On this page (5 sections)
How much does valet parking cost?
Pre-booked rates for the official Stansted valet parking start from around £96 for 8 days, the dearest of the airport's car parks because a driver handles the car at both ends. It is pre-book only, with no drive-up rate, and the price is dynamic, climbing as your date nears and as spaces fill, so book once your dates are fixed.
A standard booking cancels free up to 72 hours before arrival. Unlike Meet & Greet, valet is suitable for overheight and larger vehicles, with no 2.0m height limit, so it is the keys-handed-over option for a van, a tall car or a roof box. Prices are lowest booked ahead, so check the live quote on the official valet page. For the cheaper self-park options, the cheap parking page compares them.
How it works
Valet keeps you at the terminal frontage the whole time, in three steps.
- Drive to Zone C. Head for the terminal and the Express Set Down area, then follow the signs to Zone C.
- Hand your keys in. Check the car in with the receptionist at the mobile building marked Valet Parking. A fully insured airport driver takes it to a secure on-site car park.
- Walk to check-in, and collect from the forecourt. The terminal is right there, with no shuttle and no car park to cross. When you return, the car is waiting at the terminal forecourt.
The car is parked in a secure, Park Mark accredited on-site car park, the police-backed Safer Parking standard that all the official car parks hold. The appeal is the lack of any transfer at either end: you step from the car to the terminal and back again.
Valet vs Meet & Greet
Valet and Meet & Greet are close cousins, and the difference is in the hand-over and the price.
- Valet is a kerbside drop in Zone C, with the car returned to the forecourt. You never leave the terminal frontage. It costs a little more, and it takes overheight and larger vehicles.
- Meet & Greet has you drive to a reception bay and walk about 2 minutes to check-in. It is slightly cheaper, but the height limit is 2.0m.
For most travellers the two are interchangeable and Meet & Greet is the better value. Valet earns its higher price in two cases: a tall or larger vehicle that Meet & Greet cannot take, or a preference for handing the car over at the kerb and collecting it there. The parking hub compares both against the self-park car parks.
Book the official service, not a lookalike
As with Meet & Greet, the thing that matters most is booking the official airport valet, not one of the lookalike third-party firms that trade under similar names. The airport discourages booking with several named third-party operators after a high volume of complaints, and it is working with Trading Standards and the police.
Book through the official airport website at stanstedairport.com. If you are booking anywhere else, you are not booking the official valet service, however close the name looks, and a price well below the official rate is a warning sign rather than a saving. The Meet & Greet page covers the rogue-operator problem and the documented incidents in full.
Blue Badge and directions
Because the valet drop is at the terminal frontage, it removes the car park walk entirely, which can suit a Blue Badge holder, though the normal charge applies and it is not free. There are dedicated Blue Badge bays across the other car parks, on the Blue Badge parking page.
There is no separate car park postcode to aim for: you drive to the terminal, where the Express Set Down and Zone C are signed. Stansted is off the M11, junction 8a from the London direction or junction 8 from the Cambridge side. The postcode and directions page has the approach, and the drop-off charges page covers the same Express Set Down area for those just dropping someone off.