Flying from Gatwick early, or facing a long drive to the airport? Staying near the airport the night before turns a 3am start into a five-minute walk or a short transfer — and if you book the room together with your parking, your car is covered for the trip rather than just for the night.
This page covers the hotels we sell at both terminals and nearby in Crawley and Horley: which ones you can walk to the terminal from, how you get there from the ones you cannot, what is included when you add parking, and what breakfast and family rooms actually cost. Prices in the list below are live for your dates.
This is the question we are asked most often, and the honest answer is that two of the hotels we sell are genuinely walkable. Everything else is reached by road, however close it looks on a map.
| Hotel | Terminal | Getting to check-in | Walking time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sofitel London Gatwick | North Terminal | Direct corridor from the hotel lobby into the terminal, under cover the whole way | 5 minutes |
| Hilton London Gatwick Airport | South Terminal | Covered walkway from the hotel into the terminal - the only Gatwick hotel connected to the South Terminal this way | 5 minutes |
Flying from the other terminal? Gatwick’s inter-terminal shuttle is free, takes two minutes, and runs every few minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The shuttle station in the South Terminal is near the railway station — follow the signs for the North Terminal. Allow for it when you set your alarm, but it is not something to worry about.
Browse the list below to see the rooms and packages available for hotels near Gatwick Airport. Room-only and hotel-with-parking prices are shown for your dates, so you can compare the real cost of each option rather than a headline rate.
| Hotel | Customer rating | Price from |
|---|---|---|
| Sandman Signature London Gatwick Hotel | 4.4 out of 5 | £100.00 |
| Hilton London Gatwick Airport | 4.3 out of 5 | £119.00 |
| Sofitel London Gatwick Hotel | 4.4 out of 5 | £165.00 |
Most people booking a Gatwick hotel are also leaving a car at the airport, and a room booked with parking is usually cheaper than booking the two separately. It is also the part of the trip we know best - APH has been arranging airport parking since 1980, and we put these packages together rather than resell them blind.
Each package includes parking either for a set period - 4, 8, or 15 days - or for the exact duration of your trip, depending on the hotel. The length included is shown against the package before you book. If you end up staying away longer than the period you booked, the extra days are paid directly to the hotel or car park rather than to us, so it is worth booking the right length first time.
It depends on the package. Your car will be parked either on-site at the hotel, at an off-site car park chosen by the hotel, or at an airport car park chosen by APH. The individual product page states which applies.
Where the package pairs a hotel with an APH car park, the transfer is included in the price and run by the car park. On our Gatwick Park & Ride packages, you park at the APH car park on the day of your stay and take the free transfer to the terminal - it runs 24 hours a day, every 15 minutes, and takes 10 to 12 minutes to either the North or South Terminal.
Where the package pairs a hotel with a Meet & Greet product instead, you drive to the terminal and hand the car to a driver there, and the car is brought back to the terminal for your return.
Your hotel and your parking are usually issued as two separate bookings, so you will receive two confirmation emails with two booking references. That is normal. Each email carries its own instructions - take both with you.
Hotels a few miles from the airport are generally cheaper than the two attached to the terminals, with the main choice in Crawley and Horley. The Sandman Signature London Gatwick, for example, is four miles from the airport and has a pool, gym and restaurant - facilities the terminal hotels do not all match at that price.
The saving is real. Just compare the whole cost, not the room rate:
The Sofitel at the North Terminal and the Hilton at the South Terminal sit inside the airport complex and connect to their terminal under cover, so there is no transfer time and no traffic to allow for on the morning of your flight. They cost more than a room a few miles out, and for an early departure, a large group, or a lot of luggage, many travellers judge that worth it.
Both are 4-star hotels with a restaurant, bar, gym and 24-hour reception. The Sofitel has four restaurants and two bars, with rooms from doubles and twins up to a family five room with a sofa bed that takes two adults and three children; check-in is 14:00. The Hilton has the Garden Restaurant, a fitness centre and baggage storage, with family rooms taking two adults and two children; check-in is 15:00. Both check out at 12:00.
If you are driving down the M23 or round the M25 the night before, arriving at the hotel is the end of the driving - on a package, you do not move the car again until you get home.
“Gatwick” is not a town. The hotels people mean when they search for hotels in Gatwick are mostly in Crawley, south of the airport, and Horley, immediately north and closest to the North Terminal. The Sofitel sits at the North Terminal in Horley, the Hilton at the South Terminal, and the Sandman Signature on Tinsley Lane South in Crawley, four miles out.
