Helipads, hotels and Others: Requests, Recommendations & Rip-offs
 

Just wondering what your experiences have been with some hotels charging for landing a helicopter?
Recently I had the need to land around the north london area. After telephoning at least seven hotels that were conveniently placed I was told the landing fees ranged from £75 up to £250! with one demanding club membership of £500. In each case I stated I wanted to have a restaurant meal etc. but it made little if any difference to the charges they wanted to make. On several phone calls I suggested that they would not charge for my imaginary Bentley or Rolls to be parked in the car park for 2 hours or so, but I had no joy. One even went into great depths that "the airspace was expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Only landed at one hotel in wiltshire, on 2 occasions.
The first time was staying the night, no fee.
The second time was just down for the day, £30 but all the tea / coffee that you wanted in the bar.
Fee is standard irrespective of size (JJB B222 often lands there).

Eie ba gum Lad,

Fly to the North of our fair country, no fees, free coffee and loads of interest , plus all the Girlies are friendly and all smile at you.

On a more serious note what are these overpriced eaterys offering for their fee, radio talk down, marshalls, fuels attendants, and umberella walla's to walk you through to the coffee lounge.

In the North your arrival would create more interest that the latest model from the planet Audi.

Peter R-B

I have landed at many hotels (albeit none within gtr London) and not been charged a penny. I have found the management happy to use the helipad and even happier to have clients in the restraunt. Dropped in on one near Keswick for Afternoon Tea, because I could:O

Boship Farm Hotel near Eastbourne were very obliging, and literally had the "Swedish Netball Team" in the pool; which sadly I was not prepared for.

Afternoon Tea by the pool methinks!

These have been personel not commercial flights, should it make a differance to attitudes received.

After a recent trip to Eastwell Manor near Ashford in Kent I'd recommend it to anyone.

A quick phone call, no landing fee and just book in at the desk, then you have the choice of two restaurants and a health spa called The Pavilion. There they have a very nice restaurant (reasonably priced) with a terrace overlooking rolling countryside. It is a regular haunt for many of my fellow self-fly-hirers.

The approach and departure is via the biggest field you'll ever see and a hop over a low fence to two marked helipads with a windsock. Just watch out for gliders as it is very close to Challock...

:ok:

Or Barnsdale Lodge on the North shore of Rutland Water. Cavendish Hotel at Baslow near Chatsworth. Both free and both excellent.

Well this is some time ago as in 7 years, where we wanted to land at the local Hilton intercontinental next to Heathrow, they wanted to charge us something like £250. It being right next to Heathrow one would save a lot of money since Heathrow back then charged us £500.
And of course they wanted to cahs in on their unique placement.

Sorry for nitpicking but the JJB Bell is a 430. I know this because it gets serviced here.

It is not exactly quiet though.

regards Brilliant Stuff

Anyone who wants to land at Artist Towers and have a freshly brewed cuppa and a comfort break is more than welcome - no landing fee, just PM me 24 hrs in advance, available 365/365, dawn to dusk.

We are 2 nm SW of Benson, so in their MATZ, but they are friendly enough.

Should have room for up to 10 helos at once if you are hunting in packs.

I reckon I can do it for about £10 - £20 a time...

I ve already got the lawn mower for trimming the grass,
I think there is a pot of white emulsion and some brushes in the shed to paint the H,
I ve got a couple of old but charged Halon extinguishers,
And I don't play ping pong anymore so I ve got the marshalling bats too.
Hey I ve even got a dog to guard your ship while you re away!

Any takers? ;)

PW

The hotel that I have landed at, and charge £30 offer no services, just the 'free coffee'. They even politley inform you that the a/c is left at the pilots discretion and that the hotel will not be liable for any damage.

I have landed at several hotels recently, one of which said they would charge a landing fee, but I could use that as credit against anything. In the end they didn't even mention it. (Priory Bay on IoW)

Another just the other side of the Severn Bridge (name escapes me for the second) didn't charge anthing and came and picked us up from the H in a minibus.

The third (Pale Hall, also in Wales) was very accomodating though we were there for 3 days (but in and out quite a lot) and obviously no landing charge (though the bar bill was quite a lot ;) )

The fourth (Whatley Manor) cut the grass and faxed me a map, no charge (but again was staying there)

Like TOT says, they don't charge for car-parking, its hard to justify a landing fee when they provide nothing. My policy is if they mention it, and it is > 0, then thank them politely, turn them down and find somewhere else. There are a lot of hotels out there!

Rip Off Hotels!!!!!!!!
 

Picked a mate up last week for lunch, he decided he would like to try some where close to his home in Macclesfield.
I suggested he called a few hotels in the area that are included in Pooleys!

What a shock!!!!! If you pitch up in a car there is no fee, pitch up in a 22 and hey full MALLETING............
Mottram Hall £95.00 landing fee :=
Moorcock at Disley £75.00 :=

Full marks to Shrigley Hall near Bollington, no landing fee, Great lunch.:ok:

Anybody else got a list of stay away hotels?

