Britannia Europa

I booked my stay at the europa on teh BA site before reading trip advisor- big mistake, everything bad people say is true!

the hotel isnow offering room rates of £30 per night although i paid £60 in advance so called ahead and demanded a superior roomon line -Id hate to see the basic rooms! they should pay you to stay there. The hotel itself is large with nice grounds and a swimming pool jacuzzi Gym and sauna( single sex saunas in the changing room.

they have a free shuttle bus to get you there but charge for the bus back to the airport- which people are happy to pay to get away .

The hotel is tired, very used, beds and bedroom had seen better days - everything looked dirty and old fashioned, wallpaper was badly scuffed, furniture chipped and old.

bar food was OKay, but drinks wer pricey. Breakfast was worse than a motorway services fry up. not very extensive menu and generally poor quality.

During our stay the hotel had a problem with the hot water heating and there was absolutely no hot water to shower and we couldnt use the pool and jacuzzi as they are on the same system so we couldnt shower before our long haul flight- not a good start to our trip.

Staff were helpful but clearly fed up with handling the endless complaints from guests - so seemed indifferent to our complaint about the lack of hot water. Id never stay here again and would advise you to cancel your booking if you are reading this too late!

We booked 2 rooms, unpacked and went down for dinner. Came back to the rooms a couple of hours later and found a family of 5 in bed asleep. Our personal belongings had been gathered up and 'dumped' in the other room. Clothes left creased and possessions on the floor. Duty manager was an absolute joke and kept running to hide in his office. While we were trying to sort the matter out six other people made complaints. If you pay £10 for a room for the night here, it is not worth it.

We approached the Gatwick Europa with dread after reading such bad reviews on Trip Advisor. My husband is fussy and wasnt so keen but personally I was pleasantly surprised! Its decor is Spanish Hacienda and a bit outdated, needing refurbishishment. We arrived at about 9 pm after a long trip from Wales with a 5 o clock call the next morning. There was nowhere to park in the car park which I expected following the reviews but after travelling around the car park once, an attendant immediately directed us to a space. While my husband parked I checked in with the minimum of fuss , then after taking our cases to the room we sat in the bar with a well earned glass of wine and pint of cider served by very pleasant staff. The beds as as been described were not the most comfortable, my husband wasnt impressed at all but I personally can sleep anywhere and for one night at a reasonable rate suited me fine! We received the wake up call at 5:15 am the following morning as promised and everything went smoothly from thereon. OK its not a 5 star luxury stay but for one night before a holiday it wil do! Personally I do not think the Gatwick Europa deserves all the criticism people on this site have given it.