Hi Dawnie, i think the closest restaurants to your hotel would be at crawley leisure park, its about 5mins/2miles away.
there is frankie&bennys, TGI's, McDonalds and BELLA ITALIA.
You can get info. on bellaitalia.co.uk and the address is Crawley Leisure Park, London Road, RH10 8LR tel. 01293 521974.
check to see if the menu/prices are any good. I've had italian food at frankie and Bennys and it was really good, i also like the retro feel and music , there is a F&B at Gatwick South before security and we usually eat there when flying out.

Hi, it will be about a £6/7 taxi ride away but there's a very good Italian restaurant in Horley that I've eaten at with friends who live there. It's called Il Sorriso and is on Consort Way. It's run by an Italian family and the food is very authentic according to my friend who was working for an Italian owned TO specialising in travel to Italy and is obsessive about her pasta! I just know that it was incredibly tasty. It's probably won't be as cheap as some of the chain franchises such as Bella Italia but I thought it was excellent value for a mid-range trattoria.

It's very popular with local families and couples and if it's a weekend it would be a good idea to phone in advance (according to BT their tel no is 01293 432227) - if there are a number of you might not get a table if you just turn up. This would also enable you to ask about prices and decide if it is within your price range.

SM

Brill thanks for the help peeps!!!

Hi
- has anyone any experience yet of the Gatwick inter-terminal bus service that has replaced the rapid transit system this winter?
Reason I'm asking is that I'm expecting to come into South terminal at 17.15 on a Monarch charter flight and then need to catch a BA flight departing from North terminal at 20.30

- at the end of December, when the weather is possibly going to be dreadful.....

Normally would be doable I guess but I'm a bit worried about timings
- there aren't alternatives available for me.

Hi ukbill, no need to worry, we were staying at the north and went on the bus to the south for a meal and it took no time at all.
After coming out of the arrivals in the south , follow the exit and the buses are clearly marked towards the left as you walk out, the journey is 5 mins max and drops you off at top ramp at the north so you can walk in to the check-in area. we didn't have to wait that long there was a bus already there and it departed about 2 mins after we got on, it doesn't take that much longer than the transit did but just a bit more walking instead.
By the timings you give you should be out the south by 18.15 , and at the check-in at the north by 18.30 latest, then through search with around at least 90 mins til departure, i think you'll be more than ok.

Perhaps a warning and a cautionary story to remind Holidaytruth readers to be careful when selecting their airport hotel parking. Cheap offers on the internet can have there drawbacks.

The Crawley News reports this week of the owner of www.gatwicksecureparking.co.uk who pleaded guilty at Crawley magistrates court for an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. The story can be read at http://www.thisissussex.co.uk/crawley/news/Restaurant-boss-dock/article-1560339-detail/article.html.

Advertising "secure parking" with "six-foot high fencing and lockable gates" - in reality, holidaymakers cars were parked outside in the street of the owners Fish, Kebab and Steak Bar in the Crawley neighbourhood of Pound Hill.

The Owner (who's name can be found on the Crawley News link) was sentenced to 140 hoours of community service and ordered to pay £836 costs to West Sussex County Council's trading standards department who brought the case to court.

Nice! - but cheap I expect and handy for a Donna when you get back if you didn't pay for an in-flight meal.

I will spend one night before flying at the Hilton Gatwick South Terminal.
I had a good deal for 2 including dinner and breakfast.
Anybody been there before and can comment ?
Thanks a lot in advance !

It's a pretty standard airport hotel. Attached to the south terminal by a walkway which will take you about 5-7 minutes from hotel lobby to check-in area.

Used to have an indoor pool but I think that went years ago when they built the extension.

Good location if you are flying from the airport and especially if you got a good dine and stay rate.

Very little more that I can add.

Hi Julmops,
We've stayed at the Hilton a few times and the main reason is convenience, being just a short walk to the check-in area.
depending on your airline its also possible to do check-in the night before , which saves time and hassle on the day.
we did have a dinner package once and the food was really good, service was excellent and the restaurant which is buffet style has a good selection.
Breakfast is in the same restaurant and is buffet style again , they bring tea/coffee to your table. Hilton breakfasts are really good , whether you would pay the £16+ each for it is a personal choice , but within your package price its really good value and well worth giving yourself a good hour to enjoy the whole selection!!
The rooms are fine, fairly small but comfortable for one night. you get basic toiletries in the bathroom which are useful , they have tea/coffee facilities, but never enough sachets! there is a costa coffee in the entrance to the hotel at the connecting walkway end, and a bar in the lobby area.
If you have a parking package with them , you can drive to the entrance and park up, tell the bellboy you're checking in and themn you can take the car to the car park afterwards, otherwise go to the car park and get the shuttle bus to the terminal and enter the hotel from the walkway instead.

any questions , feel free to ask. Andy.

Thanks ever so much Andy ! This was greatly useful !! Seems like I've really had a good deal with dinner and brekkie included ! Now I'm starting to look forward to my holidays one day in advance !!
Once again thanks for your input.

