Looking for a parking solution when you’re travelling away for your holidays? We got to try the Purple Parking Meet and Greet service recently, read on to find out what we think!
Purple Parking Meet and Greet services are a new twist on their regular parking options – rather than parking away from the airport, dragging your cases to a shuttle bus (and remembering where you’ve parked) and getting to the airport, you can now park within the airport and go.
We had a few options to get to Heathrow (bus, car, taxi), however, I hurt my back six weeks before we went, so dragging a case anywhere wasn’t an option – I had almost 24 hours of flying to do and the slightest twinge could make the experience uncomfortable.
For Purple Parking Meet and Greet you turn up at your Terminal, leave your locked car there, hand over the keys to the Chauffeur at the Purple Parking stand, and head off for your holiday. We were offered a full wash and valet for £18 on dropping the car off which we declined – mainly as Shaun had given the car a thorough clean inside once we’d heard the word ‘Chauffeur’ being mentioned!
It really is as simple as that – and the convenience was something which appeals a lot to me. I was able to get a trolley for our cases, Shaun got them from the car and loaded them up, we handed over our keys and got a booking slip (keep it safe as you need to show it when you return to get your car back!) then all we had to do was make our way to departures to continue our travels.
On our return I spotted our car immediately. We headed back to the same area of the Terminal 3 car park and were dealt with quickly and efficiently. The parking ticket in the car park is validated by Purple Parking so you don’t pay to leave the airport.
I would say we spent no more than ten minutes at the Purple Parking Meet and Greet area – it was extremely efficient and is something I will definitely use again. It’s the ideal service if you want someone else to park your car and bring it back. Given I’m the kind of person who often forgets to write down where we’re parked (I’m thinking Stansted 2004 when we spent two hours wandering around the car park trying to find our car at 11pm), I highly recommend Purple Parking Meet and Greet and we’ll definitely be using it again! I would also say it is a service to consider when you’re travelling with children – the ease of transfer from car to airport takes away a hugely stressful part of the journey.
We were given free parking with Purple Parking Meet and Greet at Heathrow for three weeks for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.