Hilton London Gatwick Airport, London > Reviews > Hilton - Gatwick Hotel

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Quality of Rooms
Standard of Service
Quality of Food & Drink
Cleanliness

Advantages:	close to airport, comfortable
Disadvantages:	expensive, dark

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

I stayed in the Gatwick Hilton for 2 nights; 23rd March and 1st April. As a general overview I wasn't too impressed with the acclaimed Hilton hotel.

There was a large group of us (about 30) and we all entered the hotel via the North terminal entrance. This was good as you could walk through a sheltered walkway to the main reception. The reception area itself had about 6 different stations that could have been used for check-in but only 2 of them were in operation (this was at about 6.30 so quite a few people would have been checking in at this time). It took quite a long time to check every one in and our cards were given out. The hotel had only given us 1 key card per room even though 2/3 people were in a room – as you can imagine this caused problems of people trying to get into their rooms but their room mate not being there. I would advise to ask for more than 1 key when you arrive.

The reception was situated in the atrium, away from the main entrance lobby (which is downstairs). It was quite dark here because there was also an open plan lounge bar in the same area, there were very nice large comfortable seats here but the bar was not in an ideal location as you had new energetic guests arriving all the time. This area also had the advantage of offering a wireless broadband connection (BT) but at a cost (I never tried this out, tried checking the website but the Hilton site is not working).

THE ROOMS:
We had difficulty finding our rooms as some of the signs contradicted other ones (ignore the signs that are in front of you as you get out of the lifts, read the signs on the main floor itself they are more helpful and correct). Both of the rooms that we had were how should I put this disappointing. They were a lot smaller then expected, in fact I thought that they were smaller than that of a Travel Inn or similar hotel chain. The twin room had a hairdryer, satellite TV, telephone, trouser press, air conditioning and a complimentary hot drinks tray with a kettle. The beds were quite small, I’m about 6ft and found that I could just fit in it so taller people may want to opt for a larger bed size.

When we walked into the room the window was located on the far side, a large curtain was pulled across it so that only a small section was shown but as we pulled the curtain back we found that the window was actually tiny (2ft wide x height of room) and couldn’t even be opened for fresh air, the air conditioning unit wasn’t working so the room wasn’t very pleasant in the morning.

Extra pillows and blankets were available in the wardrobe, situated near the door and inset into the wall.

THE BATHROOM:
Larger then most it did have a typical hotel bathroom setup – sink, toilet, bath with shower and the free shower gel etc. The shower was very powerful and remained at a steady temperature throughout operation. An extractor fan was also present in the bathroom.

THE HOTEL:
It has 4 different restaurants/bars which are all very expensive
- a JD and coke is £7.10 because they only issue doubles
- XXXX beer was £3.40 a pint
We ate breakfast downstairs in the buffet room, which was very good. There was a large food/drink selection present and as I found out you could request for other food to be prepared especially for you. This was nice and the staff were very helpful in meeting your needs. I also noted down the prices of breakfasts if you had not paid whilst booking your room
- Continental £15.95
- Cooked £19.95
Again if you haven’t pre-ordered meals I would recommend going into the nearby terminal building for your meals.

The hotel doesn’t have a swimming pool/sauna etc. the only feature present is a gym which issues free gym towels. However, the gym is relatively small and located next to the terminal entrance so everyone can see you on the treadmill as they walk to reception.

Conference/meeting facilities are also available in the hotel upon request and availability as are executive suites, which are definitely worth the money, the head of our party was given a free suite and it was very spacious, had separate lounge/bedroom area with free internet access and extended satellite channels.
If you are lucky enough to have an executive suite then there’s a dedicated check in and executive lounge on the 2nd floor to ensure that you have a hassle free arrival.
There’s also a Honeymoon Suite in the hotel.

PRICES:
We stayed in the hotel at a cost of £45 per person but I think this was because we were part a large group and therefore discounts are available. The current starting costs for the Hilton Gatwick are from £99 upwards, with higher class suites being individually priced. Rooms can be booked by fax, phone, online or in a travel agent’s.

I have also stayed in ‘Le Meridien’ hotel in Gatwick and would say that for the same price this hotel is much better value as it gives you larger more tastefully decorated rooms, a better health suite, a more pleasant experience and it is also located within the main airport itself via another sheltered walk way – all for a similar price.