Arora International Gatwick, Crawley

...decided to check-in to the Arora hotel in Gatwick because we had a relatively early flight out of Gatwick for a short holiday and decided it would be a good opportuity to start the hoiday early and make use of the parking packages the hotel offfers.

Following excellent reviews on Trip Advisor this seemed like the best value for a parking package and combined luxury night before our departure flight.

The rooms are reliably ...
...in this class. Rooms have the usual 4* facilities as follows;

tea/coffe making facilities
iron /clothes press
sewing kit
TV with selected cable channels and remote control
telephone
24 hour room service for breakfast menus
hairdryer
en suite bathroom with complimentary toiletries

I was given a room which backed onto the main railway and so had trains going past (at irregular ... more

We decided to check-in to the Arora hotel in Gatwick because we had a relatively early flight out of Gatwick for a short holiday and decided it would be a good opportuity to start the hoiday early and make use of the parking packages the hotel offfers.

Following excellent reviews on Trip Advisor this seemed like the best value for a parking package and combined luxury night before our departure flight.

The rooms are reliably 4 star atandard and exactly what you'd expect from hotels in this class. Rooms have the usual 4* facilities as follows;

tea/coffe making facilities
iron /clothes press
sewing kit
TV with selected cable channels and remote control
telephone
24 hour room service for breakfast menus
hairdryer
en suite bathroom with complimentary toiletries

I was given a room which backed onto the main railway and so had trains going past (at irregular intervals) up until midnight. It was too late in the night to ask for a room change but if you book this hotel make sure you ask for a room which does not back onto the railway line!

On the positive side, there were no noisy aircraft since the hotel seems to be situated the far side of the runways. This is a very positive aspect for an airport hotel.

Reception staff:
Staff were helpful and friendly and helped us through what seemed like endless paperwork for the car parking service. Service was quick (in terms of waiting time).

Bookings:
There were some complications on the different booking processes. I booked two rooms, one through Opedo and one trhough Holiday Extras. Both websites had taken payment from our Visas in advance yet on arrival it turned out that the Opedo site has merely taken a deposit and the actualy payment was still due to to hotel on arrival. This caused problems since it meant producing a cash or visa payment that had not been anticipated. The Holiday Extra company (with whom we'd booked the 2nd room) had, however, taken payment direct from our card at the time of booking and hence no furhter payments were due. So it is important to realise the hotel uses several different booking agents, all of which have their own way of taking the payment from you, some in advance, some at the time of booking and others on arrival at the hotel.

The parking deal:
Our deal price was £105 for two people in a twin including the full "meet and greet" parking service and up to days parking. This hotel and parking deal was booked through Holiday Extras and uses an off-site parking service who collect your car from the hotel, store it in safe parking facilitiy and then meet you at the airport terminal on return with the car and keys. This is very convienient and allows you to drive straight home from the airport direct without having to return to the hotel en route to collect your car. The car drop off, on return, was prompt and friendly and definately worth doing again . This drop-off service removes any stress and hassle from getting out of the airport so that you can get home quickly and hang onto that relaxed holiday feeling for just a bit longer than you would otherwise do.

The hotel is about an 8 minute walk to the shopping mall where you can pick up some last minute shopping or food from the supermarkets (Sainsburys and M+S). The town centre seems to be surprisingly lacking in resturants which means you are almost certainly going to have to use the hotel's dining facilities.

In terms of food, the hotel offers a 24 hour snack bar in the lobby area, serving croissants, sandwiches and coffees. This is handy for a quick breakfast and typical costs include £1.40 plain croissant and £2 for a cup of coffee (Starbucks brand sold here). There is also a restaurant in the lobby in the evenings, offering full hot menus which average from around £12 a meal upwards. The selection and choice seems very reasonable with about 20 main meal dishes on offer.

All in all this airport hotel offers a very fair price for a decent 4* hotel with the handy airpot bus transfers to the terminal and the optional "meet and greet" service where your car is handed over to at the airport on your arrival back in the UK.

Happy holidays! 

...less