I'll log in when and if I remember to.... if you're lucky, a review may even follow!
I'll log in when and if I remember to.... if you're lucky, a review may even follow!
Member since:12.05.2001
Reviews:40
Members who trust:13
I recently flew to Dublin from Manchester airport. Thanks to engineering works on the line at some point between here (Sheffield) and Manchester, the railway option wasn't open to me for my weekend away.
Firstly this posed two problems: one) I'd have to drive because my love affair with coach services ended some three years ago when, as a student, a National Express (spit, curse, spit) driver completely missed my stop and proceeded to blame me for him missing it. Two) driving meant that I couldn't be sampling the Irish delights, sorry, alcohol (well, a delight to me and a main reason for my weekend away).
Anyway, grumbling aside, I set about working out my route to Manchester airport, before deciding that an investigation into this whole airport parking malarky would be needed. I'd never driven to an airport before (the whole idea of flying, arriving home tired and having to drive never appealed to me), but with no other apparent options, I was venturing onto new ground.
My first stop was the trusty Internet, and a search on Google returned a wealth of informative sites all baying for my money. I decided that before parting with my trusty cash, a little more information would be needed.
However, I ended up taking a short route to my final choice of parking place. I took my travel insurance out with HSBC, and the lady on the other end of the line politely
enquired as to whether I'd like information on airport parking. When I said 'yes', she explained that by taking my travelinsurance out through HSBC, I qualified for a discount with APH airport parking.
I was given a phone number to call to arrange my parking, but being me, I wanted to know more first. I returned to Google UK and typed in "APH airport parking". The first of many APH-related sites returned the homepage. Bingo.
The website (www.parkaph.co.uk) contains a bundle of information. My most important aspects of choosing where to leave my baby (otherwise known as my Honda Civic) were: - Closeness to the Airport - Ease of finding the place - Security and trust
APH are recommended by the AA (they have a Gold award from the AA for security), Barclaycard and 'leading tour operators' (although it doesn't say whom). They also boast: "Many of our car parks hold the prestigious ACPO Award for Security", which is comforting news to any would-be first timer (like me).
They offer different types of parking, from the cheap and cheerful version that I opted for (taking it to the offsite parking myself and taking the courtesy bus into the airport) to a meet and greet service, where they meet you at the airport, take your car and then return it to the airport to meet you on arrival (with the car valeted for that feel-good factor).
I decided to do more research via their website, and I discovered that it allows you to book online if you so wish, although I decided to utilise their call centre via the National Rate (08705) number I'd been given by the HSBC Insurance people. However, before I did that, I did a quick 'online quote' to find out what parking was available and how much it would cost me. The results differed quite considerably:The APH carpark worked out at £9.75 per day. It mentioned that it was conveniently located for the M60 and M56, so I was sold on this particular option. I could've also had:
On-Airport parking at any of Manchester's three Terminals for £36, although there was a minimum stay of 8 days required for that (and I was only away for three!).
Meet and Greet service for £40 (with the service as described above).
I'm quite glad I did opt for the call centre, as I didn't see any option on the booking page for the discounted parking that HSBC had promised me. Upon calling the number I was given by HSBC, I was met by a very efficient and helpful lady in APH's call centre, who talked me through all the options again and took all the details. She also explained that my discount worked out at 33% and that for my weekend parking (Friday morning to Sunday night) it would cost £11.49. I think (from looking at similar timespans in the week via the quote option on the website) that weekend parking is more expensive than weekday, as subsequent quotes returned £9.75 for a Sunday morning - Tuesday night.However, at £11.49 and probably £15 petrol, for two of us that worked out about £20 less than the train in the first place!
I booked there and then on the phone, paying by Mastercard (APH accept both credit and debit cards), and was asked how I would like to receive my confirmation - by post, fax or email. Surprised at the choices, I opted for email, and within 5 minutes of my call I received the confirmation, directions and booking number along with all my instructions. All very extremely efficient, and - I hoped - a guide for the service I was about to receive.
Of course, the test of all this apparent ease-of-use was the day itself.
We left Sheffield at 6:30am (reasons being that one of the main roads to Mancs was closed - the Snakepass - and the other main road - the Woodhead - had roadworks!), and arrived onto the M60 around 9am - in complete rush hour traffic. We followed the directions given to us in the email from the M60, but sadly they were either wrong or in our tired state we took the wrong exit. We ended up heading towards Maine Road and Moss Side (not what you want to be doing at that time of day, or any time of day really...), so a hasty about-turn was made and we made our way back to the M56 and followed the directions from there. They were much more accurate, and we made our way into the industrial estate where the car park was situated (and yes, it was clearly signed).
Upon entering reception, which was little more than a static caravan but with a host of CCTV screens covering all areas of the car park (reassuring to me), I was dealt with quickly and upon handing my keys over, was given full instructions along with a card about how to inform the driver of my arrival. All very smooth and courteous, we then took a minibus to the airport for the five minute journey which dropped us off right outside our terminal main entrance. I was very impressed.
Upon arrival back in Manchester, we got our bags and cleared customs before calling the freephone number to let the APH people know we were back. Five minutes later the familiar orange and blue bus arrived at our pick-up point (very easy to find out of arrivals), and we were taken back to the carpark, where I picked my keys up and was directed to my car in the covered parking area. The site was easy to exit and we found our way back to the M56 and back Sheffield way in no time at all.
All in all it was a very smooth process and extremely good value - or so I thought; given my potential other options of trains and coaches. Although the instructions were a little shady from the M60 anti-clockwise, everything else was pretty straightforward and I'd definitely recommend using APH if you are looking for a cheap parking option when you're off to the airport next.
APH operate 30 car parks in total from the following 16 UK airports: Belfast Birmingham Bristol Cardiff East Midlands Edinburgh Gatwick Glasgow Heathrow Leeds Liverpool Luton Manchester Newcastle Prestwick Stansted
They also offer Hotel booking and parking, travel insurance, "escape the crowds" lounges for a small premium, and car hire.
My experience with them was of excellent service, and I'd thoroughly recommend them if you're flying from any of the above airports, although it would be wise to double-check the directions prior to leaving (instead of squinting at a map as we did on the day!).
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hmm sounds interesting-i always think a taxi is easiest!...rishi
the_mad_cabbie 21.11.2002 10:42
Would you believe that I *LOST* my car in the car park here at Dublin airport when I was returning from holidays in August...Some cabbie me, huh?...Mind you, I was *MOST* impressed when they were able to tap into their computer and tell me what section it was in within a couple of rows...Good opinion...Ken
MRS.CANADA 20.11.2002 17:00
This was a well researched review.I've never been to this Airport and found it interesting how you took us from your Google search on the parking ,what it costs, parking and then how you got back to your house. Lyla
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Record Rent a Car is present in the main spanish airports and has a very wide fleet. We offer: exceptional discounts, free additional drivers,
unlimited mileage... subscribe to our Club Record and take advantage of special offers.
Advantages: Very short bus journey to airport, first class service. Disadvantages: Fair trek to terminal from bus station but aware of this before we booked.
Nov 20th, 2002
very helpful by (95%):
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