traffic jams or cancelled transport risking my flight. It means you can get into the holiday spirit straight away and I like walking to the terminal to look out check in desks etc ready for the morning. Also, you can eat in one of the restaurants there instead of at the Hilton should you prefer. Any other hotel near LGW means you have to factor in getting the courtesy bus and dragging your luggage onto them instead of using a trolley to casually wheel into the terminal from the hotel at your own convenience!
Regards
hiljil

Definitely book in at an airport hotel; it avoids any potential travel aggro the following morning.

If you are flying out of the South terminal at Gatwick then, of course, the perfectly functional Hilton could not really be more convenient.

And, of course, staying at Gatwick means you can take advantage of Twilight check-in on the Friday. y)

Have you had a look at any of the off-airport hotels? There are quite a few in the surrounding area of Gatwick, many with frequent shuttles to/from the airport that only take around 5-10 minutes. The Europa Gatwick Hotel, The Arora Hotel Gatwick/Crawley and the Gatwick/Worth Hotel are just a few to name. Hope this helps.

reviews of the LGW Hilton can be found on trip advisor.co.uk (Link Here).
i have stayed at the Travelodge at LGW before and have found this to be a good cheap alternative which is on the hotel hopper route i think £4 to/from the airport.

Europa Gatwick regularly appears in TripAdvisors "avoid" list. So, erm, avoid.

[mitchja]

I've stayed at the LGW Courtyard By Marriott which you can just about walk to/from the south terminal (10-15 minute walk).

The Hilton is by far the most convenient though for the south terminal.

Stayed at the Hilton many times, and has been already said, the bonus of being able to walk to check in with your bags is great. It is now all undercover whereas a few years ago, the bit past the carpark used to be open and could take your face off in the winter.

Its also great (as has been said again) for a wonder into the terminal if you have some spare time the evening before.

Would try to get an executive room if possiblke as some of the standard rooms may look a little "tired"

David

I love the Sofitel at LGW, it's by the far the best I've stayed in there.

I'd also recommend getting the GEX if you want to explore London the night before, it's a great service.

As everyone has previously mentioned, depending on your budget go with the Hilton try to book thru Holiday extras as they should be the best deal. We are staying there next w/end and have also booked the dinner meal as for an extra £20 it is more than worth it(watch the drinks as it really costs) the water is about £6 a bottle. Hope this helps Lin

[buns]

The ability to make use of Twilight Check in and the opportunity to roam the airport for alternative dinning options, says you should opt for the Gatwick Hilton.

When you start to add up the time it would take you to get to Victoria, then the Gatwick Express, then that is all stress you can avoid - not to mention Central London Hotels can cost a fortune :0

Not sure where 'up North you are coming from, but if you come into Kings Cross you can get the Capital Connect Services to take you straight to Gatwick

buns

Thank you everyone for your advice, helpful as ever. I have booked the Hilton, seems 99.00 is the cheapest rate i can get, as you say though, it's worth the extra to save any stress on the morning of the flight and also to get into the Clubhouse early and book some treatments for my good lady, Upper Class is a surprise for her 40th and she will be so excited!!

Thanks again,

Danny

I stayed at the Hilton in January in a basic room - more than functional for a one night stay.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9494/img0018k.jpg
http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2714/img0019fa.jpg
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/3849/img0020ji.jpg

Hotel was fairly busy and it still requires 5-10 mins of walking down corridors, through cold car parks, up ramps etc to get to the terminal.

Stayed at the Millennium Copthorne at Chelsea FC's ground the following night (airport was closed due to snow and zero airport hotel availabilty by the time my flight was cancelled).
Relatively easy to get to from Victoria by tube (although 1 change and a 5 min walk from the tube station).

Thought the Capital Connect service went from St Pancras? Sure that's what I caught after coming in from Sheffield. Was a matter of going downstairs a couple of times and getting the Bedford-Brighton? train (takes around 45 mins+ depending on how much work is going on Thameslink wise).

One thing I would have liked to have seen at the Hilton was in room departure boards( ie on the tv). I had no idea about my flight status due to the weather and it involved either popping down to reception where a small screen was on the wall which people all around it or going into the terminal itself to find out anything.

Have a great trip, Danny. How lovely to have a surprise UC for your wife. Enjoy !
Regards
hiljil

I love the Sofitel at LGW, it's by the far the best I've stayed in there.

I'd also recommend getting the GEX if you want to explore London the night before, it's a great service.

I'm a Sofitel fan too we are booked into LGW Sat night. y)

Thought the Capital Connect service went from St Pancras? Sure that's what I caught after coming in from Sheffield.

It does, but per Buns' comment, Kings Cross and St Pancras are now so well linked with at most few minutes walk using the underground walkways that they can almost be treated as a single (albeit large) station. Getting between the two involves more ups and downs than changing platforms at Leeds or Edinburgh (for example).

Paul