Definitely book the night before. It stinks, but I can't imagine you'd get in THAT early.

Very few hotels would allow you to check in at 3 or 4 AM without any cost when check-in is 3 or 4 PM.

If you want to guarantee a room, pay for the night of arrival (Monday) and be sure to contact the property and let them know your estimated time of arrival so the credit card guarantee won't expire at midnight (the policy of some properties).

Still the previous night
 

Anything's possible...but, I can't imagine any hotel would consider 3am to be the following day. Looking at it another way, a 3am arrival still gives the guest 8 or 9 hours before check-out time.

I've had hotels let me use a "refresh" room or the spa to shower etc when arriving in middle of night, but usually when arriving on red-eye at about 6am to get ready for the day. Then they hold luggage and do a Pre-check in.

I have had hotels check me in early when I arrived at the hotel at 8-9 am after a red eye flight.

However when I have a late arriving flight around midnight or later and plan to arrive at the hotel by 1-2am, I book the night before so I can get to the hotel and sleep.

Also when I have a late departing flight after midnight, I have often paid for an extra night and check out around 10-11pm.

This ^

I was very lucky when I visited Dubai that the Jumierah Hilton let me check in at 6am! I'd arrived on a very early flight and stupidly had not booked the night before.

I actually arrived at the hotel at 04:30 but they said they had to wait til 6am for the computer system to recognise it was the next day and check me in. I was Diamond at the time, and the staff could not have been more helpful.

Embassy Suites 22nd St in DC let us in @ ~ 6:00 AM last week. We called ahead of time to request it (I was diamond for the last few years, but now I'm gold).

early arrival opertunity????
 

hi folks - never noticed this before but in my nor1 upgrade offer i saw a box that said EARLY ARRIVAL OPPORTUNITY , its £16 and is at the hilton london canary wharf.
The situation is, i'm in london next monday for a thames walk ( a 9 mile walk i do once every july).....i need to start the walk at 10-30am from greenwich so i've booked 1 night at the hilton for the monday...would be great to use this option to get my car parked and put bag in my room before i start, however i wondered if anyone else has any experiance of this EAO and do you think it may affect my upgrade chances?

From last week, they've popped up on all my reservations all over the UK and all at £16 no matter what property. What I'd like to know is, in the unlikely event I'd use one, how do you know if the EAO will be honoured or not as NOR1 offers are always "subject to availability."

For £16 I think I'd pass at most places and just show up. Most times I've done this and it's been anywhere between 12-3pm and it's been no problem but maybe this will stop and they'll begin enforcing this rule more closely now they've decided to proactively monitize early-check ins?

I was offered one of these yesterday for the Hilton Terminal 5, and I agree, I will too pass. In my experience if there is a room in your category available they will do all they can to check you in early. I've even pushed my luck and been given a room at 9am, and if not then I always get Exec lounge access until the room is ready anyways, which suits me fine!

As you say though, they may get more strict with this sort of thing now and my 9am check-ins will be a thing of the past :td:

I think the free early check-in will happen less and less. I noticed on my last 2 trips to Europe (arrival at hotel 9-11 am, before official check-in), i was not allowed to check in early. The official response was no rooms available. This was not at a peak travel period.
I was offered a place to store my luggage, with the promise it would be in my room when the room was ready at check-in time. I was offered use of EL only once. But given it was after breakfast, the EL was bare of offerings beyond basic non-alcoholic drinks. OTW, it was "see you after check-in time".

I think this is what we will encounter more and more.

Luckily, my next planned trip, I'll be arriving well after check-in time. So no excuses of why the room isn't ready.

thanx guys, dunno what to do, gonna be arriving around 7-30am obvioiusly this is way to early to expect to be able to get into my room, maybe i will just turn up and leave my bag in my car, hopefully they will let me freshen up with a sauna and shower in the gym before i leave for my walk......if im lucky they might let me have a cheeky coffee in the lounge ( have booked executive room).

If I knew I definitely wanted/needed the room before the specified check in time then I think £16 is a fair price, especially if you get 6,7 maybe 8 hours more in the room. I also have the feeling that if you prebook this option there is a good chance there will be availability versus just hoping for a bit of HH Gold love... I nearly always arrive a few hours early and approach the desk asking to leave my bags until check in time and 9 times of 10 they will say to me they will have a look and the room is available. 7.30am is pushing it though :D

I would not pay to just store a bag and park the car. If you need to actually use the room for something that's a different story, if you arrived from an overnight flight at 10 am and want a quick shower before an afternoon meeting that's worth it to me, but the car they won't care when you park it and they will probably hold your bag (maybe for a small fee) for you. I would not pay for the room for just that.