Stansted: Radisson SAS Stansted (September 2006)

The location is excellent--just a 2-minute walk (mostly under covered walkway) from the airport. Also VERY near the rental cars (I've never seen them so close to such a large airport). Very hip and modern hotel. There are many restaurants in the lobby, including the famous wine bar. I think I also saw a NY style deli, Italian restaurant, and paella/Spanish restaurant. The wine bar stays open late (until 1:00 am), which wasn't late enough for our late-arriving flight, and there is 24-hour room service (which was VERY pricey--almost $24 USD for a hamburger, although there were regular sandwiches more in the $16 USD range). The services at the airport also stay open quite late (the stores and shops were still open after midnight, which I don't always find in the US), but then again, the airport itself was hopping at that time. There was also a spa/fitness center, which I didn't get to use due to time constraints. It is also open to passengers in transit at the airport for a cost of about 17 GBP per person. The room we had wasn't overly large (as compared to other rooms we stayed in on our trip), but it was a good size. The bathroom was more of a handicapped-type facility, but I can't comment on whether they are all that way. The room did have a desk, flat-screen TV, chair/ottoman, and large bed (probably a queen, though, not a king). Front desk staff seemed fairly helpful, even though we were quite tired and need things repeated twice.

I made a very early booking and pre-paid for the hotel room, which made it nearly the same price as the other two hotels off-site at Stansted (and yet no shuttle transportation was required).

I plan to stay here again--very pleased!