Back in the 16th century... (Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick)

Member Name: zOOm

Product:	Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick
Date:	28/06/01 (362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: out of town, large gardens, sports facilities

Disadvantages: not very well decorated, restaurant

I stayed in this hotel last week for two nights as part of a residential training program.

The hotel is a short Taxi ride from Gatwick airport (costs about £7.50) and they also have their own shuttle bus but that comes around every hour (although it only costs £2).

The hotel itself is built around a 16th century farm house (hence the title). Obviously they have built around and extended this farm house. There are conference rooms as well as a restaurant and a bar.

Since it used to be a farm house, the land area is huge and I quite enjoyed the fact that it was not your usual business hotel (a huge pile of concrete sorrounded by other huge piles of concrete in a city center).

The hotel has no lifts but it is only two floors high anyway and hence you do not get too tired going up or down the stairs. I did not notice any facilities for the disabled people though and hence I am assuming they are not given a room on the second floor.

You immediately know that you are in an old building and this is not so nice. There are wooden beams across the ceiling and this gives an authenticity to the place, however, they have decided to paint these black and hence they look ugly.

The place has been designed rather badly. You have to walk through a maze of poorly lit corridors to get to your room. The lighting is so bad that you think it's always nighttime. Your room does have an electronic key though.

The rooms are large and plain. There is a pay TV, a phone, a desk and tea & coffee making facilities but it seems and feels empty. My minibar was out of order with a note saying that it was no longer being used and that I should call room service if I needed anything.

The room has no airconditioning facilities (well, you can open the window) and I didn't see any heating facilities either.

The bathroom is very plain. You get the same feeling that you get when you first move into a house. Apart from
the soap/shampoo/towels and an old shower curtain their is nothing in the name of decoration. The door is connected in a way that it closes itself and there isn't enough ventilation in the bathroom (there are no windows either).

On the second night the fire alarm went off and although I got up and got dressed to go out, no one else had bother, hence I went back into my room and called the reception, they told me it was a false alarm. I would have preferred that they had announced this without anyone having to call them.

The restaurant is small and the food is always served in a "buffet" style and there is a reasobnable choice. However the food is always bland and not only does it have not much taste it also has no salt. I guess this is the bad thing about having a buffet style restaurant. All of my colleagues also found the food bland.

There is one bar, the "Library Bar" and they are as good a bar as any I guess. However, one thing stood out when I compared it to other business hotels I stayed in (mainly in Germany). You could sit at the bar till the morning and there is no way anyone would comevup and ask you what you'd like to have!!!


There is a sports area and although this is a part of the hotel, it is in a seperate building. This is one of the best sports sections I have seen in a hotel. You enter through a bar (how nice to have a bar in your sports center), you then have the view of 3 squash courts so you can watch the games. Go downstairs and there are the changing rooms and also the pool (small but not too bad), sauna (seemed nice but I haven't tried it), massage area (should have tried!!!) and a large gym! The gym equipment is very modern and you have trained instructors guiding you. As mentioned before there are 3 squash courts and outside tennis courts. There is also a that I guess is mainly used for aerobics (it was empty when we were there).

One thing I can say is th
at the hotel and the surrounding area is very relaxing. There are lots of gardens and you can also have your drinks out in the courtyard which happens to have a large pond with goldfish in it.

Overall, it may not have been the best hotel when it comes to decorations or food, but I would definately stay there again.

I am unable to quote a price as the bill was picked up by the company (I am guessing at £100 - £120 per night).

I am not sure if they have any membership programmes, but they only work with a limited number of airlines, hence you do not get any mileage on your BA Executive Club or Lufthansa. They actually only work with international airlines. So you can get mileage on your American Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, etc. membership cards.

Summary: