Hotel and car parking near Gatwick south.

[MegCleary]

First family holiday abroad in March half term people and advice needed please.

We fly at -620 on the saturday morning and thought i may be best to drive down from the wilds of Norfolk on the friday night, park and stay the night. Where does a good deal, with quick transfers thats not going to cost as much as the holiday!

Advice much appreciated.

Mumsnet has never let me down in the past. Got us to the paraolympics and me the best hotel ever in central London on another occasion.

Try hotels in Crawley as its just outside (5 or 6 for taxi if needed) you can get a premier inn in goffs park road for about 35

not sure about leaving your car there though

I can't remember whether it was Gatwick North or South but I stayed at the newer PremierInn there. It was comfortable, clean and quiet and cost me £35. Even though I booked just for me I was put in a family room so I think the cost is per room rather than person. I didn't make use of the parking but I know that if you book parking at the point you book the room you get a very competitive rate compared to paying airport parking.

Ta muchly

The new Premier Inn is Gatwick North, but the train across to South terminal takes about 2 mins.

And, with a flight at that time you can probably check your luggage in the night before, after 8pm.

Evening bump

Look on holiday extras. They often sell packages which are cheaper. Careful with which car park it is though. Think its airparks at Gatwick which is a bit of a trek. Try and get 'proper' airport parking if you can.

Think we stayed at Crowne Plaza, with a weeks parking for £63

We used the Sofitel - bit pricier but included a week's free parking. Also the extra luxury made us feel like the holiday had already started.

Once we made the mistake of booking an early morning taxi to Gatwick and saving the cost of a hotel room. We thought we'd be the first run of the day for the driver. Wrong. We were the last run of his all-night shift. He was literally fighting to stay awake the whole way there - DH and I were frantically trying to make conversation with him to keep him awake. I was literally shaking when we got to Gatwick. We vowed never again. Cost of a night in a hotel is better than being dead.

We stay in the Sofitel because you just walk thru a tunnel from reception to the terminal. Worth upgrading to a club room.

Has anyone stayed at the Bloc hotel?

I posted a similar enquiry on another thread, but got no response so I guess no one has. I was about to book Bloc then realised that their family rooms are only for under 11s. Looking closely at the pic, they don't look like full size bunks so I guess that's why. Plus there's no door on the bathroom - 'partially open' or something they call it. We've plumped for the Sofitel in the North Terminal and will ride the monorail to the South terninal in the morning.

Thanks bear. Our dds are 7 & 5 so it may suit them. I like the idea of the valet parking for convince after getting in at 11pm on the way back we have a 3 hour drive with 2 knackered girls. Would not be nice not to trawl through a car park looking for the car.