Mark Caswell provides a round-up of the wide range of properties available at the airport.
Gatwick may have lost out to Heathrow in terms of long-haul traffic, but the plethora of short-haul destinations coupled with the airport’s convenient transport links to London have ensured that the demand for hotels in the area remains undiminished.
Unsurprisingly for an airport serving an ever-increasing number of low-cost routes, there is a budget bias to Gatwick’s hotel offering, with Premier Inn, Ibis, Travelodge, Express by Holiday Inn, Yotel and Courtyard by Marriott all within a few kilometres. But Gatwick still has several upmarket choices, including the Sofitel and Hilton hotels.
The big news is that Premier Inn has signed an agreement with the Arora Family Trust (owners of the Sofitel properties at both Gatwick and Heathrow) to manage a 630-room hotel at the airport. Like the Sofitel, the new-build Premier Inn will be directly attached to the North Terminal, and is set to open in about two years’ time.
Most of the hotels are clustered either around the airport itself or south along the A23 towards Crawley. What follows is not an exhaustive list but should give a good idea of the wide range of properties available.
At the airport
Yotel Gatwick
Yotel opened the first of its “capsule” hotels at Gatwick in 2007, and now has properties at Heathrow’s Terminal 4, and airside at Amsterdam Schiphol. The Gatwick hotel is underneath the South Terminal arrivals hall and has 46 cabins (Standard ones have single beds, while Premium ones have doubles). None of the rooms have natural daylight, but there are small windows looking on to the corridors, plus mood lighting, shower wetrooms, flatscreen TVs, air conditioning and free wifi access. Cabins can be booked for 24-hour stays or four-hour sessions for those who want to freshen up or get a couple of hours’ kip.
Hilton London Gatwick Airport
This 821-room hotel is the only hotel attached to the South Terminal via a covered walkway, and a £1 million programme to refurbish the lobby, lounge bar and Amy’s restaurant is due to be completed next month. Facilities include a Costa Coffee outlet, 21 function rooms in a self-contained conference centre, and a 24-hour Living Well Express gym.
Sofitel London Gatwick
The only hotel attached to the North Terminal – at least until the arrival of the new Premier Inn property – the 518-room Sofitel London Gatwick is accessible either through a street-level entrance or a covered walkway from the terminal. It has a bright central atrium with a lounge area, water features, and several food and beverage outlets, as well as a 24-hour gym and a conference centre with 11 meeting rooms.
Premier Inn Gatwick Airport Central
Officially within the boundaries of the airport, the hotel is five to ten minutes’ walk from the North Terminal, although this involves navigating a set of stairs and a slightly convoluted (but signposted) route through the corridors of the airport’s administration department. The hotel was extended in 2006 and now has 222 rooms, as well as two meeting rooms, a restaurant and a bar. Premier Inn has four properties within 8km of the airport, plus a new hotel due to open in Crawley early next year.
Near the airport
Courtyard by Marriott London Gatwick Airport
Marriott opened the first of its new breed of Courtyard properties in the UK earlier this year on Buckingham Gate, about ten minutes’ walk from the South Terminal. The hotel occupies five storeys, with an atrium allowing light into the ground-floor area, where most of the public facilities are located – these include a restaurant, bar and 24-hour shop. There is also a business centre in the lobby, and a modest gym.
Holiday Inn Gatwick Airport
One of three Intercontinental Hotels Group properties close to Gatwick (the other two being the Express by Holiday Inn Gatwick-Crawley, and the Crowne Plaza hotel Gatwick-Crawley), this hotel is 1km away and has 216 rooms and nine meeting rooms, as well as Trader’s restaurant and a business centre.
Mercure London Gatwick Airport
Previously the Renaissance London Gatwick hotel, Accor’s Mercure brand took over the franchise for this property in May last year. The hotel is located just north of the airport, close to the Holiday Inn Gatwick Airport, and features 254 rooms and 11 meeting venues. Eating options include the Pavilion Steakhouse and L Olivo Italian restaurant.
Ibis London Gatwick Airport
Accor’s budget brand property is located to the south of the airport, just off the A23, and recently completed phase one of its refurbishment programme, with 60 of the hotel’s 141 rooms now finished. The restaurant and lobby have also received a light refresh, and there are plans to refurbish a further 30 rooms next year. All bedrooms have en suite bathrooms, pay TV and high-speed internet.
Langshott Manor
Housed in a 16th-century manor set in three acres of gardens, Langshott Manor is not your typical airport hotel, yet it is only ten minutes’ drive from the terminal buildings at Gatwick. A member of the Alexander Hotels group, Langshott has 22 bedrooms across the main manor and three mews houses, with many featuring fireplaces and four-poster beds. The hotel’s Mulberry restaurant has been awarded two AA rosettes in the past four years.
Menzies Chequers Gatwick
Formerly the Thistle London Gatwick, and located about 5km north of the airport, this property was renamed when Menzies Hotels bought eight Thistle properties in 2007. Since the acquisition, Menzies has refurbished the property to bring it up to four-star standard, with 104 en suite rooms, wifi internet access, a brasserie restaurant, a traditional English pub, and eight function rooms.
Copthorne London Gatwick
One of two Millennium Copthorne hotels close to the airport, this 227-room property is located in a Grade II listed 16th-century farmhouse surrounded by 100 acres of gardens, about ten minutes’ drive from the airport. Dining options include the informal Brasserie restaurant and the White Swan pub. Guests can also use the nearby LA Fitness health club for free.
Copthorne Effingham Gatwick
Slightly further along the A264 than its sister property, the 122-room Copthorne Effingham Park has a nine-hole golf course within its grounds, as well as a health club, a 20-metre swimming pool and floodlit tennis courts. The hotel also has 15 meeting spaces, including the Millennium suite, capable of holding 600 delegates cabaret-style. Standard bedrooms all come with tea and coffee-making facilities, a trouser press, internet access via the TV (£12 for 24 hours) and one free movie. Airport shuttle buses run once an hour and cost £3 each way.
For contact details of these and other hotels in the Gatwick area, click here.
