My hack to reduce holiday stress is a no-brainer to reduce travel anxiety
As a travel writer, I often find it surprises people to learn how disenchanted I am with airports. You may well think of Gatwick as the gateway to an adventure to sunnier climes, but when you travel as much as I do, it’s another stressful dash to make your flight by the seat of your pants.
Admittedly, my discontent stems from leading a disorganised life and always imagining I had more time than the Gregorian calendar allows.
This delightful personality quirk has previously led to booking buses that arrive as the gate is about to close, prompting a frantic dash through the airport, with so much adrenaline coursing through my veins that I thought my heart might burst through my chest, like a scene from Alien (seven coffees probably didn’t help).
As I age disgracefully, I have come to realise that I can no longer tolerate this level of stress (and frankly, neither can my long-suffering husband), so I decided to spend a little extra to make my trips a lot less stressful and reduce my chances of having to live alone as a spinster above a chip shop.
My hack in recent years to reduce holiday stress is simply to book an airport hotel for the night before my morning or early-afternoon flight.
I appreciate that it sounds like a no-brainer solution, but after years of backpacking and budget travel, I always try to cut costs and find the cheapest way to travel.
However, as I am now old and tired, I’ve found the additional cost of booking an airport hotel the night before an early flight is the ultimate stress-free travel hack.
You eliminate morning traffic anxiety, get extra sleep, and, in some cases, gain access to ‘twilight bag drop’ services, where you check your bags the evening before so you can breeze through security the next morning.
I cannot tell you how much travel stress has been reduced by simply booking an affordable hotel close to the airport so that I can wake up and be at the terminal in a flash, without worrying about traffic jams, train strikes, or my car breaking down on the M5 again.
With more early-morning departures than ever and airlines continuing to push ultra-early take-off times, getting organised and planning ahead is the key to travelling like a pro.
If you’re savvy, you also don’t have to spend a fortune; you can get some great deals on airport hotels on sites like Booking.com or Hotels.com.
If you book your airport hotels via a cashback site like Quidco, you can even get money back on your purchase to put towards another trip. Read more about my favourite Cashback hack here and make sure to follow me on TikTok for more travel tips and destination advice.
Data shows that UK airport hotels are becoming even more affordable due to off-peak pricing, increased budget-chain competition, and bundled “park-and-stay” packages, which are helping to offset general inflation.
A quick search on the Booking.com app shows that for next week, you can bag decent hotels near Heathrow Airport for as little as £62 per night for two adults. You can go even cheaper, but obviously, the quality might be dubious.
Now, I concede that for a family of five, my hotel hack might not be as cheap, but I did spot a Holiday Inn family deal with a free kid’s stay for just £143.
One of my favourite stays near Heathrow is the ibis London Heathrow Airport, which is super close to Terminals 2 & 3 and is on the Hotel Hopper route and on local bus routes to the airport.
It’s a wallet-friendly stay, typically costing around £70 for a double room, decor is fresh and contemporary with nods towards music, and there is air-con (a scarce commodity at most budget Heathrow hotels).
It’s got all the amenities you might expect from a three-star hotel, including free wifi, toiletries, a hairdryer, TV and fan. Connecting rooms are available if you are travelling with your whole family or as part of a group.
Downstairs, there is a restaurant and bar, so you can have dinner in the airport if you wish and a buffet breakfast in the morning, which I particularly enjoyed. Why yes, I will have a full English, fruit, yoghurt and some pastry chasers, I’m not paying airport prices for food.
The main sell (other than the bar) is that for me, it’s actually cheaper to get the bus from Cardiff the night before and book a night here (or equivalent – the Best Western is also around £70) rather than pay for petrol and parking at the airport. Leaving more money for treats, which is the kind of girl math I can fully get behind. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here
Of course, I don’t always fly from Heathrow; many of my trips start from Gatwick, and my preferred stay there is BLOC Hotel Gatwick.
These sleek, soundproof rooms are ideally situated for both terminals, just a few short steps from the South Terminal departure lounge, so you can hop out of bed and be in the security line in mere minutes, allowing for a longer lie-in.
A welcome bonus: you’ll also bag a complimentary Fast Track Security pass if you book your stay directly on the Bloc Hotel website, letting you beat the queues.
At Bristol Airport, I have yet to find a good deal on their only on-site hotel, Hampton by Hilton, but there are several reasonably priced off-site B&Bs and hotels. If you are travelling without a car, I would try to find accommodation along the A1 Bristol Flyer route that takes you to the airport.
Alternatively, book a stay in Bristol city centre and get the A1 bus in the morning. My personal favourite is the Moxy Hotel, which has a 24/7 lobby bar where guests check in and receive a complimentary welcome drink, a game zone, a fitness space, and modern rooms equipped with Chromecast TVs.
With a trip looming where I’ll be departing from Birmingham this time, I’ll be scouting for hotel deals to once again avoid the same-day departure stress and instead have a lovely kip, knowing I’ll be waking up near the airport all nice and smug.
Unless I forget to set the alarm, that is. If anyone knows any alarm hacks, please send them my way. I would be most grateful.


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