LGW Valet parking - any good?
 

We are off to Bari in June and sadly it's from LGW so an early start required from Berkshire with the family in tow.

Is the Valet parking any good at LGW? I usually use Purple Parking valet service at LHR, which is pretty good IME, but their website makes it sound like they outsource at LGW. Under their banner we are looking at £136ish vs. £115 for the cheapest other operator, all of whom sound the same from the description - albeit under different banners.

LGW is equally happy to sell it to me for the same price as PP and it sounds like they have the car back for you unlike PP who still require you to call ahead.

Any experience gratefully received!

EB

OT, and I'm sure this will be moved soon, but I used Meteor Meet & Greet at Gatwick.

They were professional and punctual.

Thanks msm2000uk!

I had a look on the UK & I forum but a search here threw up way more results (albeit almost all out of date).

I need to park at Gatwick and Maple Manor meet greet was coming up cheap but there are too many horror stories on tripadvisor. There is a summer parking offer but reviews say there can be queues and the bus is longer. Your car is also driven to another bay. Ended up booking long term north. You know what you are getting. You keep your keys and the bus takes 5 mins. Tried and tested many times

Yes, watch out for the horror stories - the outfits who park your car on the street in Crawley and add a few hundred miles to the clock to boot!

I too have used Meteor recently (booked via Purple Parking, who I always use at LHR) and found them fine.

There is the minor inconvenience of calling them both 10 mins ahead of arrival and when you have your bags inbound (as one used to have to do with PP at LHR) but both drop off and return delivery were efficient and prompt in the slip road lay-by next to the Premier Inn.

I used LGW Valet Parking about two years ago, though I doubt much has changed in the intervening period.
For drop-off you drive in to one of the short stay car parks following the signs for the dedicated area for valet parking. Once parked you leave your keys with one of the attendants in the valet parking office and then walk through to North departures. Valet parking is at the same level as departures so there's the bonus of no lifts, stairs or escalators.
On return they had my vehicle ready and waiting. I vaguely recall putting flight details in the booking but my flight was on time so I'm not sure if they use this or the time selected for departure when booking.

I'd use valet parking again, provided it's at the right price. For my next trip out of Gatwick it's about £30 more than the return fare from a local taxi firm so I think I know which I'll be going for.

I used "I love meet and greet" at north terminal a few times last year, it was a mixture between a minute's wait and half an hour wait, for both drop off and pick up. This was through work travel agent but was branded as purple parking during the booking process.

I used the Valet parking last month.

Very easy, there is a new 'car park' as you approach the drop off zone, I just parked in the lane as shown by the friendly staff, left the keys at the office and walked 2 minutes (under a covered walkway) to the terminal. On return the car was waiting in the same car park.

Would I use it again, YES

Last week on a business trip to NCE, I used Maple Manor Meet and Greet at LGW North.

This uses the staff car park behind the Hampton by Hilton hotel. On my outbound journey (on Saturday morning) I called into Sainsburys in Crawley to fill up the car, from where I rang the contact number as it says you should call 15 minutes before arrival time. I had to wait a couple of minutes for the call to be answered, then had to give my name and vehicle registration.

I drove to the car park, missing the first sign to the Hampton off the roundabout but eventually found it. It was a little chaotic with a number of holiday arrivals and it seems that the people on duty - working out of a branded people carrier - were responsible for several different companies. All this didn't take too long, but I was glad it wasn't pouring with rain.

I walked to the terminal through the hotel and was in BA check-in (which was heaving, thanks to a combination of FLY and the (never ending) Easter holidays) within five minutes of dropping the car. That's about the same as the walk from the current LGW-operated valet parking.

On my return on Thursday evening, I rang the number to alert them to my arrival. The call was answered swiftly and I was told that the car was already waiting for me. When I got to the car park, I spotted my vehicle and handed over the receipt to the man on duty. He said it wasn't yet here and I pointed out that it was. He checked again, going rather laboriously through the plastic wallets containing all the cars. It didn't help that he was on the phone discussing a problem. Eventually he found the key and I was on my way, perhaps with only a minute of two of waiting in the car park.

This booking, made through BA, saved around £25 on the LGW-operated Valet Parking. I might be tempted to use this again, although for the foreseeable future my flights are from LHR (and I missed the Clubroom experience by a couple of days so had the fun of the No 1 on my (delayed) outbound journey.

One more experience: we had a positive experience with Ace. They also operate from behind the Hampton hotel. I get the impression they have more space to work with than those operating from next to the Premier Inn, and therefore your car is maybe more likely to be there already, as our was.

This would blow any saving but Gatwick offer night-before check-in if you overnight at the airport and the north terminal has 3 walk-to hotels now which keeps it reasonable. Avoiding the risk of early-morning check-in delays makes a big difference on an early flight. Then if you do overnight, pick a M&G operator largely based on which hotel you're heading for.

Had more than one bad experience with Maple Manir and would not use them again. Interestingly they rebranded as a different operator as well but with all the operations dealt with by Maple Manor staff. I think it was ACE? A cheap trick to get more bookings from others who would never use MM again (yes it worked on me!).

I've used Sofitel for a stay/park option. Holiday wasn't great so stayed an extra week - they only charged £10 per night excess and the car remained nicely parked in the onsite hotel car park all the time. I understand that, when busy, it can be moved offsite. Hotel used to be a Hilton and certainly not up to Novotel not to mind Sofitel standard but grand for a night.

Use the short stay carpark.

You keep your keys and no-one goes near your car. Price is similar to valet parking.

I have no idea why people give their car to a stranger (mind you I have no idea why people take a stranger into a lounge)

Always use Meteor