Review: Valet parking at the O2

This week was very special. Mum and I had been waiting over six months for it to arrive: Wet Wet Wet in concert at the O2! I have been a fan of The Wets since I was about ten and have been lucky enough to see them live twice. The first time was back in 1995 when I was 14 and Dad took me to Wembley arena for my second ever concert (the first was Rick Astley in 1988, today's 1D equivalent...) Then we jump forward a decade to 2007 and Mum and I are at Wembley for the Wets to find ourselves in the third row (not sure how we managed that!). Probably the best concert of my life - and I've been to a fair few!

This time I have an extra passenger: a seven month baby bump. The O2 is not particularly easy to get to from our Surrey postcode and Husband was not happy with the idea of me jostling on public transport to get to and from the arena. So we decided to chance the traffic and drive up. The O2 has plenty of parking and it is easy to get in but we all know what a nightmare getting out of the carpark is at the end of a gig, so Mum and I decided to treat ourselves to the valet parking option.

Valet parking is £38.50. Standard arena event parking is £21 so it is an additional £17.50. You can pre book up to 5pm on the day of your event. You get your own dedicated entrance (same entrance as the VIP guests). You then drive right up to the arena where you are greeted by staff who swap your keys for a ticket and within 5 paces you are inside.

Arriving at the O2

When leaving the arena your car is waiting for you at the drop off point. Just swap your ticket and you are off.

So how did Mum and I find it? In a word, perfect. We allowed plenty of time to get there in the Wednesday afternoon traffic and arrived 20 minutes before the valet parking opening time of 5:30pm. Not a problem. We pulled up to the well sign posted dedicated entrance and were immediately waved through because our registration number was on their system. We were told to follow the signs and look for the valet parking staff in black coats. You drive right up alongside the arena (which excited me because I saw the tour buses!) Easy enough but not quite easy enough for Mum who managed to completely miss the six guys in black jackets manically waving at her! After a quick U turn we pulled up to the valet parking reception and swapped our keys for a ticket. Within five steps we were in the heated tunnel leading us into the O2 emerging right by gate A. It was that easy!

We were early enough to easily get a table in Zizi for dinner then we enjoyed an amazing show with Marti Pellow *swoon* and the band on top form. Did I mention they were supported by Blue? Brucey bonus...

Mum and I at Wet Wet Wet at the O2 arena

At the end of the concert we made our way back to the valet parking reception by Gate A and were warmly welcomed by the staff who radioed our registration through and kept us in the warm until the car was waiting for us. We only waited about five minutes before the car appeared and it was de-misted and lovely and warm inside, ready to drive away immediately. Within minutes we were on the main road out of the complex. We were home in an hour so overall a very easy journey and the valet parking experiene added an extra special touch to an amazing night. I would certainly recommend and will be booking again for those extra special nights.

This post is linked to the #PoCoLo linky http://www.vevivos.com/2013/12/13/post-comment-love-and-newbie-showcase-13th-to-15th-december-2013/