Valet parking at Gatwick
What the word "valet" actually covers at an airport, how it differs from meet and greet, and what to read before you pay the premium.
Last reviewed . Prices and car park rules change often — confirm the current details before you travel.
"Valet parking" is one of the loosest terms in airport parking. At its core it means the same thing as meet and greet — you hand the car over rather than parking it yourself — but operators attach the word to quite different packages, and the price varies accordingly.
What it usually means
In most cases, valet parking at Gatwick describes the same basic mechanic as meet and greet: you drive to a designated point at the terminal, a driver takes the car, and it is returned to you when you land. No car park to find, no transfer bus, no walk with luggage.
Where valet products often differ is in what is bundled on top. Depending on the operator that might include an exterior wash, an interior clean, or in some cases servicing and MOT work carried out while the car sits unused for a fortnight.
It might also include none of those things. The word on its own guarantees nothing.
Read the inclusions, not the label
The practical advice here is simple and slightly boring: ignore whether a product is called valet, meet and greet, premium or executive, and read what the booking actually provides. The questions that resolve it:
- Where do I hand the car over, and where is it returned?
- Where is it stored in between, and is that compound secured?
- Is any cleaning included, and if so what kind?
- Is any mechanical work included or offered?
- What insurance covers the car while it is driven and while it is stored?
- What is the process — and the wait — when I land?
The airport's own products versus independents
The airport operates its own premium and valet-style products, and independent operators around Gatwick offer their own. Neither is automatically better.
Airport-operated products have the advantage of being on the airport site and run by the airport itself, with the accountability that implies. Independent operators frequently undercut them and some offer a genuinely excellent service. As with everything else in Gatwick parking, the sensible move is to compare actual quotes and actual inclusions for your dates rather than assuming.
If cleaning or servicing is included
Bundled services sound like free value, and sometimes they are. Two cautions:
First, work out what the service is actually worth to you. A basic exterior wash bundled into a premium parking price is not a significant saving, and it should not be the reason you pick one operator over another.
Second, if mechanical work is included, be clear about who is doing it and what happens if something goes wrong. Servicing carried out on a car parked at an airport compound is a different proposition from servicing at your own garage, and you will not be there to discuss anything that comes up.
Protecting yourself
All the handover precautions that apply to meet and greet apply here, because it is the same act of trust:
- Photograph the car and the odometer before you hand it over.
- Keep the signed condition report.
- Remove valuables and personal documents.
- Check the car over at collection before you drive away, not after.
If cleaning is part of the package, photograph the car's condition beforehand anyway. A clean car is harder to inspect for new marks, not easier.
Is it worth the money?
Valet parking is bought for time and convenience, not value. It removes the transfer at both ends, which is worth most on the return leg when you are tired and carrying things. If that is your situation, it is a reasonable thing to pay for.
If you are comparing it against a long stay space purely on price, it will lose, and should. The right question is not whether it is cheap but whether the convenience is worth the difference to you on this particular trip.
Common questions
What is the difference between valet and meet and greet parking?
The terms overlap heavily and operators use them inconsistently. Both involve handing your car over at the terminal. "Valet" sometimes implies extra services such as cleaning while you are away. The only reliable guide is the list of what a specific booking includes, not the name on it.
Does valet parking include cleaning?
Only if the booking says so. Some operators bundle a wash or a full valet clean, some offer it as a paid extra, and some use the word purely to describe the handover service with no cleaning at all. Check the inclusions.
Is valet parking worth it?
It is a convenience purchase. It makes most sense when the time saved genuinely matters to you — an early departure, a late return, heavy luggage or young children — rather than as a way to save money, which it will not.