"What a shock!!!!! If you pitch up in a car there is no fee, pitch up in a 22 and hey full MALLETING............"

Its the UK, why should you be shocked. Anything to do with Aviation has a fee. At least if your going to pay a landing fee show up with a little class. Drop in with a 407

Try £ 250 at the Stoke Park Golf Club in Slough. Slough ferrrchrisakes!!!!!

See the thread on rip off airports from a few weeks ago. Lots of hotel gripes on there. I'd provide a link but I don't know how to:{

Rip Off Hotels!!!
 

Northern Ireland..... Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle Co.Down.
For years we used to fly in once maybe twice per month & they were
only too glad to have us (Attention Helis Cause etc).

Now they've slapped on a £100 Landing Fee, I know i'm not the only person
with this opinion... but I wont be Back!!!:(

not a rip off
 

Eastwell Manor if you are in the Garden of England and want a good lunch - ZERO landing fee plus easy approach.

My first ever posting here after spending the last three days on the Heli photo thread....Finally broke surface.
The Arches Hotel near Saltburn, North Yorks, doesn't do dinners but welcomes helicopters if for B&B:
There's a row of telephone lines across the western boundary of the landing area, but otherwise no issues.
I've just helped them with the website and I suggested putting a helicopter freindly page on.
Hope it helps.
Neill W

Got a lot of places here in PA, give them a call ask if it's ok the land. There's a great ice cream shop near me. Land there, have an icy, show people the chopper then off. Always pleased to see you. Also a friend has a great restaurant in Fritztown PA, encourages helicopters to drop in. Just a shame isn't the same in UK..:sad:

Sorry, as guest i shall pay for landing ? ........ :ugh: It's simple parking.
Never!

Good on you Pennine Boy!
 

Dear Pennine Boy,
I tried to negotiate a reduced rate for landing at the Palace Hotel in Torquay a few years ago as I work there regularly but the rather greedy manager thought £50 a time was a reasonable fee for me to glamourise his (much in need of it) Fawlty toweresque hotel.
When I asked he told me there was in fact no fire cover, no ATC and no security, so what exactly was I paying for?
I now go into a private site owned by some friends in the same area for a nominal fee.

Just say no!
If nobody agrees to pay then they will learn.
Greedy BAST*RDS!!

SB

My attitude to those hotels who expect that helicopters will pay for a landing is to ask how much they charge cars to park in the car park and use their hotel facilities. If they put the argument forward that they have had to go to some costs to make the helipad, ask them how much it cost them to build the car park. I have refused on many occasions to pay a landing fee on the basis that I am using the hotels facilities. Oh yes I will pay if the landing site at the hotel is all that I will use as my convenience to visiting some place nearby.
If you use the hotels' facilities you should NOT pay landing fees - point this out firmly to the manager.

Try 300 euros to stay an hour on the ground at the Isle of Capri helipad(Italy)! :yuk:

Billesley Manor nr Stratford on Avon. there is now a fifty pounds landing fee for helicopters.
Needless to say, we told them that we wouldn't be coming after all and actually... wouldnt ever come again.

Seems daft to me. Fifty quid for landing on a bit of grass they'd have to cut anyway. Costs more to lay a car park....

I have hear that La Manoire auz Quatre Saisons charges a hefty landing fee too?

Plenty of great places to fly into for free. Fawsley Hall nr Daventry is a cracking example.
Any other rip-off stories?

I have to say that the two hotels I have been to, and the other couple that I have made enquiries to do not charge to land provided you are going to buy something....

IMHO, if I was asked to pay £50 just to land on a bit of grass I would smack the receptionist in the mush!:ok:



I'm not really that violent! :)

I was once qouted £750 per movement....yep £1400 to land a 120 at a hotel near Tring. Can't remember the name of the place but I think it's in sitefinder. Needless to say I found somewhere else to land,they were quite suprised when I pointed out that Heathrow or Battersea didn't charge that much.

A certain hotel next to LHR requires you to be a guest at the hotel (i.e. the pilot has to pay a standard room rate of a good £80+)

Another one in Cheshire charges upwards of £100 on occasions.

They say the charge is to offset the annoyance factor to the guests and maybe to have staff standing by, but I've never seen staff looking out for the machine and guests tend to be impressed with a chopper using the hotel, rather than annoyed.

It's not quite as simple a just using a bit of grass. Of course I prefer not to pay landing fees at hotels too and do think if you are staying overnight with the associated revenue it's a bit rich if they charge, though in my experience few do. Lunchtimes are different - profit is usually modest.

As a land owner, increasingly vigourously interpreted and implemented health and safety legislation does mean that you have an obligation to ensure reasonable safety of your visitors and this can have costs when associated with helicopter landings.

However I suspect charging is often used to control the number of landings - too many and noise complaints and potential council efforts to restrict or prevent helicopter landings may follow.

