Sofitel, the upscale brand from hotel group Accor, has opened its doors to the International Arrivals Lounge at London Gatwick”s North Terminal ” the first hotel lounge at the airport. So far British Airways and Delta have signed up as airline partners to the new concept.
The lounge is for designated First and Business class passengers travelling on the lounge”s partner airlines and has been launched to coincide with the hotel”s new ”Sunrise Check-In” service for business travellers arriving early in the morning.
”The magic of the ”Sunrise Check-In” is that it enables business people on early flights to refresh in the new lounge, catch up on emails, pre-register to the hotel and head straight off to their meeting without their luggage in tow,” said hotel general manager, Graham Hawksworth.
”They can then return to their hotel already checked-in with their luggage waiting in the room.”
A few minutes walk from customs, the lounge offers 19 self-contained bathrooms with power shower, washbasin and WC. A complimentary suit pressing service is also available, in addition to secure luggage storage, a fitness centre, free local calls, wi-fi internet access and printing facilities.
”The new International Arrivals Lounge is the culmination of a ”4m ($8m) project to restyle the public areas of the Sofitel London Gatwick,” explained Hawksworth.
”The majority of international travellers arrive knowing they have a stressful and busy time ahead of them and they need to hit the ground running. Our aim is to smooth their path and make their arrival in the UK an altogether more luxurious and enjoyable experience.”
Image from left to right: Margaret Brown (BA), Julie Funnel (Delta), Mrs Sunita Arora, Gloria Hunniford, Surinder Arora (Chairman Arora International Hotels), Ed Legg (Delta), Irene Flynn (BA).