Budget Travel - Close connection in Stansted / Hotel tips for worst case scenario?

I have booked a connecting flight with two Ryanair flight in and out of Stansted.

I have 2 hours between arrival and departure.

Question 1:

Is there a dedicated check-in counter for each Ryanair flight at Stansted giving me the hope that after immigration and baggage collection I might be the last in a long line that they have to process before closing the flight?

Question 2:

Should there not be enough time and I miss the connecting flight and have to buy a new ticket for the next flight on the next day. Does anyone have any recommendations for a hotel?

Thanks,

S

When MaxJet was still around and gave us a nice 10+ hour delay at Stansted, they put us up at the Radisson, which was a great hotel. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly. Clean rooms and a great view of the tarmac.

As you posted this in the Budget Travel forum you are, presumably, looking for a budget option?

There is a Day's Inn at a nearby motorway service station (Birchanger Services), I just checked for a random date in May and found a rate of £45. We stayed there once a few years ago (when it wasn't a Day's Inn) and it was fine. Unfortunately it does not have a shuttle so you would need to get a taxi.

We've also had reasonably good deals at the Hilton which does have a shuttle. It's about five minutes from the airport.

Or look at the Holiday Inn Express at the airport - Continental Breakfast included and a paying shuttle from the terminal to the hotel and back.

Ryanair no longer has check-in desks dedicated to specific flights at Stansted. If you have luggage, you'll first need to use a check-in machine, then take your luggage to a bag-drop desk.

Flying with hand luggage only and printing your boarding passes before departure would increase the chances of making your connection. Once you emerge from customs you could simply re-enter the secure area.

The length of time spent queuing at passport control and security search can vary greatly but, generally speaking, is greatest when Ryanair has a departing or arriving "wave". As two of these are first thing in the morning and last thing at night you might, perhaps, manage to avoid the worst queues.