At the end of the day these are usually private businesses and both hotel/landing site and helicopter operator can make the decisions and choices they wish to! We should bear in mind that landing fees are usually a small proportion of the cost of flying and that we do enjoy much greater freedom to land at private sites than in much of Europe.

I was asked to pay £50 if I chose to land near the Manoir aux Quat' saisons this summer. Apparently there have been problems with the restaurant's own landing site so helicopters are using an adjacent farmer's field.
If we had done this we would then have needed a taxi to the hotel (the £50 naturally did not include a lift!, fire cover, ATC or security).

Maybe I expect too much but I chose to be driven instead rather than to fly to the Manoir. There is definitely a sentiment that those of us who can afford to fly can also afford to be stung in the wallet for using a small area of otherwise unused grass for a few minutes.

Private landowners have the perogative to charge whatever they feel represents a reasonable fee for landing. I also accept that hotel managers need to balance the noise pollution against increased kudos that helicopters movements bring.

We are also free to choose not to use unlicensed sites who charge and I try to make this a rule as often as I can. It is nothing less that a matter of principle for me.

SB

Banjo and I used the Chewton Glen in Bournemouth on a regular basis over ten years ago when we needed to stock up on tea and sarnies on our cross country building the hours up type flights. They were very accommodating and helpful and back then they did not charge us. I hope this is still the case but I would not know.

They did not even bat an eyelid about one of our unusual demands.:E

I know what you mean 212 man one time my mother and I had to turn back to the hotel we just had lunch since they had forgotten to charge us for the pre lunch tea.

Oh how we laughed.:}

Heli dining
 

It's sad to see the cost of flying increasing. The mounting cost of landings is part of that increase.

I fly casually for a professional company and I also get to fly with a private owner out to lunch. There's nothing better than going off to the Victorian high country to a pub for lunch (play paper rock scissors to see who will fly home)
I’ve even had the chance to go away for a weekend and fly there instead of driving. All very civilized… until the pub owner puts the prices up. :=

But that’s the cost of having a hobby.:uhoh:

I don't mind paying a reasonable fee if the site is ok, after all its' a recharge to the customer. What really grips me is when a hotel wants £250 to land next to their car park, which is free to guests. A standard response now is "Ok we'll pay the £250, can you show us copies of your license, details of your fire cover and GPU's, your frequency and how many gorgeous dollies you have to carry the passengers' bags."

One regular customer, the chairman of a major multi-national stood at reception and asked them to justify £250 when he had eight rooms booked for a week and could have parked his car in the car park for free. The landing fee was immediately waived.

The Von Essen hotels make no charge if you are using the hotel facilities, parhaps they should spread their methods round the rest of the hotel industry.

One Wiltshire hotel demands £100 to land on a patch of mud leaving the passengers with a 350 yard walk to the building across a badly poached field to the hotel. At the other end of the scale Ickworth House has a magnificent pad and the pilot is treated to coffee and sarnies.

VH

VH

Which hotel charges £250 out of interest? That is outrageous. I've come across £50, sometimes £100, but never £250!

rotorspeed;

Stoke Park just outside Slough (Slough fer chrissakes!!!)

Celtic Manor £500 for non- residents!!!!!!!!

Come back Battersea, most things are forgiven!

VH

I use hotel and other private landing pads quite a lot. Some charge nothing, probably seeing the parked helicopter as a "status" thing for customers and potential customers to see.

Others charge £50, which will be waived if the hotel is used for accomodation or other facilities are paid for.

Some request a donation to charity.

One near Taunton charges a slightly more expensive £100 per movement - but then claim the depature as a second movement and want another £100 :rolleyes:

The most expensive I've found so far was a London private school. They wanted £1200 to pick up 2 pax from their playing fields, no other services provided. They have their own "business generation manager", say no more. We didn't go. :ugh:

The one that pee'd me off the most was the one where, having paid the £50 landing fee and been given a complimentary cup of tea while I waited for the aircraft owner to return, they changed their minds about the tea being free and pursued me for £3.50. :D

Carlyne Bay Hotel
 

This place is fantastic, just to the south of St Austell on the cliffs. No landing fee.
If was where "The Witches" was filmed apparently.
Been there 3 times in a military helicopter and had a lovely well priced lunch.

Will be going back shortly!..

p.s. The Jamaca Inn on Exmoor is a cracker as well!

Ralph

Ralph
 

"The Jamaca Inn on Exmoor is a cracker as well!"

But is it as nice as the one on Bodmin Moor?:rolleyes:

Jack

No, that would be the Jamaica Inn which, like Carlyon Bay, is in Cornwall - unlike Exmoor!

Landing Fees
 

I can recommend Burgh Island near to Plymouth. Fantastic hotel, great little pad and no landing fee. Paid 50 to land in the car park next to Padstow for Rick Steins but they did look after us and provide security for the heli so can't really complain.

Why should we be ripped off for landing fees at hotels, I will vote with my feet and won't go if they charge too much, their loss.

Name & Shame!