When bobbing around on my various work travels and leisure city breaks, my preferred hotel brands are Moxy by Marriott, Hampton by Hilton and ibis Styles by Accor, writes Nick Mosley.
Sitting pretty solidly in the 2.5-3-5* space, they all have their own unique offerings and quirks yet they all offer consistency of product and the price is typically spot-on. And there’s no doubt with these brands, it’s also location, location, location.
There’s no point getting a great price on a hotel only to find its miles away from where you want – or need – to be; equally you don’t want to be sold a pup with finessed photos and wordy online descriptions to find grubby shower curtains, a TV that only plays Euronews and – heaven forbid – a low thread count on the sheets… I clearly could go on…
With a ridiculously early morning flight from Gatwick to Amsterdam – again, note to stupid self that cheap flights mean expensive silly-o’clock taxis – I decided to check-in to the shiny new ibis Styles Gatwick Airport hotel that officially opened in early June.
The ibis Styles Gatwick property itself is typically ‘blocky’ on the outside but the welcome is softened by an outside terrace that’s nice enough despite the road; I’m sure once a bit more of the planting has established the space will be a pleasant nook for a pre- or post-flight vino.
The magic happens when you enter through the doors to their impressive ‘Wanderlust’ interior concept. I’ve got to say its supremely chic with nods to 20th century European design and a more elegant era when travel was just as much about the journey as the destination. Its certainly considerably more stylish than a lot of other hotel brands that splash colour on the walls with gay abandon.
A 30s/40s-Italian-esque central bar area surrounded by ample bar stools – which I personally prefer as an oft-time solo traveller than being sat on my lonesome on a miserable table by the loos – provides the focal point.
The wider, open plan reception-bar-restaurant-lounge space offers a variety of high tables, ample areas for group dining and more intimate spaces for duos. While the space is cohesive, there are also cleverly demarcated areas meaning guests can enjoy the buzz without having privacy compromised.
Architecturally, the piece de resistance is the vintage Fiat 500 car that the clever design bods have turned into a breakfast food service station. It’s little – or rather pretty big in this case – well-thought out elements like this that create impact, identity and seed memories. Toot toot to that!
In terms of food, ‘it’s a matter of taste’ as the menu card screams from the cover. There is a huge amount of choice so genuinely something for everyone, which is clearly important when you’re providing hospitality for a wide demographic of travellers and ages, whilst also attracting local businesses for lunching and after work networking events. Its a restaurant that has to be all-things to all people.
Starters sit in the £5-7 bracket and include crowd pleasers such as chicken breast strips and vegetable spring rolls, alongside somewhat more adventurous options including black pudding bon bons. The haddock fishcakes with melty cheese centre and garlic mushrooms on toast add comforting notes to the menu that I’m sure regular travellers would appreciate.
There are oodles of sandwiches and wraps to choose from if you prefer a lighter bite, plus burgers, pizza and pasta dishes. I can eat all of those at home so my beady eye was drawn to the mains that read like a dream with hearty Cumberland sausage and mash, Indian and Japanese curry dishes alongside classic hand battered cod and chips and steak and ale pie.
For my supper, I went full on ‘dad’ with gammon, chips and peas topped with a fried egg. The hearty gammon and chips were as expected, accompanied by a deliciously runny golden yolk. From a cursory glance to neighbouring tables I’d say the salmon and mash and the chicken katsu with rice will be at the top of my list on a future visit.
The wine list is short but comprehensive. Hand-on-heart, the Australian Chardonnay I had by the glass was a lot better than most you’d get in most pubs and bars in Sussex, and also very well priced. Apple and zesty citrus with a stone fruit finish, it was surprisingly sophisticated and certainly highly quaffable so I had two glasses.
As you’d expect from a newly launched hotel, the bedrooms are of a very high standard with comfy beds, massive – and I mean massive – flatscreen tvs, plenty of power and USB charging sockets and much-needed blackout blinds. Also little details that business travellers appreciate like a comfy chair and console table that is the right height for a laptop; you’d be amazed how many hotels get this wrong.
The bathroom was also sparkling with a big rain shower and lovely fluffy towels. It also has rather flattering light that will help disguise those bags and dehydrated skin after a long flight.
In the morning, I treated myself to a lie-in as hot breakfast is served until 10am on weekdays and 11am on weekends. For those on – or off – really early morning flights then continental breakfast is always available.
The breakfast buffet has everything you’d want – bacon, sausage, eggs, crispy hash brown, tomato and beans alongside toast, cereal, fresh fruit and pastries. I rarely have breakfast at home so I always find this a treat. I have to say the bacon was particularly good.
The service team – led on the evening I stayed by deputy general manager Neil and Jennifer, and the next morning by general manager Simon – commanded the floor with aplomb. Bar and restaurant service in a busy transient venue needs cool, calm heads and – because I have big ears – I can testify the guys knew exactly how to deal with the occasional – shall we say – slightly ‘challenging’ customer whilst also bringing genuine friendliness to check-in.
Ibis Styles Gatwick Airport is a very solid, well-considered, contemporary product – in terms of aesthetic, service, accommodation and food offering. Its clearly of higher standards than many of its neighbouring properties including some of the big boy 4* hotels that sit on the footprint of the airport. Its definitely my first choice next time I need to overnight at Gatwick.
Nick Mosley
Ibis Styles London Gatwick Airport, London Road, County Oak, Gatwick RH10 9GY
01293 590 300 • https://all.accor.com
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