Gatwick Hotels

[daydreamer62]

We are disembarking in Southampton on June 21  and flying out from Gatwick North terminal on June 23 in the early am

I thought it best to stay both nights at Gatwick and train into London or elsewhere for sightseeing. Which hotel would be best located for our early am flight but also for convenient transit from Southampton and to London . 

Alternatively if anyone has a better idea for those 2 nights in very open to suggestions. I was hoping to get to Hampton Court palace if possible (been to the UK several times but never been there)

[Island2Dweller]

At very different price points, there is a Sofitel and a Premier Inn right at the north terminal.  If you choose the latter, make sure you take care when booking as there are numerous Premier Inn hotels in the Gatwick area.  You want the one right at North Terminal.

It's easy to get to Hampton Court from Gatwick.  Train to Clapham Junction, change to a train for Hampton Court.  Don't buy any tickets, just use a contactless bank card (or phone) to open the platform gates.

[daydreamer62]

Not sure how this ended up in this forum as I'm sure I posted it in the ports forum but thanks very much for your response.  The premier inn sounds like a good choice . Is it easy to get the train from the North terminal or would we be better placed in the south terminal area for transportation? I've only flown into and out of Manchester and Heathrow on the past so Gatwick is new to me

[Cotswold Eagle]

7 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

Is it easy to get the train from the North terminal or would we be better placed in the south terminal area for transportation?

The terminals at Gatwick are connected by an easy and quick shuttle, which is right across the street from the Premier Inn and Sofitel at the North Terminal.  I stay at the Premier Inn for an early flight from Gatwick, irrespective of the terminal the flight is leaving from. 
 

This topic was discussed last month in this thread, which you will find useful 😀

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[daydreamer62]

8 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

The terminals at Gatwick are connected by an easy and quick shuttle, which is right across the street from the Premier Inn and Sofitel at the North Terminal.  I stay at the Premier Inn for an early flight from Gatwick, irrespective of the terminal the flight is leaving from. 
 

This topic was discussed last month in this thread, which you will find useful 😀

 

Thanks . This sounds like a perfect option 

[Cotswold Eagle]

Opinions will vary about your first night. You are trading off the inconvenience of a travel requirement into London or elsewhere for your sightseeing day against the inconvenience of moving after one night to Gatwick. That assumes your flight is really early - it’s simple to get to Gatwick from central London, but for a really early flight I usually choose to stay at the airport. 

[Globaliser]

15 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

Which hotel would be best located for our early am flight ...

 

How early is "early"? Frankly, unless it's before about 9 am, my firm advice would be to stay in central London both nights. You will lose so much quality time if you're commuting between Gatwick and London, plus you'd lose the ability to stop off at your hotel during the day. Cotswold Eagle uses the polite word "inconvenience". The reality is that getting from any Gatwick hotel to any sightseeing location in central London is likely to take about 75-90 minutes - so that's up to three hours of each day sacrificed to the delights provided by Southern Railway. (Hampton Court Palace would be an additional journey.)

[Cotswold Eagle]

5 hours ago, Globaliser said:

central London is likely to take about 75-90 minutes - so that's up to three hours of each day sacrificed to the delights provided by Southern Railway. (Hampton Court Palace would be an additional journey.)

That's why you should always go to London Bridge on Thameslink in 30 minutes.... 

 

The route from Gatwick to Hampton Court avoiding central London identified by Island2Dweller up thread is actually pretty good - just over the hour. 

 

 But yes, I was using "inconvenience" in an understated British way.... To put it an other way, it's "not ideal" depending on timings and ambitions for London 🤣 But definitely possible. Costs add up too, so any hotel saving can be a false economy.

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

That's why you should always go to London Bridge on Thameslink in 30 minutes....

 

Same company, though! GTR has a stranglehold on this area: GEX, Southern and Thameslink.

[daydreamer62]

2 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

 

 But yes, I was using "inconvenience" in an understated British way.... To put it an other way, it's "not ideal" depending on timings and ambitions for London 🤣Costs add up too, so any hotel saving can be a false economy.

