limpitlaw

We are flying from Boston to Heathrow in late June and have a flight booked the next morning from Gatwick to Toulouse. There seems to be a scheme offered by the National Express which allows you to book a hotel near the airport. I am wondering if anyone has done this and if it was a good deal. What are other alternatives? Thanks!

OReilly

Most convenient is to stay in one of the two hotels IN Gatwick airport Sofitel and Hilton. If you are flying BA, they are located in the North Terminal (Sofitel); if Easyjet the South Terminal (Hilton). Not cheap, but really convenient. I usually get a room for 100-135 GBP per night.

Here is the LGW wesite to locate your flight.

http://tinyurl.com/gknsx

Regards Ger

alanRow

Depending on the time of your Gatwick flight it might be cheaper to stay in London overnight and enjoy yourselves.

The travel cost between the airports would be cheaper as would the cost of a hotel in the Victoria area

janisj

Where you should stay depends a LOT on the times of you arrival and departure flights . . . .

limpitlaw

Thanks for the info. We are leaving on a BA flight out of Gatwick the next morning at 7am, so I think that we need to stay near Gatwick so that we can be there early. I will look into the Sofitel. Thanks!

OReilly

BTW limpitlaw, if you are flying BA from Gatwick and your flight is before 1515, you can check in, leave your bags and get your boarding card the day before your flight, anytime between 1600 and 2200. This means all you just need to show up at the gate 45 mins before your flight.

OReilly

Good plan limitlaw for a 7am flight!

In your shoes, I would take the bus from LHR to LGW, check into the Sofitel, take a nap and shower. Then walk to the check-in desks (5 mins), check in for the next day's flight. Then take the shuttle train to the south terminal and pick up a train into London for the afternoon and evening.

Regards .. Ger

Robespierre

Southern Trains will get you from LGW to town and back for £10 if you travel off-peak. Here's the link:

http://www.southernrailway.com/main.php?page_id=122

alanRow

There's several ways you can get a train into London from Gatwick - it depends on what you want to see as to what's the best option

rkkwan

I'd use priceline to bid for a 4* at Gatwick. US$100 or so. Even if you get the Arora, it's only 10 minute by train from Gatwick, and you can ride their shuttle back to airport next morning.

limpitlaw

Thanks for all the great advice - I knew I could rely on Fodorites! My only problem with Sofitel is that we are a family of 5 and it looks like you can only have one child in the room with you. The other option is to stay nearby but I am nervous that the shuttles don't operate as early as we would need for a 7am flight. Would taxis be running at 5:30am?

OReilly

limpitlas, I KNOW Sofitel has at least one room that has 5 beds as I have stayed in that room 3 times. There is one queen and three singles - its a HUGE room. I suggest you call the hotel and talk to them. It would be a perfrect solution and it is a really nice hotel.

regards Ger

janisj

Follow OReilly's advice - when there are special requirements (like a family sized room) it is usually better to contact the hotel directly.

Robespierre

alanRow - yeah, there are several train stations. But Southern's DaySave is a pretty hard-to-beat price:

£10 for one adult, or
£20 for two, three, or four

ROUND TRIP!

As far as "what you want to see" is concerned: Victoria area (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral & Abbey) is as good a place as any for newbies to start. Map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/cen_bus.pdf

lupinelady

Just read this and suggest Hotwire
for a hotel at Gatwick..........

yk

lupinelady - BUT the original post was from <b>1 year ago</b>!

&lt;&lt; Author: limpitlaw
Date: 05/10/<b>2007</b>, 05:59 pm &gt;&gt;