I stayed at the Premier Inn Gatwick North Airport Hotel: Here’s what it’s like (and why it surprised me)

Oh wow.

They are the words I never expect to say when I walk into my Premier Inn bedroom.

Yet these are the words I speak. Yes, I am as surprised as you are.

I know Premier Inn has a reputation for consistently clean and comfortable bedrooms – the company regularly claims a podium spot in the annual Which? survey of hotel chains, as we report – but here it is, and it catches me off guard.

And that for the budget price of £80 (although breakfast is not included in this rate).

MailOnline Travel Editor Ted Thornhill checks into Premier Inn Gatwick North (above). He describes it as ‘looking like a Borg spaceship from the Star Trek universe’

Premier Inn Gatwick North is easily accessible from Gatwick train station – just hop on the robot shuttle train, Ted reveals. Above is the hotel’s self-check-in area

The accommodation in question? Premier Inn Gatwick North, which I book as a stopgap measure to grab a few hours’ sleep before my 6am EasyJet flight to Toulon-Hyeres airport in the south of France (the magical gateway to Provence, but that’s fodder for another article, another day).

It was either an airport hotel or a 2am taxi ride from my accommodation in South London.

Taking into account the £20 train journey from London Victoria to Gatwick, the cost of both options is about the same, so I opt for an extra two to three hours of sleep.

I get off the train at Gatwick station and board the robot shuttle to the North Terminal.

Ted books the hotel ‘as an emergency measure to secure a few hours sleep before a 6am EasyJet flight to Toulon-Hyeres airport in the south of France’

Premier Inn regularly claims a podium place in the annual Which? hotel chain survey. Pictured above is the Premier Inn Gatwick North restaurant

The Premier Inn is right next door and from the outside it doesn’t exactly look like a cosy night’s sleep. It looks like a Borg spaceship from the Star Trek universe – a giant, ominous cube.

And inside there is no group spirit to be fought, but there is a somewhat disturbing group activity.

It’s teeming with guests. Huge suitcases are being lugged back and forth, the bar is buzzing and there’s a queue in front of the restaurant.

All good news for Premier Inn’s coffers, and while I like a lively hotel atmosphere, I have a 4am alarm programmed into my phone and I fear I’m in for a restless night. I’m imagining shouting and slamming doors and all sorts of pre-holiday chatter in the middle of the night.

Ted’s room is on the 10th floor of the hotel and costs £80 for the night. He describes it as ‘very clean and comfortable’

Above is the bathroom in Ted’s room, which he says is “absolutely spotless”

Fortunately, that doesn’t happen.

I check in via a touchscreen module that spits out a keycard (a breeze, with cheerful staff hovering around to help technophobes) for a room on the top floor of the building.

It turns out I hit the jackpot.

Not only is my room on the tenth floor very clean and comfortable, according to the Which? surveys we report on, but it also offers (and I say this without fear of exaggerating) spectacular views.

Ted describes the view from his room as ‘spectacular’

Ted notes that ‘behind the dull airport buildings’ below his room lies ‘the enchanting landscape of West Sussex’ and (left) the runway

OK, so below is a huge multi-storey car park and various boring airport buildings, but beyond is the enchanting rolling West Sussex countryside and to the left is the runway.

The last time I checked into an airport hotel I saw some broken glass and couldn’t stop, so this is definitely an improvement in terms of views.

And apart from the wifi – even the £5 ‘superfast’ one is rubbish – the rest of the facilities are pretty good too. The bed is luxurious, there’s an absolutely spotless ensuite with a bath and shower, and Premier Inn has added a TV and a homely armchair to the inventory.

And – oh wow – it’s whisper quiet.