As the title implies the Europa hotel is part of the Britannia group. It is rare for me to stay in a hotel so a review on one is unusual.
We decided to stay in the hotel primarily because it originally appeared as one of those annoying pop-ups whilst looking for airport parking on the internet. As part of a deal you get to park your car at the hotel on-site for a similar fee to competitors parking facilities at the airport, and get a double room for two for just an extra £25. (Usual prices start at £39 rising to £170 for luxury suites) Breakfast is £9.50 extra if required and there is room service and alarm calls as requested.
Advertised as a three star hotel the pictures on the Europa website were quite impressive with its wonderful looking architecture. I thought it would also be a pleasant change to break the usual habit of a nightmarish drive around the notorious M25 through the rush hour and would also be a good opportunity to get a good
nights sleep without getting up in the middle of the night to catch our flight.
Those facts together with the offer of a free transfer bus to the airport and back on your return, and a health club attached for guests use for a small fee (£2.50 each a day or £5 for a five day pass with swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, Gym, and massage) it seemed ideal for a good stress free start to the holiday. We used the health club and it was very pleasant.
Located at junction 11 of the M23, it is literally 30 seconds from the junction and very easy to find. It also has its own junction back onto the motorway (Junction 10a) which is very handy for the transfer bus and your drive home when you return. Transfer buses run every 45 minutes to the hotel and must be pre-booked the day before with the hotel reception. For the return there is a pick up point at the airport located downstairs. It takes 10 minutes to South terminal and 20 minutes to north terminal.
As we readied for our departure and the wife was attempting to squeeze the remnants of the kitchen sink into her suitcase I decided to amuse myself on the internet and looked up Europa hotel to see if I could find any reviews on it. Imagine my horror when I was met with descriptions like, “a haunted house not even a ghost would want to stay in”. There were other descriptions and all were recent and all of a negative nature.
We arrived at 3pm and the first thing I noticed was the new tarmac at the front of the hotel. Parking seemed limited so we drove around the side and realised the grounds were quite expansive and parked with no trouble. There were plenty of CCTV cameras so I felt secure for the security of our car during our vacation.
After making our way to reception is was clearly evident this was a busy hotel. There was a small queue waiting to check-in but the reception was amply staffed with 5 visible members. Check-in took about ten minutes. The reception area was large, clean and tidy, but gloomy with the bar facing the entrance and a faint smell of stale beer and cigarettes.
We were given our key which is an electronic card and serves the dual purpose of opening the door and operating the power for the lights in the room. After reading all the negative comments about the hotel I was dumbfounded to find what can only be described as the complete opposite to what I had read.
The room had clearly recently been refurbished, with the faint smell of paint perforating the air. All the furniture was brand new, with a double bed, dressing table cum table, sideboard, two armchairs, coffee table, and a fitted large wardrobe. Colour portable television with the five terrestrial channels and limited sky channels. There is also a hair dryer and trouser press. The controller was missing though and the front control cover but it worked fine. There was also informative literature located in a folder on the table. The bathroom was immaculately clean and the only fault if you could call it one was the faded gold coloured metal taps. The carpet was also new and the tea bar with kettle was clean and fully supplied.
The hotel has two restaurants and a central bar, and a lounge bar which also serves food. One restaurant is open to the public and is a carvery, but the other boasts international cuisine and seemed reasonably priced although we used neither. The bar feeds a beer garden, its central point being a large waterfall. This feeds a stream full of tame fish and exotic plants through a partitioning hedge which runs the whole length of a central garden façade built into the centre of the hotel complex which is rectangular in shape and lawned. It is excellent for children as it is insulated from the outside.
One side of the hotel faces the motorway which could possibly be noisy but I believe it is located far enough away to alleviate this. The hotel has a no smoking policy but by obtaining a ground floor room facing the garden the rooms have patio doors which gives you immediate access to the garden.
The hotel boasts banqueting and conference facilities for up to 200 people. Internet is available, and the hotel has 211 rooms. You can also book extras online with a £10 discount.
If I had to find fault with the hotel it would be very harsh but it is clear there is renovation work which at present is ongoing and the hotel is dark in places. However it did not detract from our stay which was very enjoyable albeit brief.
You can locate the hotel at;
Balcombe road, Maidenbower, West Sussex, RH10 7ZR Reservations: 0845 838 1011 Fax: 0845 838 6203 E mail: res714@britanniahotels.com
Thanks for reading.
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I'm in agreement with you wife over the packing. I like to cover all eventualities but just manage to leave the sink behind. Pat.t x
S.Bate 28.08.2007 09:50
Sounds like a useful place.
docpov 25.08.2007 17:57
We stayed there in april on our way to florida, we arrived late and left early so didn't try the food but as you say it was ok for a nights kip. The inclusive bus and parking were really why we chose it and they were fine although we had quite a wait for the bus upon our return.
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Aug 14th, 2007
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