A very comfortable and pleasant stay, in classy surroundings on a night prior to flying from Gatwick. Quasim is extremely welcoming and efficient. The room and bathroom were well decorated, furnished and prepared. Although Quasim says that there is a Continental breakfast available, he is very happy to cook eggs for you, to go with that. Excellent! Horley's selection of pubs / restaurants are within easy walking distance, for enjoyable dining. Serendipity Italian Restaurant is especially recommended. The taxi arranged for the airport worked well, too - it takes only ten minutes. We'll certainly be back, next time we need to stay up near the airport for a morning flight.
This venue had a nice new tarmac drive and parking spaces. The interior however was a little dated. I was in room 4 on 2nd floor (no lift), and the noise coming from the other rooms and corridor was noticable. Ensuite was small, bed was okay, wifi was okay. There were a few places in the town centre to eat (evening meal) and a couple of cafes for breakfast. This was no more than a 10 minute walk. Had to pay £10 to park vehicle at venue.
I specifically booked a night at the Sofitel Gatwick because it included 'Meet and Greet' parking with Maple Parking. Had they not included this I would have still stayed but made other arrangments for my car. I arrived at the Maple Parking Meet and Greet and parked the car. Took my keys over to the attendant and signed in. I then asked if they could give me 20 minutes to check in to the hotel, change clothes and bring a bag back to the car. We didnt want to bring a bag of unclean clothes on holiday with us. Here's where things went downhill faster than Gwynth Paltrow on ski's. The attendant, a tall bloke with a mid-european accent shouted at me 'No, do you know you are at an airport'. He actually shouted this. Shouted. To a customer. Take a minute to breathe that in. Fortunatly I knew I was at an airport, having driven 4 hours to get there. To hear that I was at an airport was no surprise, to be shouted at by a car park attendant was. I explained that I didnt want to take a case of unclean clothes on holiday with me. His response to that was 'we are extremly busy and your car will be removed immediately'. I asked if the hotel would hold the bag and he replied 'No they will not hold your stupid bag'. Here's where I should have murdered him with his Maple Meet and Greet Staff lanyard, but I did not. I asked for my keys back to be told once again in an truely agresive manner 'if you take your keys I will close the entry and you can't come back'. I took the keys and left. I then had to park at Gatawick Long stay for an additional £150. We finally checked into the hotel, explained the situation. The checkin lady (Alessia?) apologised and gave us two tokens for a free drink at the bar. They also kept our bag for us. Is this the fault of Sofitel Gatwick? I think it is. They decided to partner with a company that treats people appalingly. So they've got to accept responsibility for that. Please share this review, If I saw something like this I would have chose another car park or another hotel. Other people should be warned.