We route into and out of Gatwick several times a year, and the flights often involve an overnight stay. We started using the Premier Inn there a few years ago, and the hotel has delivered a consistent service for us during at least 25 visits over the last few years.
One of my pre-requisites for an airport hotel is that it must be directly accessible from the airport, rather than requiring a bus trip – I don’t like being at the mercy of bus timetables to be sure to make my onward flight. The Premier Inn is a 100 metre walk from the North Terminal at Gatwick, and if you come in to the south, you just have to jump on the free monorail which links the two terminals.
Being an airport hotel reception is manned 24 hours a day, and if you pre check-in, it doesn’t take a moment to get your room key from the self service machines. The hotel is unusual for a Premier Inn, in that it’s a high rise, but once you open your room, everything will be familiar, from the excellent beds, to the tea and coffee making facilities and the multi channel television. The rooms are also air conditioned and very well sound proofed, so you don’t hear aircraft noise.
In the first floor, there’s a Costa coffee shop, as well as a bar and restaurant, and Premier Inn’s excellent self service breakfast features there in the mornings. There is average Wifi available free, but we generally pay the small charge for the fast version, which is excellent. Smokers can use the central courtyard or the front of the building for a quick puff.
For a Premier Inn, the hotel is fairly pricey – we generally pay between 75 and 85 GBP for a room. You could save 20 to 30 GBP by choosing one of the Premier Inn Hotels in nearby Crawley, but you’re then back to getting a taxi into the airport, so I wouldn’t bother.
I don’t think you can beat the fact that within 10 minutes of clearing the luggage area, you can be switching the kettle on in your own room at the hotel!