I have probably spent about 10 days in the last 6 months at Ibis Gatwick and found all the rooms to be very clean, although somewhat small and a little boring. Then again this is a budget hotel so I do not expect otherwise.

The hotel is a bit of a distance from the airport. One time I did not have a car, so I was going to catch the hotel bus but the sign at the Gatwick Airport hotel bus stop stated that Ibis bus was 'on request', and I did not have the hotel's telephone number with me, so I decided to catch a taxi. The taxi fare was £10.50, so if you are on a budget, I would suggest arranging for the hotel bus. If I recall correctly, the sign at the reception said it was £4.50 return.

On the room itself, everything was quite adequate although nothing fancy. The water pressure in the shower was great (I have a hatred of low pressure shower - it somehow does not make me feel clean) and the shower water temperature is always quite consistent so you do not end up worrying a sudden zap with cold water or scalding hot water onto your face. I would prefer to have a bath tub although I cannot expect everything for the price they charge.

The reception staff are very friendly and helpful, although some of them seem to have a little trouble understanding some of the more complex requests. Then again that is understandable given that most staff's first language is not English - and they almost invariably do their best to help anyway, so this is not meant as a complaint.

The continental breakfast is quite good (£5.25 per person), with fruits, yoghurt, eggs, various breads, ham, cereals etc. Croissants taste and feel like proper croissants, but I guess you can expect that from a French hotel chain. The 24-hour menu is adequate, and the food is quite reasonably priced. I had a duck confit during the normal restaurant hours which was quite well presented and tasty.

Although a bit basic in terms of the room fixture, overall Ibis Gatwick Airport represented good value for money and I would not hesitate to stay there again.

Ibis is a budget hotel chain, so you can't expect too much. However, the place was spotlessly clean, quiet and comefortable. The bathroom module was not to my taste, but seemed to work fine. The bed was very just right.

In all I was quite pleased with what we got and my only winge would be at having to pay extra to park there (£5 per day), but considering the proximity to Gatwick perhaps that is to be expected.

Good basic hotel. Rooms were fine. Could be a littler closer to the airport - a 5 min taxi cost us 12 pounds becuase we arrived after the free shuttle service had finished! All in all was fine.

Having tried the overpriced Hilton on previous overnight stays near Gatwick we decided to give the Ibis at £61 a night a try.

We found the desk staff (all French!) very helpfull, they even let me use their computer to check-in for our flight the next day.

The room was clean, a little compact but fine for a "one night " stay and although the "modular bathroom" was small it served the purpose very well.

All in all very good value for the money, and we will certainly use the Ibis again for any future Gatwick stays.

We only used the bar / cafe for drinks, prefering to go the short distance to Crawley for our evening meal.
Tip:- If you like Chinese food try the Fortune Villa in Crawley High Street. It was the best Chinese I have tasted in a long while!!.

Having read the reviews regarding the hotel bus we took a taxi from North Terminal for about £ 10. About the same price as the bus and more convenient.

David Brown
Javea Spain