London Gatwick BLOC Hotel Review

VIP Room - Amazing room

I booked the VIP room (runway view 648) for my husband as a surprise before we flew to Scotland to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we were not disappointed with the view at all. 

The Armani shower is, without question, the best shower we've ever experienced in our travels. We want one for home!! It was the most perfect way to unwind post travelling and refresh prior to our onward journey. The amenities were greatly appreciated and saved us having to unpack and repack our suitcase.

The bed was comfortable and the blinds offered suitable coverage from the light outside which was impressive.

The view, well, wow, there's nothing negative we can say about that at all, we were looking out onto the stands and had a brilliant view of the two runways. We’re not aircraft spotters by any stretch of the imagination but it was really enjoyable watching the ground activity and seeing the planes land and take off. Just to mention it was really quiet too so you don’t need to worry about noise, the big A380 took off whilst we were there and it really didn’t impact on us at all.

We didn't wait until late in the evening before we attempted to use the TV. Despite following the instructions it became clear the box linked to the TV screen was clearly not working. Unfortunately we had both got into bed so were unwilling to clamber down to reception to make them aware. Believe you me, the other guests would have not appreciated the view either!

We attempted to ring reception but it wasn't answered, we rang back again and the phone rang until it connected to the duty manager’s answerphone service and neither of us felt it appropriate to make the on-call manager aware of this blip. The answerphone message asked as to phone reception and leave a message for them to contact us if we did not wish to speak with the manager. This we did however the call was never returned, we left feedback online then gave up and went to sleep.

The hotel has now fully resolved this by way of a refund and its clear they  are keen to ensure all guests get what they paid for!

It’s fair to say I shall be saving up to stay in the VIP room again!!