Hotels in Crawley

Crawley has plenty of open space, including Tilgate Park, which has a nature centre and lots of woodland to explore. Cycle along the Crawley Millennium Greenway, and see a show at the Hawth theatre, or use the area as an excellent place to rest if you’re flying into Gatwick Airport.

Crawley is a large town in West Sussex, and the birthplace of several famous Brits, including Robert Smith of The Cure, English football manager Gareth Southgate and comedian Romesh Ranganathan. Just 15 minutes’ drive from Gatwick Airport and with a shopping mall, variety of bars and restaurants and beautiful parks, it’s well positioned for anyone looking to stay nearby for a flight. 

The name Crawley is believed to have originated from the town’s beginnings as a Saxon village, where it was named Crow’s Leah, meaning a clearing filled with crows. The modern spelling first appeared around 1316. 

Crawley is in West Sussex, directly south of London. 

Crawley is around 30 miles south of central London and can easily be reached by train, bus or car. Regular trains travel directly from London Victoria to Crawley in under an hour and tickets cost from around £14 upwards, depending on time of travel. As the station lies in Special Zone 14, an Oyster card will take you from London to Crawley. Depending on traffic, by car you can expect a journey time of around an hour or more.

Crawley is around six miles from Gatwick Airport, so easily reachable by car and train. A car journey from the town centre should take around 10 – 15 minutes with a taxi costing in the region of around £10, or it’s just one stop by train, taking around 4 minutes.

Around 20 miles south of Croydon, you can expect a 30 – 45 minute drive to Crawley, with taxis costing upwards of around £45. Alternatively, the journey takes just 20 minutes by train.

If you’re looking to head to the coast from Crawley or vice-versa, you’ll find Brighton just 20 miles south. To drive or take the train both take around half an hour, and a taxi will cost upwards of £40.