Hotel berhampiran Mini Mayhem, Crawley

Had a lovely time in the hotel - stayed there the night before a flight from Gatwick. The room was clean, the bathroom facilities were great and the bed was comfortable with a nice view of the courtyard. Staff were very helpful with parking and keycard help, and a lovely reception, bar and courtyard with friendly staff and nice decour. The below are minor quibbles - I would go again : Some of the meal information was misleading - in the bar, a gentlemen found out what the soup of the day was, then told me that food was not being served any longer.... and then 20 minutes later took orders and served some other people a meal. A bit odd. In the morning I was told the breakfast service was finishing at 9:15 so I did not go in at ten past nine, and just got a coffee when I went to the breakfast restaurant but it transpired 9:15 was just last entry : two meals missed! It was a pity that when booking the spa it was not advertised the Swimming Pool was going to be out of service. WIFI was a bit patchy. And in the morning I'm not sure who the banging music being played in the bar was for at 9am! A bit early for Burn, Baby, Burn at full volume ! Nevertheless - For the price especially this was ideal and very close to Gatwick.

Although a little out of the way (ensure your taxi driver knows where they are going and doesn't take you to the other holiday Inn at Gatwick!!), it is worth it, pun intended. We arrived and checked in with no fuss and managed to catch 'last orders' from the bar- great team and a special mention for Steve and Sarah who chatted to us and made us feel relaxed and shared a laugh with us. The reason for the four stars is that- I went to check that a gluten free breakfast was available and the member of staff I dealt with gave us incorrect information. He told us we hadn't paid for breakfast and that I would have to liaise with the kitchen directly. I questioned this with another colleague who confirmed that we had paid for breakfast and options were available. Had a great nights sleep and enjoyed breakfast options available. Simple check out process and the receptionist arranged for our precooked taxi to be brought forward.

We have been staying at the Hotel for a few weeks now. After long hours at work, we just wanted to stay somewhere where we can disconnect with work, relax and connect with other people. Nevertheless, I would like to share with everyone that Bar attendant (James) would always go that extra mile to ensure customer expectations are exceeded. Is not just about serving you a drink and taking orders. Excellent customer service by always interacting with customers, offering advice, friendly, accommodative making our staying very pleasant. I strongly believe that a good job should always be well recognised. Thank you for the high level of professionalism. Regards Ruben

I specifically booked a night at the Sofitel Gatwick because it included 'Meet and Greet' parking with Maple Parking. Had they not included this I would have still stayed but made other arrangments for my car. I arrived at the Maple Parking Meet and Greet and parked the car. Took my keys over to the attendant and signed in. I then asked if they could give me 20 minutes to check in to the hotel, change clothes and bring a bag back to the car. We didnt want to bring a bag of unclean clothes on holiday with us. Here's where things went downhill faster than Gwynth Paltrow on ski's. The attendant, a tall bloke with a mid-european accent shouted at me 'No, do you know you are at an airport'. He actually shouted this. Shouted. To a customer. Take a minute to breathe that in. Fortunatly I knew I was at an airport, having driven 4 hours to get there. To hear that I was at an airport was no surprise, to be shouted at by a car park attendant was. I explained that I didnt want to take a case of unclean clothes on holiday with me. His response to that was 'we are extremly busy and your car will be removed immediately'. I asked if the hotel would hold the bag and he replied 'No they will not hold your stupid bag'. Here's where I should have murdered him with his Maple Meet and Greet Staff lanyard, but I did not. I asked for my keys back to be told once again in an truely agresive manner 'if you take your keys I will close the entry and you can't come back'. I took the keys and left. I then had to park at Gatawick Long stay for an additional £150. We finally checked into the hotel, explained the situation. The checkin lady (Alessia?) apologised and gave us two tokens for a free drink at the bar. They also kept our bag for us. Is this the fault of Sofitel Gatwick? I think it is. They decided to partner with a company that treats people appalingly. So they've got to accept responsibility for that. Please share this review, If I saw something like this I would have chose another car park or another hotel. Other people should be warned.

Booked via Holiday Extras for this hotel as we needed a place close to the airport to park our car and stay overnight for our earlier morning flight to Spain. Welcome on arrival first class. Everything was explained clearly and with a smile. Our request for an early morning call noted and carried out on time. Bit of a rush leaving as we tried to catch the shuttle but again staff dealt very quickly with everything and enabled us to catch the shuttle. On arrival back at the hotel after our holiday, again staff on reception very very efficient polite and informative. Room was lovely, clean and had everything we needed. We will definitely be back. A perfect stay! Thank you.

Excellent service best room in the house! Really enjoyed the bath and bed so comfortable. Had dinner in the restaurant was truly amazing and breakfast in the morning. Thank you for having us to stay.