The only way to get to an airport from our house is by car (unless we go for a tortuous car/bus/train combo which would add aeons to our journey). So, we either 1) get a lift from a kindly friend or relation, or 2) fork out for a taxi (if we remember to book a week in advance to make sure that we get one to come to our village) or 3) drive ourselves and park at the airport.

If we’ve gone for the third option, I don’t see the point in parking at one of those car parks which have a shuttle bus to take you to the terminal. It just adds unnecessary extra time and hassle to the journey. The car park shuttle bus experience is especially miserable if it’s dark/ cold/ hot/ raining/ snowing/ very early/ very late/ and/ or if your children are tired, hungry, in a pushchair, or unable to carry their own luggage.

If I have to park at an airport, I want to actually park at the terminal. So, I love, love, love, meet and greet airport parking.

Meet and greet parking

Meet and greet parking is marvellous. You book online in advance, then simply turn up at the airport and leave your car with a driver who’s expecting you. Your car is looked after while you’re away and is ready for you at the airport on your return.

Purple Parking meet and greet

This summer I was invited to review Purple Parking meet and greet at London Heathrow. We used the service while we were on our family holiday to Portugal. The week before the trip was extremely stressful (if you want to know why, read about my last minute renewal of our son’s passport here) and it was great to know that parking at the airport was going to be hassle-free.

I was sent clear instructions by email on which airport car park to go to for our terminal (Terminal 3), how to find the meet and greet section when we got there, and what to do with our car keys. The instructions were easy to follow and we found the cheerful Purple Parking staff straight away.

Purple parking meet and greet airport parking, London Heathrow. Copyright Gretta Schifano

We gave them our car keys, and received instructions (on a bright yellow piece of card, pretty hard to lose) for our return. This exchange took less than a minute, and then we stepped straight into the lift to the terminal. While we were away, we knew that our car was parked in a secure car park with 24-hour surveillance. Purple Parking has the ‘Park Mark’ safer parking award which means that its car parks are vetted by the police.

When we arrived back at Heathrow 15 days later, we headed to where we’d dropped our car off, handed over the piece of yellow card and were given our car keys and a ticket to exit the car park. The service was efficient and organised – just what you need when you arrive home from a flight.

Meet and greet parking, London Heathrow airport. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Cost

Parking costs vary according to length of trip etc. Looking on the website today, it would cost £172.95 for meet and greet parking from 22-29 October, while Park and Ride (with a bus transfer from the car park to the terminal) would cost from £79.95

Verdict

We found the Purple Parking meet and greet service at Heathrow to be excellent. The staff were efficient and friendly. The location was ideal. We didn’t have to wait at all. I would definitely recommend this service and would use it again.

Disclosure: Purple Parking meet and greet was provided to us in exchange for this independent review. The words, images and opinions are all my own.