Planespotters and people with horribly early budget flights from Luton – many going to Eastern Europe – swear by Express by Holiday Inn, just a ten-minute stroll from the terminal.

The hotel, which looks as if it has been thrown up to help to solve Britain’s prison overcrowding (it’s no architectural gem) is right by the airfield fence. State of Kuwait, Gulf-stream and easyJet were parked close by when I visited last month: you could hear the rumble of engines and smell the aviation fuel.

Inside, the hotel had a strange feeling of “nowhere-land”. Staff in reception and behind the small bar on my visit were Lithuanian, Estonian and Slovakian. “We talk English to each other to practise,” said one cheery Lithuanian. It was almost as if they had landed at Luton on a no-frills flight, walked around the corner and stumbled into a new job.

Guests included a group of guys in kilts on a rugby tour, several lone business travellers watching cricket in the bar, and a family dressed in readiness for sunny shores.

My room was on the “Minus Two” floor. The turquoise corridors from the lift smelt of air freshener, as did the room, which had a lovely view of a car park lit by sodium lights, a mechanical digger, and a row of traffic cones. The road to the airport was 15ft away, and I could faintly hear traffic through the double-glazing.

However, the room was clean and tidy, with abstract art on the walls, a neat grey carpet, a small TV and a power shower-room – perfectly functional and all you could want for a quick stopover (I was due to check in at 4.30am for a flight to Amsterdam).

Back in the bar, I ordered the chicken tikka, which appeared with microwave speed. The chicken was rubbery, the rice watery, and the nan bread too tough. But it did come quickly and I wanted to get an early night. Anyway, after the squash of the train from London to Luton Parkway (standing room only), I was glad to be able to sit down and relax.

Of course, the real test of an airport hotel is: did you arrive at check-in the next day feeling refreshed? I did. The Express by Holiday Inn may be a slightly strange place... but for me at least, it worked.

Bottom line: Tom Chesshyre paid £105 for a double, continental breakfast included.

Sampling the fare: £10.99 for a rather average chicken tikka.

What we think: Ideal for an early morning flight.

Best thing: The location (close to the terminal for check-in, yet I couldn’t hear aircraft from my room).

Worst thing: Depressing view from the room.

Access all areas: Yes.

Need to know: Express by Holiday Inn (0870 4448920, www.hiexpressluton.co.uk), 2 Percival Way, Bedfordshire LU2 9GP.

Room: 6 out of 10.

Food: 4 out of 10.

Service: 8 out of 10.

Value: 8 out of 10.

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