Which hotel at Gatwick?

[jtlover]

Cant decide which hotel is nicer at Gatwick to stay before we fly. Quite like the idea of the Hilton. I have stayed at the Meridian before (changed name now) which was nice and also the Rennaissance.

Has anyone stayed at the Hilton or has anyone any other recommendation?

 

[kristieuk]

I have only stayed at Le Meridien (now Sofitel) but we like it so much, we always go back!

There have been previous threads about Le Meridien and the Hilton which are basically the North and South Terminal equals, and Le Meridien tends to come out on top. Even if you are flying from the South terminal, the monorail from the North terminal is really fast and easy, so I probably wouldn't let this be your deciding factor.

I'm sure that others will help you out with comments about the Hilton.

Good luck!

 

[gilld]

We stayed at the Hilton in September because Le Meridian was full - BIG MISTAKE! It was dirty, desperately in need of refurbishment and not worth the £105 at all.

I would suggest you try Le Meridian, which has changed hands, but was far superior.

 

[UKDEB]

We've stayed at both and I much prefer Le Meridien.

 

[LeCras]

We always stay at the Hilton since that's most convenient for us. We have to take a domestic flight to Gatwick, which lands at the South terminal. Going to the North terminal and back with all our luggage etc doesn't make any sense for us at all.

We have never had any problems at the Hilton - our rooms have always been clean and pleasant. The food options available aren't fantastic, but we tend to go to Gatwick Village and grab something there anyway, so that doesn't really make a difference.

Charlotte

 

[Lisa1976]

We always fly from the South Terminal with Gatwick so its easier to stay at the Hilton, we prefer it to the Meridian, has some very disgusting looks from staff there as if we shouldn't be there in our jeans etc so wouldn't stay there again.

We like the Hilton, its always been clean when we have stayed there, nice size rooms, huge beds and its convienent for the South Termination to fly with Virgin.

 

[gbrchill]

Previously we stayed at the Hilton and thought that our room was pokey and the public areas near the room were dingey and grubby.

In October we stayed at the Sofitel (was Le Meridien). Our experience of this hotel was totally different. Large room and very helpful staff. They certainly didn't give us the "look" when we were there. Another bonus is the health club - we went for a swim and sauna on the afternoon we arrived, before going off to eat.

One word of advice - if you do stay at the Sofitel don't try to warm the Pain-aux-chocolats in the toasting machine. They get stuck and then result in an interesting flame effect (plenty of smoke and tongues of flame licking the front of the machine). Cue the french water to retrieve the burning remnants with a pair of metal tongs, wave the article in the air to put out the remaining flames and then delicately putting it on a plate and handing it to DW (who was now an interesting shade of purple).

If you book the Sofitel through ABC Holiday Extras then you get a voucher for a discount to breakfast. Without the discount breakfast at the hotel is very expensive. With the discount it's a bargain, considering what choice there is and how much you can eat.

Chris.

 

[Miffy2003]

I have stayed at the Hilton twice and it is an okay hotel - relatively expensive for what you get but of course you are paying for the location! I stay in hotels quite often for work and I would not rate it as any better than okay.

Personally, I will try Le Merdien (Sofitel now) next time so I can compare, assuming the prices are similar. If you book early you can get a great price. We have also stayed a couple of times at hotels not at the airport and to be honest, the money we saved on the hotel cost was almost wiped out by the cost of taxis to and fro the terminal, and the more pricey hotel meal you end up having by default. At least when you are onsite at Gatwick you have an abundance of relatively priced meal options in Gatwick Village. I would just clarify this by saying we almost never have our car with us, it might be worth staying offsite if we did.

So my vote is for the Sofitel, although I have not actually stayed there.

 

[jtlover]

Thanks for all the advice, I have booked the Sofitel and it was actually cheaper going through www.holidayextras.co.uk than booking direct! Also with holiday extras we get half price breakfast. Have said here before - so we know what we are getting.

 

[UKDEB]

One word of advice - if you do stay at the Sofitel don't try to warm the Pain-aux-chocolats in the toasting machine. They get stuck and then result in an interesting flame effect (plenty of smoke and tongues of flame licking the front of the machine). Cue the french water to retrieve the burning remnants with a pair of metal tongs, wave the article in the air to put out the remaining flames and then delicately putting it on a plate and handing it to DW (who was now an interesting shade of purple)

We have booked Le Meridien twice now for free with Airmiles.

 

[gbrchill]

It was the way that the french waiter did it - such sophistication and aplomb. This spectacle was just topped off by him handing the smoking remains to my wife on a plate as if it was some exquisite delicacy.

She was scarlet, I was just chuckling. The tongues of flame licking the front of the toasting machine was something to behold.

Chris.