Happy New Year to you all!

We're flying out from LGW on an 8am flight on 22 Feb 2010, and travelling in from Suffolk, so thinking of opting for an overnight stay beforehand, and taking advantage of the 'day before check-in service'.

Has anyone got any ideas of good hotel packages, with and without holiday parking included?

Or would independant parking and hotel arrangements (e.g Travelodge, Premier Inn etc) be a better option?

Would like to take advantage of an inclusive breakfast deal but with an 8am flight, and most hotels not starting breakfast until at least 0630hrs, it's unlikely we'd be able to use it.........unless anyone has any other ideas??

Regards,

Andy

Hi Andy,

I've found great deal at the Hilton Gatwick, which has the great advantage to be attached to the airport.
I've got a deal directly on their own website, including room, 3 course dinner and breakfast for £122 for the two of us.
We live in Reading,we have a direct train going there so no parking for us.
This offer is great if you leave from South Terminal.
If you leave from North Terminal, you might want to check the Sofitel.
Possibly slightly more expensive but really nice and also attached to the terminal.
Otherwise, I would recommend Holiday Extras website that could find you cheaper deals but outside the airport perimeter, which means shuttle transfers, possibly for an extra charge, more hassle and stress.
Depending on which terminal you fly from, I would warmly recommend spending a bit more money and go for the Hilton or the Sofitel.
Hope it helps.
Julien

We prefer to use b&b's rather than hotels now. Take a look at the general b&b site for Gatwick - http://www.gatwick-guesthouses.co.uk

We have used Trumbles which rates very highly on Trip Advisor. We have an early flight in a couple of weeks time and as we also travel down from Suffolk have booked Ambers b&b for the previous night.

The benefit of a b&b over a hotel is that even if you have an early flight most offer a help yourself continental breakfast from the early hours which most hotels do not offer. Most include parking and transfers to and from the airport and it is so much easier on return as you simply phone the guest house for pick up - no more waiting for hotel coaches and struggling with your luggage!

Your car is left on the guest house premises which in my mind always seems safer than some very large hotel or airport car park.

If you look for one in the centre of Horley than it is not much more than 5 minutes to the airport. Trumbles is slightly further out but is very peaceful.

You could always go to the airport on your way to the b&b and check in and simply have an overnight bag which you can leave in your car.

Hope this helps,
Pippa

Hi Mr tiggles/ Andy.

I see you are looking for a good hotel deal at Gatwick, you don't say who you're flying with and which terminal but at the moment Hilton have special offers on weekend night stays. You say that you're flying on 22nd Feb which is monday so you can book the Hilton for the sunday night at the special offer rate.
Go to the hilton website http://www.hilton.co.uk type gatwick in location box and then the dates, click the special rates and type in PR09 SW , and it should lead you to a double room with breakfast for a total of £72.85
they don't have a parking price linked to this offer but i'm sure if you phone them they can add it to your reservation , they use the parking express car park on the way into the south terminal.

If you are flying from the north then the bus transit is fairly quick. Day before check-in is great as it saves queueing on the day, i did this with thomson on my last holiday and will be doing the same in may when we go to egypt, the only problem is that we go on wednesday and the hilton offer is not available, so will use the sofitel which will be about £99 room only booking through FHR they have a promotion code which i think was FHR-P2009

i don't know about parking offers as i get free parking at gatwick so don't have to worry about this.
Also as Julmops recommended look at http://www.holidayextras.co.uk to get the full list of hotels around gatwick , so you can compare the prices and best deals.
i think the £72.85 at Hilton is hard to beat taking in to account the convenience, standard and breakfast. i don't know what time the breakfast is served from at the hilton, but 8am is quite an early flight!! edit. Breakfast is served from 6am , and the promotion sale is only on for january , but they extended it to 14th feb last year!!

Julmops wrote:

Thanks ever so much Andy ! This was greatly useful !! Seems like I've really had a good deal with dinner and brekkie included ! Now I'm starting to look forward to my holidays one day in advance !!
Once again thanks for your input. ;)

No problem Julmops, enjoy your holiday!
even though i live fairly close to gatwick (38 miles) i like to stay overnight to get in the holiday way of things , your deal looks good as when we've stayed RB or RO we've had our evening meal in Frankie and Bennys and always seem to spend around £50.

Thanks for your help Andy66 - much appreciated!

LGW is currently closed, inbound flights diverting, outbound ones delayed or cancelled. Expect delays tomorrow as planes are and will be in the 'wrong' place....dotted around at different airports, NOT LGW!

Any update on flights departing Gatwick on Thurs (tomorrow) to Goa. Monarch 4372 dep time 13.50hrs?
How long would the delay be, as I would think they have clients to bring back on that plane from Goa on Friday morning?

moles, kent,

Refer to my reply to your post on the Monarch Airlines topic. Latest flight information is available on Gatwick Airport and Monarch Airlines websites.

Darren