Luxury hotels at Stansted Airport
Since it was built, Stansted Airport has become a hub for the low cost airlines, so it’s not surprising that a lot of the accommodation in the area is low budget as well. There are lots of guest houses and bed and breakfast places, and a few decent 3 star hotels. However, there are also a couple of 4 star options, so if you’re looking for a luxury hotel near Stansted Airport, these are the ones we would recommend.
Radisson SAS Hotel London Stansted Airport
This modern, glass fronted hotel has a light filled atrium at its centre. Rising up in the middle of this, 4 stories high, is a spectacular tower of 4,000 wine bottles. Guests in the bar at the bottom choose their bottle, and a Wine Angel flies up on wires to collect it, performing acrobatics as she goes. It’s quite a sight.
The hotel also has a Health Club with a 10 metre indoor pool, a sauna and steam room. You can ease away the strain of travelling in the spa with a massage or a reflexology session.
The guest rooms are all air conditioned and soundproofed for your comfort and peace and quiet. They’re equipped with all the latest technology including LCD TVs with cable channels and movies and free wireless internet access. Full suites are the most luxurious rooms you can book. They have a private dining and seating area, two bathrooms and broad bay windows. The Radisson SAS Hotel is on site at Stansted Airport. It’s 2 minutes’ walk from the terminal along a covered pathway. You can book long term parking at the hotel along with your room.
Hilton London Stansted Airport
This hotel is also in a modern building. It has a Health Club with indoor pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi. You can even use the sunbed to make a start on your tan before you jet off on holiday.
The guest rooms have 32 inch LCD TV and radio with MP3 connection. Deluxe rooms have marble bathrooms and Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries. The most luxurious bedrooms are the suites, which are 34 metres square and have a separate living room and working area. The Hilton Hotel is within the perimeter of Stansted Airport. There’s a shuttle bus to the terminal, which takes 6 minutes. They have overnight parking at the hotel for residents.
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Stansted Airport hotels with parking
There are lots of hotels around Stansted Airport where you can book a room with holiday parking included. This is sometimes known as a park & fly package. As well as being cost effective, it’s also really convenient. In the morning, you don’t have to worry about driving anywhere, you just leave your car at the hotel and make the short journey to the airport terminal by shuttle bus or taxi. Many of these hotels are about 5 minutes from the airport, in comparison to the official long stay car park for Stansted, which is a 20 minute shuttle bus ride away. Here is a guide to all the hotels with long-term parking near Stansted Airport.
Express by Holiday Inn London Stansted ***
This hotel has on-site parking for up to 175 cars. There is a charge for overnight parking and further nights can be added at an extra cost, subject to availability. The hotel shuttle bus will take you to the terminal building, which is 5 minutes away. The hotel has a bar and restaurant.
DeSalis Hotels London Stansted ***
Most bookings at this hotel come with a day’s free parking and other parking packages are available. You can take the 24 hour shuttle bus to the airport, which is 2 miles away. There is a restaurant on site with Italian and English menus.
Residents are given 2 days free parking and additional days can be booked at a charge. The guest house provides free transfers for the 3 minute journey to the terminal. It is set in the countryside and there is a pub serving meals a short drive away. Rooms are en suite and a self-service breakfast is provided.
Car parking is free during your stay and extra days are available for a charge. The owners provide free transport to the terminal. The guest house is a 17th century cottage in a village setting 2 miles from the airport. Breakfast is served in your room and there are places to have your evening meal a short drive away.
Radisson SAS Stansted Airport ****
There’s a large car park alongside the Radisson. If you want to leave your car there for the duration of your holiday, the best idea is to book the parking along with your room. If you don’t do that it will end up being very expensive. The hotel is just a 2 minute walk from the Terminal along a covered path. The guest rooms have free Wi-Fi internet access.
Long term parking is available when staying at this B & B, if you arrange it in advance. The drive to the airport takes about 5 minutes and they offer free transfers from 6 am; otherwise, a taxi will cost about £7. Taphall has an English Tourist Board rating of 3 diamonds.
Here the parking for the first day is free, but after that you have to pay. You can book a room and parking package together. The lodge has free Wi-Fi in the public areas. It’s 5 minutes from Stansted.
There is space to park your car overnight and if you need long term parking, ask in advance and they can organise this for you. The house is equipped with a free Wi-Fi connection and is a mile and a half from the Terminal.
You can book a room and holiday parking package at this manor house. Wi-Fi is available throughout the building. It’s about 3 miles from the terminal.
One night’s accommodation can be booked with up to 7 days parking included. The guest rooms have wireless internet access and the airport is about 2 and a half miles away.
This guest house offers long stay parking at a cheap per-day rate. They provide free transfers to the airport between 4 am and 11 am and 4 pm to 10 pm. Outside of those times, a taxi costs about £10. Wi-Fi internet access is available. They are about 2 miles from the airport.
This B&B, also known as Aspens, offers parking and transfers on the same terms as Avalon. It has free wireless internet access and is also a couple of miles from the airport.
This guest house offers holiday parking rates with its rooms. They can arrange transfers to the airport for you, which is just over 3 miles away.
This is a country house restaurant with two en suite bedrooms available. It offers free airport parking for 3 nights and charges per day after that. The airport is around 4 miles away.
Jolly Brewers Travel Lodge ***
This hotel can provide long stay parking whilst you are on holiday and can organise transfers to the airport. The guest rooms have internet access. It’s a 10 minute drive to the terminal.
