Gatwick RH6 terminal hotels: an escort for the night before an early departure

Three hours, travel counted inside

The shortest Gatwick booking is three hours, £700, and her journey is counted within those hours rather than added to them. Gatwick is a long way past Zone 2, which is why her taxi out and back is priced when you book and sent in the same message as the fee: one total, agreed before anyone sets off. At the door there is nothing left to discuss; you simply hand her the agreed amount in person.

For a longer evening, the four hour dinner booking is £900 and the overnight, ten hours, is £1,800.

The North Terminal hotel

Sofitel London Gatwick, RH6 0PH, is joined to the North Terminal by a short covered link, so a guest flying from North can walk from the room to bag drop in minutes. The building is arranged around a tall central atrium, which makes the lobby an easy place to meet: you can see her walk in from the bar.

The hotel is named here as a landmark only. Neither Gatwick hotel has any arrangement with us, and she arrives as a private guest of yours.

The South Terminal hotel

Hilton London Gatwick Airport, RH6 0LL, is connected to the South Terminal by a walkway, and the railway station sits right beside the same terminal. That makes it the easier of the two for anyone arriving by train, including a companion coming down on the Gatwick Express. It is a large, busy hotel, so the room number, shared once the desk confirms, saves time at reception.

One station, three train services

Gatwick Airport station is about 5 minutes' walk from the South Terminal and the Hilton; for the Sofitel, add the two minute shuttle ride to North. Three operators stop there. The Gatwick Express is the non-stop from Victoria, roughly thirty minutes. Thameslink calls at London Bridge, Blackfriars and Farringdon on its way down, and Southern covers Victoria and London Bridge with a few extra stops.

In the evening she takes the train or comes by car, whichever is quicker at that hour; after the last fast trains, it is always the car. By road from central London the drive takes well over an hour on most evenings. Either way, the desk sends one arrival time in writing after checking your name, hotel and room a single time.

Choosing a start time

Work backwards from the flight. For a six o'clock departure, bag drop usually closes about an hour before, so a booking that ends by four is comfortable. Most guests either book three hours in the evening and sleep afterwards, or take the overnight and set the alarm. For late arrivals, message on landing: say which hotel, and roughly when you will be through the door of your room.

Notice matters more here than in town. Three or four hours ahead is ideal, and the day before is better still for an overnight.

Flights rarely keep perfect time. If your inbound plane is running late, a single message moves her arrival to match, and the desk keeps an eye on the hour you gave so nothing is left waiting in a lobby.

Who stays at the Gatwick hotels

Early flyers, mostly, who decided that a night at the airport beats an alarm at three and a dark drive down the M23. Late arrivals too tired for the journey into town. Business travellers with a meeting in Crawley or Reigate and a morning flight. For most of them, the evening before is the only free time in the whole trip.

Who comes down from town

Nobody on the rota lives near Gatwick. The quickest are those close to Victoria and the Gatwick Express: Lea and Violetta in Belgravia, and Lucy and Roxi in Pimlico, a few minutes from the platform. Any companion on the rota can be booked for Gatwick, with her fare quoted the same way.

Staying in town instead

If an airport hotel does not appeal, sleep in town and catch an early train instead. The Belgravia hotels are five minutes from Victoria and the Gatwick Express. London Bridge and the City both sit on the Thameslink line. In town, one hour is the shortest booking.