I stayed at the Gatwick Hilton for one night prior to flying out to Dalaman in May 2011. We basically opted to stay there because we had a 7am flight out of Gatwick the following morning and therefore needed to check in by about 5.30am - and so we thought an overnight stay at the airport was the best option. We stayed in a triple room and had 11 nights car parking all inclusive for the price of £167.00. I admit that we could have found cheaper options, but I liked the fact that this hotel is connected to the terminal via a walkway and so in the morning we had little more to do than to roll out of bed and take a little stroll. We were allowed to check in after 3pm, although we got there at 2pm and the receptionist informed us that our room was already ready and so we could go right on up.

The first impressions of the reception area and lobby was that it looked like an airport hotel. It was large and spacious, light and airy - and very impersonal in a functional kind of way. I really don't mind this as as I think an airport hotel needs primarily to be functional, clean and convenient and those little extras that make the hotel personal are not really that important when you're only staying for a night in order to be close to the airport. The receptionist were polite and efficient and checked us in within a few minutes of arriving. We were not asked if we wanted help getting our luggage to our rooms, but as we only had two small suitcases, we would probably have declined it anyway.

The room was fine. I can't really get any more enthusiastic than that. It had a double bed in it and then a camper style bed (we had booked a triple) and there was enough room to walk between the beds and have a small bedside table at each side. The beds were perfectly comfortable and the pillows soft. There was air-conditioning and heating in the room that could be controlled by us. There was a large widescreen TV with pay-for-view movies. All of the furniture was of the mass-produced variety and was clean and functional, and there were no obvious signs of wear-and-tear in the room. The bathroom had a WC, a bath and a shower. The bath was a little small, and the shower controls a little stiff, but it all worked. I would have liked bigger towels - but I think this tends to be something I would like almost anywhere I've stayed! There were some basic Crabtree and Evelyn bottles of shampoo, shower gel, soap and body lotion which seemed decent quality. All in all, we were able to get a good nights sleep and that was the main thing.

There are two restaurants - although we only ate at one of them. Amy's Restaurant is in the lobby area and it was the more expensive of the two restaurants. We ate here. A meal for two people, with wine, cost us £125. The food and service (our waiter was Frank) were both excellent, but I still think the cost was pretty high for an airport style hotel. I really couldn't fault the food (I had soup, rack of lamb and then a trio of deserts) and the service from all of the staff was impeccable. I do recommend Amy's if you can afford it.

The other restaurant was called the Garden Restaurant and it looked more of a pub style restaurant. I cannot tell you what the food was like here as we didn't eat here, but I can tell you that it was considerably cheaper than Amy's.

Opposite Amy's restaurant was the Atrium Bar which served drinks, including a good selection of cocktails. However, this was also expensive. I ordered a Kir Royale and it cost about £12! There is also a Costa Coffee shop which serves the traditional Costa Coffee stuff at the normal rate.

There is a gym which is pretty poorly equipped - although every time I walked past it there didn't seem to be anyone in it and so had I chosen to use it I'm sure it would have been adequate for a night's use. There is also a gift shop which sold the traditional London tourist tack.....not really my sort of thing.

The real bonus of this hotel is its location to the South Terminal of Gatwick. There is a covered walkway that leads directly into the terminal - and it took approximately 7 minutes to walk from the hotel lobby into the departures lounge of South Terminal.

I would recommend this hotel if you are going from the South Terminal. Whilst it is true that it is a typical airport hotel, it is one of the better quality airport hotels that I have stayed in.....although you do pay more for the privilege.