Hotel Review: Sofitel London Gatwick Airport

Convenient, comfortable, quiet and with sufficient quality for a little bit of a treat - what more can you ask of an airport hotel? Gatwick Airport's Sofitel, connected to the North Terminal, provides an ideal start or finish to a vacation that involves one of this outer London airport's extra early departures or super late arrivals. Rooms meet the "luxury" criteria most business travelers now expect. Services and facilities - like gym, business center and porters are available during hours that suit the airport's flight schedules and arrivals from different time zones.

One of the first things I noticed about rooms at the Sofitel London Gatwick was the silence. The hotel sits practically on the runway and I bet people who live under airport flight paths would pay in blood for such good sound proofing.

Delivering a good night's sleep is the objective. Other Sofitel hotels may aim to be business or vacation destinations. The company's London airport hotels (they've also opened one at Heathrow's Terminal 5) are all about transitioning.

Gatwick flight departures leave and arrive notoriously early (or late). My recent 6:15 a.m. flight to France meant getting to the airport at 4 a.m. Our return flight arrived at nearly midnight. In either direction, the comfortable night's rest at the airport was a stress busting godsend.

The Princess and the Pea

Sofitel's trademarked bed, called MyBed, is another big feature. As manager Graham Hawksworth, peeled back layer after layer of downy bedding, I could not help wondering whether someone was about to plant a pea in all those layers as a test. Interestingly, while I slept like a log, my traveling companion was less enamored of the bedding in her room. Maybe she was the princess?

Beyond the room comforts, and the snazzy atriuim - with glass elevators traveling up and down, the hotel's style is bland. Though it boasts of several different restaurants, they were hard to tell apart. The small lounge area off the bar was cozy but a bit corporate.

But none of that is what this hotel is all about and as a place to get a good night's sleep before flying off it does what it says on the box.

_{As is common in the travel industry, the writer was provided with complimentary accommodation for the purpose of reviewing. While it has not influenced this review, About.com believes in full disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest. For more information, see our ethics policy.}