Heathrow Parking

[Nitro182]

What is the best parking at Heathrow ? Flying out of terminal 3 in August, just after no faff parking. It seems most are meet and greet however I don't want to experience poor service which disrupts the airport experience, especially on return.

[egomeister]

How long are you away for / how much are you willing to spend?

I used the T3 short stay recently and it was fine. No need to hand keys over although I think they do meet and greet too if you prefer. Right by the terminal so easy access (although the lifts are really slow - take the stairs if you only have hand luggage). Entry was easy with number plate recognition although it took a bit of time to exit as it was pretty busy.

[MBBlat]

The official long term parking is about the same price as the non official ones, park yourself, keep your keys, bus to the terminal about every 15 minutes that drops off outside arrivals.

[Nitro182]

All booked through the official Heathrow parking . Cheers ! Didn't even realise there was an official parking site !

[egomeister]

There's always official parking! You think an airport is going to give on a source of revenue like that

You pay a premium but at least you know where your car is, and that its somewhat close to the airport!

[djc206]

Nitro182 said:

All booked through the official Heathrow parking . Cheers ! Didn't even realise there was an official parking site !

Go through Quidco for a few % cashback.

Also worth checking your booking regularly, prices fluctuate and they will refund you the difference if you notice it’s now available cheaper!

[Old Merc]

Always use the official Heathrow site, there are so many that look official.
Then your car will be left in a field off the A30.

[bigshineybike]

Just for the record short stay at T3 June 2023 is £83 per day.
Long stay around that price for the week.
Given the stories of muddy fields I'm edging towards official airport parking.

[numtumfutunch]

I always use the official parking - its 2-3x the price it was pre covid however at least I know my car is safe

Top tip is to book immediately and then check out the website every week or so until you fly as they sometimes do offers for valet/short stay
Just about every time Ive booked they offer free cancellation but best to double check

The long stay is just fine as described however the convenience of skipping out of customs with your car a 5 min walk away is a no brainer if youre lucky enough to blag it for the same cash

Cheers

[ecs]

For T3 the official arrive and drive is the best - you drop and collect the car from the first floor which means you only need to fight your way into one lift when you're on your way home.

The unofficial providers are located on the 4th floor of the carpark so you'll need to take the lift to the 1st floor to get to the bridge for departures and upon arrival you'll need to get the lift up to the 1st floor and then get the car park lift up to the 4th. The whole thing is a total st show if the airport is remotely busy as there aren't enough lifts the number of passengers.

Short stay suffers the same issue with lifts as it's in the same structure and you can't self park on the 1st floor from what I can remember. Official long stay is the next best option as you just have to get on and off one of their busses.

[cheeky_chops]

Any top tips/deals for T5 - off for 2 weeks end of October. £181 long stay atm

[djc206]

Doesn’t seem outrageous for two weeks these days. Maybe a hotel and parking deal?

[numtumfutunch]

cheeky_chops said:

Any top tips/deals for T5 - off for 2 weeks end of October. £181 long stay atm

That's pretty good in the current climate I'm afraid

I paid 80 quid for 2 weeks pre COVID so am on board with conspiracy theories and antagonism towards capitalism

[DavePanda]

We parked at Premier Inn on the Bath Road for £15/24h you can reserve a space

[Old Merc]

DavePanda said:

We parked at Premier Inn on the Bath Road for £15/24h you can reserve a space

They wont let you leave it for 14 days though, normally with Premier`s its a max of 4 days.

[Vasco]

Park further out and use the trains/buses.

[Old Merc]

I will just repeat, for convenience and peace of mind, use Official onsite parking.
We often get threads about airport parking. I don't get it, you spend a few thousand flying away and begrudge spending £150-£200 parking your valuable car.

[djc206]

Old Merc said:

I will just repeat, for convenience and peace of mind, use Official onsite parking.
We often get threads about airport parking. I don't get it, you spend a few thousand flying away and begrudge spending £150-£200 parking your valuable car.

Be nice if for £200 they gave you more than the bare minimum 11.5m^2. People have luggage and children to contend with so the spaces really should be a little larger for the price they’re now charging to ensure that our valuable cars retain all of their paint.

T5 I’d choose POD all day every day if it’s available. So convenient, normally plenty of empty spaces.

Worth reiterating that it’s worth checking your booking occasionally as the prices do fluctuate. The last trip I did I upgraded from long stay to business parking and got a £7 refund.

[DavePanda]

Old Merc said:

They wont let you leave it for 14 days though, normally with Premier`s its a max of 4 days.

We parked for 10 days, booked it through Horizon i think.

Was 2 years ago so may have changed

[mini95]

Tip for T5 is to stay at the Thistle Hotel and park there, not sure if they have a time limit on parking. They have a gate through to POD parking, I think it costs £6 for a code for the gate and you can use the pod. It was cheaper for me last time to stay a night than park in the official car park. Heathrow parking has got expensive!