gatwick hotel + parking

~Chameleon~

I recently parked in their long stay car park. Cost £45 for a week. Arrived at 5am for a 7:30am flight. Took around 20 mins from entering the car park and finding a space, parking up and catching the shuttle bus back to the North Terminal. Very smooth and hassle free.

On our return I made sure I overbooked the car park by a few hours in case of any flight delay otherwise you pay the hourly rate if it goes over. Drove to the reception office at the exit point, got my ticket validated (especially important if you pre-booked your ticket) and left without any hassle at all. Wouldn't hesitate to park there again.

Ooops sorry, forgot to add that I booked the parking via Holiday Extras online the week before we travelled.

chocolateteddy

lady1964 wrote: »

We always stay at Cumberland House in Horley on their stay & park package. It's a 5 minute drive from Gatwick, there's a great pub/restaurant less than 5 minutes walk away, plus all those already mentioned around a 15 minute walk. The hosts at the B&B are really friendly, lovely rooms & a great breakfast.
I think we pay around £100 for an overnight stay with 11 days parking (10 night holiday), could maybe get the same cheaper but we love this place & would highly recommend.

We too have stayed at Cumberland House great place, breakfast and relaxed transfer to and pickup at airport.

ERICS_MUM

ferf1223 wrote: »

I agree that staying in a hotel the night before is such a nice start to the holiday, so much less stress.

If you're flying with Virgin you can check in the night before as well, twilight check-in until 9pm. It's a wonderful option which we always use.

We always stay at the Hilton connected to the south terminal...not the most MSE option but it's worth it to us for the convenience of just walking to security in the morning.

Exactly what I do. The Hilton is so convenient for the south terminal and close to the shuttle train for quick access to the north terminal for British Airways which also does twilight check-in. I think the Hilton does an all-in rate for one night in a room and parking upto 14 days (I think). I don't book the parking because I go away for longer

I use meet and greet parking which means I drive up to the departures area, unload the bags and the car is driven off by a representative of whichever company I've chosen, and kept in a secure compound. When I come home they are there ready with my car. A tad extravagant but I travel solo so it's worth it to me. In almost 20 years of using this service I've never had any problems.

I live only 60 miles from Gatwick but I wouldn't dream of driving down on the day - I hear details of delays on the M25 every day on local radio and they can easily lead to tail backs of many miles, I wouldn't risk it.

Have a great trip. :beer:

ferf1223

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

I live only 60 miles from Gatwick but I wouldn't dream of driving down on the day - I hear details of delays on the M25 every day on local radio and they can easily lead to tail backs of many miles, I wouldn't risk it.

Same distance for us...if we did drive on the day, my husband would expect me to have us leaving at least 6 hours or so before our flight 'just in case' so staying at the airport means more sleep, too and you can't put a price on a good night's sleep.

lady1964

We always stay overnight prior to a Gatwick flight for the same reasons & we're about 60 miles away. Doing that starts the holiday feel the night before, a nice meal with a few drinks & knowing we're not getting up at stupid o'clock to leave home, it's just so much more relaxing.
We probably wouldn't do it if we had a flight in the afternoon or evening but for a morning flight, it's the best way!

LadyL2013

giraffe69 wrote: »

I have booked the Sofitel. By no means the cheapest. One night B&B plus 15 nights parking was listed at £193 but by the time I had looked at a few sites was down to £133 so very definitely worth shopping around. There seems to be a standard list which holiday operators like Thomson use which is at the most expensive end despite them suggesting it is a special bargain.

Fab choice. If you like that kind of thing, request a runway view room on a high floor, it's like being an air traffic controller. Their restaurant La Brasserie is exceptional but pricey, but a nice way to start the holiday.

janiebaby29

LadyL2013 wrote: »

Fab choice. If you like that kind of thing, request a runway view room on a high floor, it's like being an air traffic controller. Their restaurant La Brasserie is exceptional but pricey, but a nice way to start the holiday.

could i ask where you found it at that price ?? normally book a travelodge but seeing as its the old mans 50th it might be worth booking something a bit more luxurious

LadyL2013

janiebaby29 wrote: »

could i ask where you found it at that price ?? normally book a travelodge but seeing as its the old mans 50th it might be worth booking something a bit more luxurious

I found it Holiday Extras which do pretty much all the airport hotels at a discount because of the amount of rooms they buy.

I get an NHS discount too, which helped. In september we got a night's stay and 8 days parking in North long term for about £160 (£190 normally). La Brasserie for a 3 course meal with coffee and wine for 2 you're looking at about £120. Obviously price of stay and parking will differ throughout the year, but if you book far enough in advance you can normally get a decent rate.

If you know anyone with a health/public sector discount it's worth seeing if they can book it for you.

ferf1223

lady1964 wrote: »

We probably wouldn't do it if we had a flight in the afternoon or evening but for a morning flight, it's the best way!

we once had a very late departure (8 or 9pm to Australia ) and booked a day room at a hotel near the airport so we could make our way down at our leisure and then relax knowing that, worst case scenario, we could walk to the airport if we had to.

So I am clearly a big fan of get the journey to the airport out of the way.

Doshwaster

lady1964 wrote: »

We always stay overnight prior to a Gatwick flight for the same reasons & we're about 60 miles away. Doing that starts the holiday feel the night before, a nice meal with a few drinks & knowing we're not getting up at stupid o'clock to leave home, it's just so much more relaxing.
We probably wouldn't do it if we had a flight in the afternoon or evening but for a morning flight, it's the best way!

I might not do it for a mid-afternoon flight but I've certainly done airport hotels for departures around lunchtime when the combined deal often isn't any more than the parking alone. That way you can have a very leisurely breakfast at the hotel then relocate to the airport bar whenever you want.

I also like to do airport hotels when you have a late return flight, especially after a long haul, so that you can extend your holiday by a few more hours by enjoying some drinks on the plane without having to worry about driving back home when you are tired. I once picked up my car at Heathrow and was so zonked after the flight that I missed the exit for the M25 and drove down the M4 for 20 minutes before noticing.