Holiday Inn London – Gatwick Airport: the complete traveller's guide
A reliable 216-room IHG hotel at Povey Cross, minutes from Gatwick, built around Park, Stay & Go packages and family value. An honest rundown: the Hoppa shuttle prices, the £30-a-day overstay charge, and the car-key policy nobody mentions until you arrive.
Hotel overview
The Holiday Inn London – Gatwick Airport sits on Povey Cross Road in Horley, roughly five to ten minutes' drive from the terminals and easy to reach from junction 9 of the M23. With 216 rooms, it's one of the most heavily used park-and-fly hotels at Gatwick — the Park, Stay & Go packages, which let you leave the car for 4, 8 or 15 days, are the main reason most people book it.
Rooms are better equipped than the price suggests: double glazing, air conditioning, blackout curtains, a pillow menu, big comfortable beds, a 55-inch TV with Chromecast, a work desk and tea/coffee facilities, plus free WiFi throughout and 24-hour room service. There's a British restaurant and a contemporary bar, twelve meeting rooms for up to 220 delegates, and strong family value — kids stay free and under-13s eat free with a paying adult.
Reviewers consistently praise the staff and the breakfast. The honest caveats are practical rather than cosmetic: the airport shuttle is the paid GatwickHoppa, not a free hotel bus; overstaying your parking package costs £30 a day; you must hand over your car keys; and rooms are allocated on arrival, so a booked double isn't guaranteed. None are dealbreakers — they're just things you'd rather know beforehand.
| Official website | ihg.com |
|---|---|
| Address | Povey Cross Road, Horley, Surrey RH6 0BA |
| Rooms | 216, double-glazed and air-conditioned |
| Distance to Gatwick | ~5–10 min drive (not walkable) |
| Check-in / check-out | 2:00 PM / 12:00 noon |
| Parking | ~£20/day; Park, Stay & Go packages for 4, 8 or 15 days; £30/day if you overstay |
| Shuttle | Paid GatwickHoppa, 24hr — roughly £3–£4.50 per adult each way |
| Family | Kids stay free; under-13s eat free with a paying adult |
Star rating and what it means
A solid mid-range Holiday Inn — comfortable rooms, a restaurant and bar, 24-hour room service and meeting facilities, without luxury extras like a pool or spa.
| Level | What it broadly means in the UK |
|---|---|
| ★★★★★ / ★★★★ | Luxury / upscale: extensive facilities, multiple restaurants, full service |
| ★★★ Three-star (this hotel) | Mid-range comfort: en-suite air-conditioned rooms, restaurant & bar, 24-hr room service, meeting space |
| ★★ Two-star | Ultra-budget: functional rooms, minimal extras |
| ★ One-star | Very basic accommodation |
Aggregated review summaries describe friendly, attentive service and a welcoming atmosphere, with clean rooms and an excellent breakfast — though some note outdated decor, service inconsistency at peak times, and warn about costly extras. It's rated as good value particularly when booked as a room-and-parking deal.
Brand, ownership & business profile
A Holiday Inn — IHG's long-established full-service mid-range brand.
- Holiday Inn — dependable mid-market hotels with restaurants, bars and family-friendly policies (kids stay and eat free).
- IHG One Rewards — earn and redeem points; enrolment is free and usually brings a lower rate plus free WiFi.
Disambiguation: IHG runs several similarly named hotels around Gatwick — including Holiday Inn Express properties, which are a different, more limited-service brand, and the Crowne Plaza London – Gatwick Airport in Crawley. This guide covers the full-service Holiday Inn at Povey Cross Road, RH6 0BA. Check the address on your booking.
Business profile
| Category | Mid-range full-service airport hotel (off-airport, Horley) |
|---|---|
| Primary market | Park-and-fly holidaymakers, families, early departures, business & conferences |
| Brand / loyalty | Holiday Inn (IHG); IHG One Rewards |
| On-site | British restaurant · contemporary bar · 24-hr room service · 12 meeting rooms (220 delegates) · business centre |
| Signature | Park, Stay & Go packages (4/8/15 days); kids stay & eat free |
Takeaway for travellers: the default choice for driving to Gatwick and leaving the car. Strong on family value and room comfort; just budget for the Hoppa fares and read the parking terms carefully.
