Gatwick airport is the UK's second biggest air travel hub, and growing every year, and there are few better places to relax and unwind before or after your flight than at the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick.

A stay in this four-star country house hotel is the perfect way to reduce the strain of travelling, with the 100 acres of gardens and woodlands a perfect natural stress reliever.

With Heathrow serving as the major airport in the UK for business flights and long-haul travel, Gatwick is often the number one choice for leisure travellers. It hosts flights from major airlines to a variety of worldwide locations, including Barbados, Venice, Toronto, Salzburg and Prague. The top international destinations from Gatwick are Malaga, Palma and Alicante, with Orlando, Geneva, Barcelona and Atlanta also appearing in the top ten.

Holidaymakers travelling to any of these destinations from Gatwick can reach the airport from the Copthorne Hotel in just six minutes by car, with taxi and shuttle bus services also available.

The enjoyable and relaxing experience on offer at the hotel is likely to be emulated at the airport, if recent awards events are to be believed, as Gatwick was named the best airport of 2007 in the Telegraph Travel Awards.

Gatwick took the best UK airport accolade in the Travel Weekly Globe Awards twice in the past four years and received the same honour in the Travel Bulletin Awards of 2004.

Visitors to the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick who fancy a drive to explore the surrounding area will find that they don't have to spend long in the car to reach the southern hotspot of Brighton. The enjoyable coastal town, which is just a 30-minute drive from the hotel, is perfect for a quiet day trip during off-peak periods. Those who would prefer a bit more excitement will find that Brighton turns into a buzzing tourist hub in the summer months.

In May the town will host the Brighton Festival, a cultural extravaganza encompassing performance theatre, music, literary events and family entertainment. One of the highlights of the Festival will be a performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra, which will recite Jonathan Harvey's Tranquil Abiding and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No 2 Resurrection.

Later in the year visitors to the Copthorne Hotel London Gatwick can savour the Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival. Some 50,000 people enjoyed this event in 2007, which between September 1st and 30th this year will feature the best of fare from around Sussex and showcase Brighton's top restaurants, pubs and bars.

Another easy-to-access location is Royal Tunbridge Wells, which is just a 20-minute road trip away from the hotel. This Kent town is surrounded by the natural beauty of the Weald area and is nestled in the heart of one of England's most picturesque stretches of countryside.

Tunbridge Wells has retained the appeal that it had in Georgian times, when it had a reputation as the 'place to be' among royalty and members of the aristocracy.