You get free parking at this inn during your stay and airport parking is available at an additional cost. They run a transfer service to the airport; it’s about 3 miles away.
This B&B offers long term parking at a cheap daily rate, and provides complimentary airport transfers. It’s about 4 miles from the terminal and takes 12 minutes.
Airport jobs
If you’re looking for a new career, your nearest airport is a great place to start, especially at this time of year. A lot of the work is seasonal, so keep an eye out for summer vacancies, which are advertised in the spring. If you look beyond the obvious roles there are lots of different opportunities to be found – they even employ people to scare the birds off the runways!
The glamour and excitement of an airport job can definitely be attractive and some roles can bring great personal and financial rewards. But you have to bear in mind the downsides of this type of work, which is often demanding and usually involves being “at the office” when your friends and family are at home, in the pub, or asleep. To help you weigh up the pros and cons, here’s an airport jobs guide with all the facts about the most desirable roles.
Pilot
The Job
A pilot spends his working life in command of an aircraft and can fly up to 900 hours a year. Beyond that, it’s not really possible to talk about a typical job, because the conditions vary so much depending on what kind of plane he flies. Those working for charter airlines will fly more during the summer, while those in charge of scheduled flights will have their work spread evenly across the year. They can work up to 12 hours a day, or they might only be in the cockpit for 3 or 4 hours out of 24. All of them work shifts, but short-haul pilots have a fairly regular schedule, whilst the working patterns for long-haul pilots can be erratic and unpredictable.
The Money
There are huge differences in salaries as well. A pilot with a small regional airline might only make £18,000, but the annual salary of an experienced long haul captain could be as much as £140,000.
The Way In
Getting into this profession isn’t easy, because it’s very competitive and expensive. Training can cost up to £70,000, and scholarships and sponsorships are few and far between. Having a degree is an advantage, although not strictly speaking necessary. The minimum requirement is 5 good GCSE’s, including Maths, English and a science. It’s still very much a male-dominated profession, although a few women are starting to break in.
Air Cabin Crew
The Job
You might think that the cabin crew spend all their time up in the air, but in fact about half of their working life is spent on the ground, preparing the aircraft, writing reports and attending briefings. As with pilots, unsociable hours, long shifts, and fatigue are par for the course, but vary in intensity according to which airline they work for. For an insider’s view of the job, check out The Flying Pinto. It’s a fun blog about the adventures of Sara Keagle, a flight attendant with a major US airline.
The Money
Salaries are not high – they start at about £12,000 and rise to about £25,000 after a decade or more of work. But because of the other things the job has to offer, there’s always a lot of competition for posts.
The Way In
Training is given by the airline, but to get in you’ll have to conform to certain standards. As a general rule you’ll have to be fit, healthy and slim, and taller than 5’2. The Mohican haircut and facial piercings will have to go. Graduates in languages and nursing will have an advantage, and you will need at least 4 or 5 good GCSEs to be considered.
Air Traffic Controller
The Job
Again, this is shift work, but it usually follows a predictable pattern. This is generally 2 days on the early shift, 2 days on the late shift, 2 nights and then 4 days off. It’s a very high pressured role; you’ll have lots of planes in the air at once and they’ll all be looking to you for direction. The safety of everyone on board is in your hands. Because of this, you won’t be allowed to sit at the screen for more than 2 hours at a time and you’ll have to submit to random drug and alcohol tests.
The Money
You start earning straight away in this job, although not much! You get £10,000 during your first year of training and this can go up to £18,000 when you get your first appointment. When you finally qualify (after 2 more years) there is a massive hike in salary up to £50,000. Senior managers with many years of experience can earn up to £94,000.
The Way In
If you want to do this job you should apply to the National Air Traffic Services student air traffic control scheme, which takes place at their college in Hurn, near Bournemouth. It’s very competitive. Most applicants are university graduates, but the minimum requirement is five good GCSEs, including English and Maths. Good eyesight and hearing are vital, as is a clear speaking voice.
Check-In Officer
The Job
The check in desk is the front line of passenger services at the airport, and if you work here you can expect to come under heavy fire from the people you’re trying to help. When a passenger misses a plane, you’ll be the one standing in front of them, having to face the full force of their anger. To get an idea of the kind of thing you’ll have to put up with, check out my post on funny airport videos. That said, it can be an excellent learning experience and a great entry level job with an airline. It’s possible to work your way up from here to senior management roles at the airport.
The Money
A new passenger services agent will earn about £11,000, with the potential to add a couple of thousand on to that by becoming a team leader. Although the starting salaries are low, you could be on the path to a very well paid job. From here, you can take on more senior roles within passenger services, and those who progress to management level in airport operations or flight safety can earn up to £50,000.
The Way In
Some vacancies are advertised by the airlines, but some are looked after by ground handling agents. Competition is fierce and you will need to have some GCSEs, including English and Maths. Foreign languages are an advantage. Once accepted, you’ll be given training in the basic procedures and paperwork involved in the job. They’ll also send you on a manual handling course so you know how to lift heavy bags without injuring yourself – which is definitely useful for anyone handling one of my suitcases! There are lots of opportunities for further training as your career develops.
Picture Credits
1 – My Net Bizz – http://www.mynetbizz.com/pages/airlines/swiss-airlines/swiss-airlines.cfm
2 – Concorde SST – http://www.concordesst.com/returntoflight/returngallery/pictures3.html
3 – Vancouver Limo Airport – http://vancouverlimoairport.ca/
We’d like to hear from you!
Do you have an airport job? What are the best and worst bits about it? Please leave your comments below.