Rooms, beds & prices
216 contemporary rooms, all double-glazed for quiet and air-conditioned, with blackout curtains and notably good in-room technology for the category. Premium rooms add a stocked minibar. Ranges below are indicative.
| Room type | Beds | Sleeps | Off-peak from | Peak from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Double / Twin | Double or two singles | 2 | ~£70 | ~£130 |
| Family Room | Double + additional bedding | 2 adults + children | ~£90 | ~£155 |
| Premium Room | Double / king | 2 | ~£100 | ~£165 |
| Room + Park, Stay & Go | Varies | Varies | From ~£130 (incl. 8 days' parking) | Varies |
Prices are per room, per night (breakfast usually extra). Rooms get good feedback — described as clean, bright and quiet, with big comfy beds and a pillow menu, a genuinely nice touch at this price. One important operational point: rooms are allocated when you arrive, so if the hotel is busy, a booked double may become a twin. The team will try to honour your booking, but it isn't guaranteed — worth knowing if bed type matters.
- Comfort: double glazing, air conditioning and blackout curtains — a good combination for pre-flight sleep.
- Tech: 55-inch TV with Chromecast, so you can cast your own streaming services.
- Families: kids stay free; family rooms available; under-13s eat free with a paying adult.
What's in every room
| Category | Included in every room |
|---|---|
| Entertainment | 55-inch flat-screen TV with Chromecast |
| Connectivity | Free WiFi throughout the hotel; work desk |
| Hot drinks | Tea & coffee making facilities (minibar in premium rooms) |
| Sleep | Big comfy bed with pillow menu, double glazing, air conditioning, blackout curtains |
| Bathroom | Private en-suite with hairdryer, iron and toiletries |
| Service | 24-hour room service; phone |
The in-room spec is a genuine strength: Chromecast on a 55-inch screen, air conditioning and a pillow menu are all above what most Gatwick-area hotels at this price provide, and 24-hour room service is rare outside the upscale properties.
Dining
A casual British restaurant and a contemporary bar, with 24-hour room service and a breakfast that reviewers repeatedly single out as a highlight.
| Venue / meal | What to expect | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast (extra) | Fresh, varied buffet — consistently praised, as is the breakfast team | ~£13–£17 pp |
| Restaurant (dinner) | Casual British menu; quality reported as mixed | £13–£24 mains |
| Bar | Contemporary bar with good atmosphere — drinks on the pricey side | £6–£13 |
| Room service | Available 24 hours | Varies |
| Children | Under-13s eat free with a paying adult (one child per adult) | Free |
An honest split: breakfast is a highlight — fresh, varied and well staffed. Dinner is more mixed — some guests report very good meals, others find it average, occasionally lukewarm or plainly presented. Bar drinks are noted as expensive. The kids-eat-free policy is genuinely popular with families and worth factoring into the comparison.
Parking & Park, Stay & Go — read the terms
This hotel's main draw is leaving your car while you fly. The packages are good value, but the terms catch people out, so here they are plainly.
| Item | Detail | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight parking | ~£20 per day | Secure, private on-site car park; reservation not always possible separately |
| Park, Stay & Go | 4, 8 or 15 days' parking with your room | Must be pre-booked — long-stay parking isn't available on arrival |
| Overstaying | ~£30 per day | Charged at the car park's standard rate if you exceed the booked period (subject to change) |
| Car keys | You must leave your keys at the hotel | Staff move the car to the long-stay area of the car park while you're away |
| Registration | Confirm your vehicle details at check-in | Several guests report issues when registration wasn't correctly logged |
Three practical warnings. Pre-book the package — you can't simply turn up and leave the car for a fortnight. Build in a buffer: a delayed return flight that pushes you past your booked days is charged at £30 a day. And check your registration is logged correctly at reception — this is the single most common administrative complaint, and a two-minute conversation at check-in avoids it.
The airport shuttle — what it actually costs
An important clarification: this hotel does not run a free shuttle bus. IHG states there is no complimentary shuttle. What serves the hotel is the GatwickHoppa, a paid public shuttle, with fares payable directly to the driver.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Operator | GatwickHoppa (not a hotel bus) |
| Frequency | 24 hours; roughly every 15–20 minutes, hourly between midnight and 3am |
| Journey time | ~10–20 minutes to the terminals |
| Pick-up points | South Terminal bus stop 9; North Terminal bus stop 11 (both ground level) |
| Adult fare | Quoted between ~£3 and ~£4.50 each way, depending on source |
| Child fare | ~£2.50 each way; under-5s typically free |
| Payment | Surcharge payable directly to the driver |
Published fares vary between sources (£3 to £4.50 per adult each way), so confirm the current price and don't assume it's free. The maths matters: a family of four paying around £4.50 each way spends roughly £36 return — at which point a fixed-fare private car is usually cheaper and door-to-door, with no waiting at a bus stop at 4am.