The cost differences are quite significant as it appears that weekend central London hotels definitely have a price spike .  I'm not sure the inconvenience of doing one night in London and one out at the airport, or getting to the airport for our flight at 10am before 7am from central London, assuming we need 3 hours too check in, is a better option than the time lost getting to and from the airport on those 2 days . Im always open to alternative solutions though. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by daydreamer62

[Island2Dweller]

I happily aim for two hours ahead at Gatwick, if that swings your view.

If one of the days is devoted to going to Hampton Court then a hotel at Gatwick is just as convenient as central London

[Twickenham]

1 hour ago, daydreamer62 said:

I'm not sure the inconvenience of doing one night in London and one out at the airport, or getting to the airport for our flight at 10am before 7am from central London, assuming we need 3 hours too check in, is a better option than the time lost getting to and from the airport on those 2 days . Im always open to alternative solutions though. 

 

Yes it is. By a country mile, or several country miles in the case of LGW.

 

I'm with Globaliser - stay both nights in London, near Victoria station or any other rail station with direct service to LGW. A 10 am flight really isn't that early - I've travelled to LGW from the Wandsworth area (by bus and rail) for a similarly-timed flight and had time for breakfast in the lounge beforehand.

[Globaliser]

5 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

... or getting to the airport for our flight at 10am before 7am from central London, assuming we need 3 hours to check in ...

 

I really doubt that you need to check in for your flight three hours in advance. Where are you flying to, and with which airline?

 

If you stay next to a central London station that has direct trains to Gatwick, you should be able to get to the check-in desk in about an hour from the hotel, or maybe a few minutes more as you're heading for the North Terminal. So timing is really not that tight for a 10 am flight.

[daydreamer62]

1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

 

I really doubt that you need to check in for your flight three hours in advance. Where are you flying to, and with which airline?

 

If you stay next to a central London station that has direct trains to Gatwick, you should be able to get to the check-in desk in about an hour from the hotel, or maybe a few minutes more as you're heading for the North Terminal. So timing is really not that tight for a 10 am flight.

Emirates to Dubai.  And I've been looking at hotels around Victoria station or London bridge but the difference in price for the 2 nights is a minimum  of £300 and many are sold out already.. Over 7 months in advance. Apparently due to a Taylor Swift concert.. crazy 

[Cotswold Eagle]

8 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

Emirates to Dubai.  And I've been looking at hotels around Victoria station or London bridge but the difference in price for the 2 nights is a minimum  of £300 and many are sold out already.. Over 7 months in advance. Apparently due to a Taylor Swift concert.. crazy 

Hmmm. I said you'd get different opinions. I'm with others, I wouldn't regard 10 am as an early flight and easily doable from central London, but I get that if you're unfamiliar with the city you'd be more relaxed being at the airport, and that's fine. 

 

London hosts multiple large events on a daily basis and has the hotel space to generally absorb them, so I doubt Ms Swift is having a massive effect (other than in Wembley, where she is performing).

London is expensive and still in huge demand post-pandemic, I'm afraid. But seven months out you will be able to find something.

[Globaliser]

8 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

... the difference in price for the 2 nights is a minimum  of £300 ...

 

Have you taken into account the cost of travelling between Gatwick and London? Assuming there are two of you, that's going to cost you about £80 over two days anyway. And that's before you factor in the value of six hours of sightseeing time that you will simply waste on the travel. Also, unless you're willing to travel at odd hours, your plan is likely to exclude yourself from some classic London things, like going to a show in the evening - exacerbated by having no hotel to stop off at during the middle of the day.

[Island2Dweller]

If you intend to stay in central London, consider staying in central London.  If you're going to use one day at Hampton Court, then a Gatwick hotel is just as convenient.

The £80 on fares is true, but ignores the detail that if you stay in central London you'll be paying fares to travel around London anyway plus a journey to Gatwick - so the additional travel cost is more like £30 not £80

[daydreamer62]

I have booked a central London hotel now. The Mad Hatter in Southwark.  I did the maths and it will still cost considerably more as it's  double the price of the Gatwick one but the location will be very  convenient for that day in London especially for the one in our party of 4 who hasn't been to London before , and I can still get to Hampton court easily should I wish to. The Gatwick express train though seemed to only take 30 minutes though from Gatwick to Victoria station so I don't think we would have spent 6 hours travelling each way...

