Which? reveals the best and worst airport hotels
In a survey of over 1,600 people, 19 airport hotel chains were ranked for categories including customer service, cleanliness and value for money. As part of the research the consumer champion also sent secret inspectors to two of the hotels listed - DoubleTree by Hilton and Thistle - to see if the survey results matched up to their experiences.
DoubleTree by Hilton - which has locations at Edinburgh Airport, London Heathrow, Manchester and Newcastle - impressed travellers most, and is a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP). This chain scored five stars for cleanliness, bed comfort and location and earned an impressive 80 per cent customer score overall. It received a respectable four stars for value for money, with guests surveyed paying an average £147 a night - reflecting some of the chain’s pricier locations.
Which?’s undercover inspectors visited the DoubleTree by Hilton at Newcastle airport and rated it highly. Highlights included warm cookies handed to guests on arrival, room service until the early hours, and a generous checkout time of midday. Guests can also get a continental breakfast from as early as 4.30am. The inspectors also rated the spacious rooms, blackout curtains and plush king-size beds. At £76, Which? inspectors found the DoubleTree Newcastle to represent especially good value.
With a customer score of 79 per cent in Which?’s survey, Premier Inn was rated second in the table. The chain has hotels at almost all major UK airports, including London Heathrow, London Gatwick and Manchester and scored five stars for categories including bed comfort and location. Which? awarded Premier Inn Recommended Provider status as well as a Great Value endorsement for its average £77 a night stay.
Holiday Inn Express also gained WRP status with a customer score of 76 per cent in Which?’s survey. The chain received a solid four stars across the majority of the categories including cleanliness, bed comfort and value for money. An average night in this airport hotel is around £151 and locations include East Midlands Airport, Glasgow and London Stansted.
The second hotel Which? sent undercover inspectors to was the Thistle in London Heathrow Terminal 5. With a score of 72 per cent in the survey, Thistle received a Which? Great Value award. Despite dated decor, the inspectors found the hotel to be clean and convenient, with excellent deals for park and stay. The hotel had a fairly comfy bed and a decent shower, and is just a five-minute pod ride from the airport. At just £78 with a buffet breakfast, it was a bargain. Thistle also has a London Luton Airport hotel.
When booking an airport hotel, travellers are looking for convenience with ease of getting to the terminal. In the consumer champions survey, nearly nine in 10 respondents (87%) said that convenience was crucial.
Location alone won’t make for an excellent airport hotel stay. Gatwick’s Bloc Hotel couldn’t be closer, occupying a space minutes from check-in desks within the South Terminal, yet it’s the lowest-scoring hotel brand in Which?’s survey. With a score of 64 per cent, the hotel received just two stars for value for money, bedroom and bathrooms and customer service. The price per night on average is £142.
Survey respondents said the rates were too expensive for such tiny, often windowless, rooms. One respondent said: “The room was too small for two people. The bed was against the wall, so one person had to wriggle out to use the loo. And the bathroom was a wetroom, so the toilet area flooded when you used the shower”.
Travelodge was the cheapest on average in the survey, with a cost on average per night of £74. With a customer score of 65 per cent, the chain scored three stars for the majority of categories including value for money and their bedroom and bathrooms. The hotel received two stars for food and drink, one guest said: “Most of the items on the menu were unavailable. What was available was clearly poor quality and microwaved.” Travelodge has properties at most major UK airports, including Cardiff Airport, Liverpool John Lennon Airport and London City Airport.
No hotel got more than three stars in Which?’s survey when it came to food and drink. One person surveyed about an airport hotel said: “'I ordered a sirloin steak and it was as tough as old boots. My wife ordered a pizza and it had to go back.”
Airport hotels come into their own if you drive to the airport. Hotel deals that include a one-night stay before the flight, and parking for the duration of your holiday, can offer excellent value.
Which? found the best, and most convenient, deals at hotels that have their own car parks. For example, Thistle at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, has fenced, on-site parking with CCTV. A night’s stay in August with a week’s parking cost £210. That’s £52 cheaper than booking the hotel stay separately and parking just next door at the official T5 Pod Parking.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel said:
“Staying in a hotel near the airport the night before an early flight can really ease the stress of travelling, and we found you don’t need to pay a fortune to get a great stay.
“Both the properties and the price impressed customers at Premier Inn and Thistle, while guests and our undercover inspectors thought the Doubletree by Hilton was good value for money.
“We also found that some airport hotels offer on site parking that is cheaper than parking in the airport itself.”
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
Many of the best airport hotels are a short shuttle away, within walking distance, or, in some cases, inside the terminal itself. Which? asked respondents to tell them only about airport hotels with transfer times of less than 30 minutes.
Great Value
Hotels that excelled for value for money and were therefore granted Great Value awards were Premier Inn and Thistle.
Which Recommended Providers (WRPs)
DoubleTree by Hilton
Premier Inn
Holiday Inn Express