Crawley generally has the wider choice and the lower room rates; Horley is the shorter drive to the terminals. Distances for every hotel we sell are shown in the list above.
Gatwick hotels booked through APH are rated 4.40 out of 5 from 757 reviews. Reviews are collected independently by Reviews.io from customers after they have travelled, are published unedited, and appear against the individual hotel - so you can see how the hotel you are considering is performing, not how the site is performing overall.
The reviews below include the critical ones. We leave them up, because a hotel’s weak points - a slow restaurant, a noisy wing - are worth knowing before you book rather than after.
Which Gatwick hotels are within walking distance of the terminal?
Two of the hotels we sell. The Sofitel London Gatwick connects to the North Terminal by a covered walkway straight from the hotel lobby, a five-minute walk. The Hilton London Gatwick Airport is the only hotel connected to the South Terminal by a covered walkway. Every other hotel near Gatwick is reached by road, even those only a few miles away.
How do I get from my hotel to the terminal if I am not walking?
It depends on the hotel and on whether you have booked parking with it. Where the hotel is packaged with an APH car park, the transfer is included in the price and run by the car park: at Gatwick that is a free transfer running 24 hours a day, every 15 minutes, taking 10 to 12 minutes to the terminal. Where it is not, some hotels run a complimentary shuttle, some charge a fee, and some have no shuttle at all - the Sandman Signature, for example, offers a discounted taxi booked through reception. Check the transfer section of your hotel’s product page before you book.
Is my car parked for the whole holiday if I book a hotel and parking package?
Each package includes parking either for a set period - 4, 8 or 15 days - or for the exact duration of your trip, depending on the hotel. The period included is shown before you book. If you stay away longer than the period booked, the extra days are paid directly to the hotel or car park. Your car will be parked on-site at the hotel, at an off-site car park chosen by the hotel, or at an airport car park chosen by APH, depending on the package.
Why have I received two booking confirmations?
Hotel and parking are usually issued as two separate bookings with two references, so you receive two emails. Each one carries its own instructions - take both with you.
How do I get between the North and South Terminals?
London Gatwick runs a free inter-terminal shuttle. The journey takes two minutes, and it runs every few minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In the South Terminal, the shuttle station is close to the railway station — follow the signs to the North Terminal. Check which terminal your flight departs from before you book a hotel, as airlines do move between them.
Is breakfast included, and can I get one before an early flight?
It depends on the hotel and the rate. Where it is not included, it can usually be bought from the hotel: £16.95 at the Sandman Signature, £16 at the Sofitel if booked the day before (£22 on the day), and £21.95 at the Hilton, where it is free for children under 10 with a paying adult and is served from 05:30. Several hotels offer a continental or grab-and-go option for guests leaving before the kitchen opens. Prices and times are on each hotel’s product page.
Can I cancel or change my booking?
A flexible package can be cancelled or amended up to 24 hours before 00:01 on the first service date of the package. After that, or if you do not turn up, the full package fee is charged for the full booked period, and cutting a stay short once it has started does not reduce the fee. Advanced Purchase rates and Mystery Hotels are different: they cannot be amended or cancelled and are non-refundable. The terms that apply are shown before you pay.
Do the hotels have family rooms?
Yes, though configurations differ. The Sofitel has family rooms up to a family five with a sofa bed, taking two adults and three children. The Hilton has family three and family four rooms for two adults and two children. The Sandman Signature has triple, family three, family four and quad rooms. Most hotels can add a cot to a double room, and age limits for children in family rooms vary by hotel — our call centre on 01342 859442 can tell you which hotel suits your party.
What time can I check in?
14:00 at the Sofitel and 15:00 at the Hilton and the Sandman Signature. All three check out at 12:00.
Our Gatwick Airport Guide covers recommended check-in times, security and fast track, WiFi, baggage trolleys, and where to eat and shop in both terminals - worth a look the evening before if you have not flown from Gatwick recently.
APH. Hotel details, transfer arrangements, breakfast prices and walking times were last checked on 23/09/2026. Prices shown in the list above are live and change with availability. Breakfast prices, check-in times, transfer arrangements and terminal facilities are set by the hotels and by London Gatwick and can change - please confirm with your hotel before you travel.