 

Edited November 22, 2023 by daydreamer62

[Cotswold Eagle]

4 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

The Mad Hatter in Southwark.

The old Tress & Co hat factory - a nice building, and a popular hotel. You may have already identified this, but your best route to Gatwick from there is to take the Thameslink train from Blackfriars Station. What may not be apparent from a map is that there is an entrance on the same side of the river as your hotel - the main entrance is the other side, but the station spans the river on the railway bridge. Very convenient for your hotel. The quickest trains take just 35 minutes.  

Edited November 22, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[daydreamer62]

1 hour ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

The old Tress & Co hat factory - a nice building, and a popular hotel. You may have already identified this, but your best route to Gatwick from there is to take the Thameslink train from Blackfriars Station. What may not be apparent from a map is that there is an entrance on the same side of the river as your hotel - the main entrance is the other side, but the station spans the river on the railway bridge. Very convenient for your hotel. The quickest trains take just 35 minutes.  

Yes I did see that thanks but from doing a   search  unfortunately it looks like one a Sunday mornings it seems to be the slow route taking 1 hour 38 minutes so I figured uber to Victoria station might be quicker but I think with 4 of us it may be not much more expensive to Uber the whole way but we can make that decision at the time

[Cotswold Eagle]

7 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

unfortunately it looks like one a Sunday mornings it seems to be the slow route taking 1 hour 38 minutes so I figured uber to Victoria station might be quicker

That sounds as if a journey planner is suggesting taking the Underground from Blackfriars to Victoria and a train from there? That make no sense for you - the underground station is the other side of the river. From Stamford Street you’ll be better popping along to London Bridge to take a Thameslink train. 
Driving to Gatwick will take well over an hour even early on a Sunday morning - it’s a tortuous route through South London. I much prefer a train. 

[Globaliser]

17 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

The £80 on fares is true, but ignores the detail that if you stay in central London you'll be paying fares to travel around London anyway plus a journey to Gatwick - so the additional travel cost is more like £30 not £80

 

16 hours ago, daydreamer62 said:

The Gatwick express train though seemed to only take 30 minutes though from Gatwick to Victoria station so I don't think we would have spent 6 hours travelling each way...

 

I think that the most benevolent costing of travel from a Gatwick base, to include "fares to travel around London", would be that an Oyster or contactless user would hit an off-peak cap at £23.70 for the day. Taking out the travel from/to Gatwick, the likely cap would be the Z12 cap of £8.10. The excess for the Gatwick component is therefore £15.60 per person per day, or (assuming two people) £62.40 over the two days of staying at Gatwick.

 

I said that the additional travel time would be "up to three hours of each day", based on 75-90 minutes each way between a Gatwick hotel and a central London sightseeing location. Even if you were to stay at the Sofitel or the Premier Inn at the North Terminal, the transfer to the railway station will take 10-15 minutes (walk to transit station, wait for transit, take transit, walk to railway station). The Hilton at the South Terminal is not much better because it's a long and unscenic walk. A transfer from an off-airport hotel to the station would take longer than this.

 

To London Victoria, there are 5 trains per hour during the day (excluding Gatwick Express, on which you would be paying a higher fare that doesn't count towards the caps mentioned), so an average wait for a train of 6 minutes, plus a 32-34 minute journey to Victoria. (Alternatively, I think it's about 4 tph and 30 minutes to London Bridge, ignoring the slow trains that aren't worth taking.) Then add 20 minutes for taking the Tube to the sightseeing location.

 

ISTR that teachers say to show your working. So here it is. If you think that you can stay at a Gatwick hotel and spend only 30 minutes to get into central London, that is (shall we say) an over-optimistic view of what travel in and around London is actually like.

[Island2Dweller]

If you've booked the hotel in Southwark, forget Gatwick Express.  Thameslink is far cheaper and given you are near the station, will be quicker in overall journey time.