Facilities & services
| Parking | Large, secure private car park; ~£20/day; Park, Stay & Go for 4, 8 or 15 days (pre-book); £30/day overstay rate |
|---|---|
| Airport transfer | Paid 24-hour GatwickHoppa shuttle, every ~15–20 min (hourly midnight–3am); South stop 9 / North stop 11 |
| Dining | British restaurant, contemporary bar, 24-hour room service |
| Business & events | 12 fully equipped meeting rooms for up to 220 delegates, with large screens and whiteboards; business centre |
| Connectivity | Free WiFi in all areas; high-speed internet access |
| Rail & attractions | Gatwick Express reaches central London in ~30 min; Chessington World of Adventures ~30 min away |
| Family | Kids stay free; under-13s eat free with a paying adult |
| Pets | Assistance dogs only |
| Pool / gym | No swimming pool |
Accessibility & suitability for elderly guests
A modern, single-site hotel with level parking at the door and full service on site — the main planning point is the airport transfer, since walking isn't possible.
Accessible strengths:
- Large on-site car park with level access to the entrance — you can be dropped at the door
- Restaurant, bar and 24-hour room service on site, so no need to go out
- Air-conditioned rooms with blackout curtains; lifts to floors
- Assistance dogs welcome
- 24-hour reception and shuttle service running through the night
Worth confirming first:
- Request an accessible room and confirm its specific features when booking
- Since rooms are allocated on arrival, flag any accessibility requirement in advance and again at check-in
- Confirm the Hoppa shuttle's accessibility, or arrange a car — the airport is a 5–10 minute drive
Suitability verdict for elderly & less-mobile guests: good — level arrival by car, everything on site, air conditioning and round-the-clock room service. Two things to arrange in advance: confirm the accessible room directly with the hotel (because of the allocate-on-arrival policy), and book a door-to-door car rather than relying on a bus stop transfer with luggage.
Insider details
Pre-book Park, Stay & Go — and add a buffer
The reason most people choose this hotel. Packages cover 4, 8 or 15 days of parking alongside your room, and must be booked in advance. The trap is the return: if your trip runs longer than the days you booked — a delayed flight, a changed plan — you're charged the car park's standard rate of about £30 per day. If your return is tight against the package limit, book the next tier up; it's usually cheaper than the overstay rate.
You'll hand over your car keys
A detail that surprises first-timers: guests leave their car keys at the hotel, and staff move the vehicle into the long-stay section of the car park while you're away. It's standard practice for this kind of package, and the car park is secure and private — but it's worth knowing before you arrive expecting to keep your keys, and worth removing anything you'll want during the trip.
Confirm your registration at check-in
The most common administrative complaint here. Several guests advise confirming your vehicle registration details on arrival to avoid problems with the car park system. Ask reception to read the plate back to you — a two-minute check that prevents an unpleasant surprise on return.
Rooms are allocated on arrival
Another operational quirk worth planning for: rooms are assigned when you arrive, not at booking. If the hotel is full and you booked a double, you may be given a twin instead. Staff will do what they can to match your booking, but if the bed type genuinely matters — or you need a specific accessible room — call ahead and mention it again at check-in.
Kids eat free — and the small print
Good family value, with one condition worth reading: children under 13 eat free when dining with a paying adult, at one child per adult. So two adults cover two children. Kids also stay free. Combined with the well-reviewed breakfast, that makes this one of the better-value family options in the Gatwick belt.
WiFi coverage & signal strength
Free WiFi is available throughout the hotel, with high-speed internet access advertised for business guests. Signal-strength-by-area detail isn't published — confirm with hotel, or share guest reviews and we'll add specifics.
General guidance for a business-capable IHG hotel: WiFi is usually reliable enough for streaming and video calls, and IHG One Rewards enrolment typically includes free WiFi as a member benefit.
