Day 0 - Travel Day - Premier Inn Gatwick North
After a very stressful day at work we both managed to wrap things up and leave a little bit early today. We got home around 5:30, packed the cases into the car, kissed the dog goodbye (this is the worst bit! She definitely knows what’s happening! ) and started the drive to Gatwick.
We had a pretty smooth run and got to the Purple Parking car park at 7:30 in the evening, which was a full 30 minutes before what we expected. We parked up, dropped off the keys and got on the bus that was waiting for us. The drive to the north terminal (second stop) took about 10 minutes. We checked in with the Virgin twilight checkin, maybe 5 minutes and took the lift to the ground floor, crossed the road and checked into the Premier Inn (Gatwick north). Honestly this is the most convenient and easy pre-flight hotel stay I’ve ever done. Our hotel room was exactly as you’d expect and a real bargain considering we only paid £60 for the room which includes breakfast! It is so close to the terminal!
We (I) faffed about with our hand luggage then made our way downstairs to the restaurant. There isn’t a lot land-side in the airport so thought it would be convenient to eat at the restaurant in the Premier Inn, ‘Thyme’. My expectations were really low but I was blown away. No, the food wasn’t gourmet but it was actually quite delicious and the service was incredible! The staff seemed to be so happy like they genuinely were enjoying their jobs, it made for a really nice surprise.
I ordered a large white wine spritzer, some olives & Feta and the Texan BBQ burger. I failed at taking a photo of the olives, but you all know what olives look like right?!
The burger was really nice; tasty but not too sloppy. There were two patties in there (I must start reading the menu properly! ) which I don’t really like for some reason so I took one out. I got sweet potato fries with mine. The coleslaw was crunchy and really fresh too.
DBF got a couple of beers and the ribs & wings dinner. He said everything was really tasty, the wings were a bit spicy but not too much.
So, no, this wasn’t the cheapest of dinners but for convenience it was absolutely worth it.
I would stay here again in a heartbeat. We had a nice quiet night and slept well. I was awake at 6ish, but our flight isn’t until 1pm so wrote this up for a bit then I’m going to try to doze off again.
Hope you’re up for following along and that I can be forgiven for not finishing the last one. I can do it this time!