Say hi to Thai trip
THE WELCOME Really easy to find, this hotel couldn’t be in a better position. The reception staff on the check-in desk were extremely helpful and friendly. We found it a great relaxing way to start a holiday. THE NEIGHBOURHOOD You can’t get much closer to Gatwick South Terminal than this hotel unless you sleep on a check-in desk. You are only there for one thing, and that is if you have an early outbound flight. We didn’t need to go anywhere else. THE ROOM Clean modern rooms including standard doubles, executive rooms and suites. An Executive room comes with a 42” TV, complimentary breakfast, air-con and a very comfortable Hilton Serenity bed. They also have family rooms. Some of them interconnect, which means you can all get excited for your holiday together. THE FOOD Take your pick from Charlie Fry’s Sports Bar where you can grab a pint and a burger. Amy’s restaurant serves British food with a modern twist using locally sourced ingredients. If you want a light lunch or afternoon tea, then head to Amy’s Bar. Or if you just want to grab a coffee, Costa is available. THE SERVICE Very helpful reception team checked us in quickly and with a smile. THE SCENE What better way to get excited for your holiday than seeing planes taking off. They were so close you could almost wave to the people inside them. LOVED Just how close it is to the South Terminal and taking the stress away from worrying about arriving on time for your flight. HATED A bit disappointed with the buffet in the Garden restaurant. Didn’t feel like there was enough choice for £25 per person. BOTTOM LINE Hilton London Gatwick Airport prices start from £89 per night for a double room. CHECK OUT www.hilton.com. Telephone: 01293518080 A TEN-night holiday to Koh Lanta is available for £774 for couples who can get away to theThai island at the last minute. The price for the holiday at the 4* Crown Lanta Resort and Spa includes return flights from Heathrow on September 26 and ten nights’ accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis. For more details visit www. awayholidays.co.uk or call 020 8705 0107. IF you’re single, the sharing of travel experiences is a great way to meet people. Several firms specialise in solo holidays, and others organise singlesonly packages, with no supplement. Friendship Travel is a specialist singles-only company with a whole range of winter sun experiences on offer. For anyone interested in sunshine, the operator is promoting five shorthaul destinations: Cyprus, Malta, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Boa Vista in the Cape Verde islands, including departures over Christmas, often an awkward time for singles. Accommodation is usually four star, and some meals and sightseeing are included. TRY IT: For more active singles, Friendship organises week-long ski house parties, based in France’s Serre Chevalier resort, with prices from £750, including flights, transfers and sociable chalet-boarding on a sole-occupancy basis. See friendshiptravel.com. One Traveller is another solo holiday specialist, specifically for mature travellers, and offers more than 40 different group holidays within the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Typical destinations are Prague, Barcelona, Morocco and Classical Spain, mostly with a cultural emphasis. There are no single supplements and each guest has their own spacious room. TRY IT: Five days in Norfolk, including guided tours of Norwich, Holkham Hall, Holt and Sheringham and a cruise on the Norfolk Broads. Accommodation is in the luxurious Dunston Hall and the very sociable package includes all evening meals and one lunch, afternoon tea at the hotel, and pre-dinner drinks. From £720. See onetraveller.co.uk. With 30 years of specialising in this sector, Solos knows the priorities of single travellers. The choice the company offers is varied, from historic cities to foodie tours and hill-walking, long-haul and closer to home. So with Solos you could set off to South Africa on a Big Five safari, or go on a Christmas package to Malta to escape endless seasonal re-runs of Only Fools and Horses. TRY IT: Solos’ Discovery range of tours includes an adventurous tour of Albania, for so long Europe’s outsider nation. Visiting old Ottoman towns such as Gjirokaster, stopping in shepherds’ villages for a picnic, exploring the glorious mountain ranges and spectacular coastal scenery. Seven days, including accommodation, breakfast and dinner, return flights – to Corfu – and transfers. From £1,099. See solosholidays.co.uk. Outside the singles specialists listed above, many companies have a singles-only section of their programme and particular areas of expertise. One such is Intrepid Travel, which has a Golden Triangle tour in India designed for solo travellers only. Explore the real-life sets of the very successful film and television series the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. TRY IT: The tour visits Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, including their historic forts, opulent palaces and bustling markets and bazaars. Ride a rickshaw, marvel at the Taj Mahal and explore the Palace of the Winds. From £585 per person, including seven nights’ accommodation, two meals, transport and most activities, but not flights. See intrepidtravel.com. TheTh other, even less expensive, way of avoiding airportsai is to travel by coach. Shearings have a YourYo Time range of holidays which is aimed at maturem singles who want to travel on a budget. TheTh choice of destinations is a mix of UK and Europe,Eu and there’s a dedicated tour manager. TRYT IT: Take a nine-day trip all the way down to C Croatia’s Istrian coast for autumnal sunshine. Th The main destination is Porec, one of Croatia’s m most popular resorts, with excursions to Rovinj an and Pula, and to nearby Slovenia. Two nights’ co coach travel en route, six nights in soleoc occupancy rooms in resort, breakfast and three ev evening meals, from £514. See shearings.com. Busy airports and packed planes are not to ev everyone’s taste as we get older. Step forward