Practical information
| Check-in / check-out | 2:00 PM / 12:00 noon |
|---|---|
| Address | Povey Cross Road, Horley, Surrey RH6 0BA (M23 junction 9) |
| Parking | ~£20/day; Park, Stay & Go 4/8/15 days (pre-book); £30/day overstay |
| Car keys | Must be left with the hotel for long-stay parking |
| Shuttle | Paid GatwickHoppa, 24hr; ~£3–£4.50 per adult each way, paid to the driver |
| WiFi | Free in all areas |
| Breakfast | Charged; widely praised |
| Pets / pool | Assistance dogs only; no swimming pool |
Customer reviews
Guests praise the friendly, attentive staff, the breakfast, the clean quiet rooms and the convenience of the room-and-parking deals; dated decor, mixed dinner quality, pricey drinks and the extra charges are the recurring criticisms.
| Theme | What guests say |
|---|---|
| Service | Friendly and attentive — breakfast staff especially commended; some inconsistency at peak |
| Rooms | Clean, bright and quiet; comfy beds; premium rooms have a well-stocked minibar |
| Breakfast | A highlight — delicious, fresh and varied |
| Value | Good, particularly on room-and-parking packages; kids eat free popular with families |
| Common gripe | Outdated decor; dinner sometimes lukewarm or average; expensive drinks; costly extras |
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Pros & cons
Pros
- Park, Stay & Go packages — leave the car for 4, 8 or 15 days
- Well-equipped rooms: 55-inch TV with Chromecast, air conditioning, double glazing, pillow menu
- 24-hour room service — unusual at this price near Gatwick
- Kids stay free and under-13s eat free with a paying adult
- Breakfast consistently rated a highlight; friendly, attentive staff
- 24-hour shuttle service running through the night
- 12 meeting rooms for up to 220 delegates; free WiFi throughout
Cons
- No free shuttle — the paid GatwickHoppa costs roughly £3–£4.50 per adult each way
- £30/day overstay charge if you exceed your booked parking package
- You must leave your car keys with the hotel for long-stay parking
- Rooms allocated on arrival — a booked double may become a twin
- Dated decor in places; dinner quality mixed; bar drinks expensive
- Not walkable to the terminals; no swimming pool; assistance dogs only
Best way to book online
| Book via | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Official site (ihg.com) | Lower member rate, free WiFi with enrolment, IHG One Rewards points | Pre-book the parking package you need — you can't add long-stay on arrival |
| Park-and-fly specialists | Comparing room + parking bundles | Check the exact number of parking days and the overstay rate |
| Major OTAs | Comparing dates & deals | Several IHG hotels serve Gatwick — confirm Povey Cross Road, RH6 0BA |
In short: book direct with IHG (free enrolment typically brings a lower rate and free WiFi), choose the Park, Stay & Go tier that comfortably covers your return, and confirm your registration at check-in. Then book your airport transfer with RushXO for a fixed fare instead of per-person bus fares.
Book your transfer → · Call the 24/7 team
FAQs
Is the airport shuttle free?
No. IHG confirms there is no complimentary shuttle. The hotel is served by the paid GatwickHoppa, running 24 hours roughly every 15–20 minutes (hourly between midnight and 3am), with fares of about £3–£4.50 per adult each way paid directly to the driver. Pick-up is South Terminal stop 9 and North Terminal stop 11.
How does Park, Stay & Go work?
You book a room together with 4, 8 or 15 days' parking, in advance — long-stay parking can't be added on arrival. You leave your car keys with the hotel and staff move the vehicle to the long-stay area of the secure car park while you're away.
What happens if I come back late?
If you park for longer than the days you booked, you're charged the car park's standard rate of around £30 per day, which is subject to change. If your return is close to your package limit, booking the next tier up is usually cheaper.
Will I get the room type I booked?
Not guaranteed. Rooms are allocated when you arrive, so if the hotel is busy a booked double may be swapped for a twin. Staff will try to honour your booking — call ahead and mention it again at check-in if bed type or accessibility matters.
Do children eat free?
Yes — children under 13 eat free when dining with a paying adult, at one child per adult. Kids also stay free. It's one of the better family-value options in the Gatwick area.
How far is the hotel from Gatwick?
About a five-to-ten-minute drive from the terminals, just off junction 9 of the M23 at Povey Cross in Horley. It isn't walkable, so plan the Hoppa shuttle or a pre-booked car.