Two hotels at Stansted can be reached on foot from the terminal: the Radisson Blu, which the airport describes as a short walk under a covered walkway, and the Hampton by Hilton, which it puts at five minutes' walk. Everything else sold as a Stansted hotel needs a shuttle bus or a taxi. If you are not on the airport itself, Bishop's Stortford, the nearest town, is about ten minutes away by train, but its first train of the day reaches the airport too late for the earliest flights.
Stansted is in Essex, about 50 kilometres north-east of central London, and its trains stop for several hours every night. That makes the night before an early departure a real decision here, more than at Heathrow or Luton. The question is simple: can you get to the bag drop in time from where you are sleeping, and what does it cost to make sure?
Our page on staying overnight at a London airport compares all five airports in outline, and the Stansted Airport guide covers the terminal and the routes into London. This page is about where to sleep and how the early-morning timetable decides it.
Sleeping near Stansted, at a glance
- Hotels on foot
- Two, per the airport: Radisson Blu (covered walkway, "minutes" from the terminal) and Hampton by Hilton (5 minutes' walk)
- Shuttle hotels
- Three more on the airport's own list, 5 to 10 minutes by shuttle bus or taxi
- Railway station
- Directly under the terminal, 2 minutes' step-free walk
- First train from Liverpool Street
- Between 03:40 and 04:40 depending on the day; 48 minutes non-stop (checked November 2026)
- Bishop's Stortford to the airport
- 8 to 13 minutes by train; first arrival at about 05:40 (sample week, November 2026)
- Coaches from London
- 24 hours a day, per the airport
- Oyster
- Not valid on trains to Stansted; contactless is
Radisson Blu and Hampton by Hilton: the walkable pair
The Radisson Blu is the hotel the airport calls "the only hotel directly connected to the airport with a covered walkway". Its own page on the airport's website says it is "a short two-minute walk from the Stansted Express arrivals area", with signs to the entrance, and that the hotel is minutes from check-in. It is the larger and dearer of the two, with restaurants and a pool.
The Hampton by Hilton is on the airport grounds. The airport's page for it says it is "connected to the terminal" and "just a 5 minute stroll via the covered walkway", and breakfast is included in the rate. The airport's own overview page and its Hampton page do not agree on whether this walkway counts as directly connected; what both say is that you can walk to check-in in about five minutes.
For a departure before about 07:00, either one turns the morning into a short walk. Neither is a recommendation from us; they are simply the only two where no vehicle is involved. Both were rated 5 for food hygiene when last inspected, the Radisson Blu in July 2025 and the Hampton by Hilton in September 2026.
The walk is to the terminal, not to the gate. Stansted is one terminal building, so there is no choice of side to get wrong, as there is at Gatwick. But the time on the hotel page ends at check-in. Security and the walk or shuttle train to the departure gates come after, and the queue at 05:00 is longer than visitors expect.
The shuttle hotels: what to ask before booking
The airport's hotel list includes three more, described as 5 to 10 minutes away by shuttle bus or by taxi, one of them about two miles from the terminal. One page says its shuttle costs £3 per person; another says "conditions and charges apply". This is the pattern to expect: the shuttle is a hotel service, not airport transport, and it may be charged, booked in advance or limited in hours.
The airport does not publish how often each shuttle runs at four in the morning, and that is the figure that matters. Before booking, ask the hotel three questions in writing: the time of the first shuttle, how often it runs before 06:00, and whether you have to book a seat. If the first shuttle is at 04:30 and runs every half-hour, a family that misses it has lost thirty minutes before reaching the terminal.
A taxi from these hotels is a short ride, but at that hour taxis have to be booked, not found. Ask the desk to book one the night before. Our page on hotels with parking explains the park-and-stay packages that several of these hotels sell if you are driving to the airport.
Bishop's Stortford: a town with a station and a timetable problem
Bishop's Stortford is a market town in Hertfordshire, a few miles west of the airport. It has a railway station on the line from Liverpool Street, a high street with shops, pubs and restaurants, and hotels and guest houses that are not priced as airport hotels. For an evening meal and a quieter night, it is a better place to be than an airport perimeter road.
The train between the town and the airport takes 8 to 13 minutes, and the cheapest single shown by National Rail was £4.40 (checked November 2026). Contactless pay as you go has been accepted at Bishop's Stortford since March 2026; Oyster is not. In our sample week in November 2026, the first train from Bishop's Stortford left at 05:24 to 05:28 and reached the airport at about 05:37 to 05:39. That is the catch.
For a flight after about 08:00, that timetable works. For a departure at 06:30, it does not, and the town becomes a taxi journey the night before you go. Factor the taxi into the comparison: a cheaper room in town plus a pre-booked taxi at dawn may cost about the same as a room you can walk from.
Harlow, further down the same line, is 17 to 23 minutes from the airport by train, with the first arrival at the same time as the Bishop's Stortford train. Takeley, the village on the airport's western edge, has no station at all. Both suit drivers more than anyone arriving by train.
The first train from London, and the first flights
The alternative to a hotel near the airport is a hotel in London and the first Stansted Express. The airport says the first train from Liverpool Street leaves "between 03:40am and 04:40am depending on the day". In a sample week in November 2026, National Rail's journey planner showed this:
| Day (week of 16 November 2026) | First train from Liverpool Street | Arrives Stansted |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, Friday, Saturday | 03:40 | 04:27 |
| Tuesday to Thursday | 04:40 | 05:39 |
| Sunday | 04:10 | 05:00 |
The pattern matters more than the minutes. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the first train arrives an hour later than on the other weekdays, and the airport's own figure for the first train from the airport is also later on those days. Engineering work can change any of it, so check the date of your flight in the journey planner before deciding.
Now the arithmetic. For a 06:30 departure, airlines commonly close bag drop well before take-off, and you also need time for security. Arriving at the terminal at 04:27 on a Monday leaves plenty of time; arriving at 05:39 on a Wednesday leaves very little. And reaching Liverpool Street by 03:40 is itself a problem from most of London, because the Central line's Night Tube runs only on Friday and Saturday nights. How to reach the station in the small hours is covered in our page on airport journeys at night.
A Tuesday to Thursday flight before 07:00 is where London hotels lose. With the first train arriving at about 05:40 on those days, a central London hotel needs a taxi or an overnight coach to make an early flight safely. That is the night when a room you can walk from earns its price.
Coaches through the night
The airport says coaches run 24 hours a day, with National Express and Flibco both running services from central London, and Flibco advertising a departure every 30 minutes around the clock. A coach timed to arrive at 04:00 costs far less than a room, and some travellers sleep in London and take it instead.
The coach is slower than the train and the journey time depends on traffic, which is light at that hour but not predictable. If you choose it, take the one before the one you need. The train and coach are compared in detail, including fares for a family, on our page asking whether to take the Stansted Express or the coach.
What the price bands buy
We do not quote nightly rates for single hotels, because they move by the date. As a rough guide, our estimate for a standard double on a weeknight in November 2026 is:
| Where | Our estimate, weeknight, November 2026 | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| On foot from the terminal | About £90 to £200 | School holidays and Friday nights, when every early flight is full |
| Shuttle hotels near the airport | About £60 to £130 | Park-and-stay packages, which can make the room look cheaper than it is |
| Bishop's Stortford and Harlow | About £60 to £130 | Weekends and local events, plus the taxi you may need at dawn |
For two adults and two children, the gap narrows further. A family room on foot from the terminal against a cheaper room in town plus a taxi for four is often closer than it looks, and the walk wins on sleep. Our page on family rooms and rooms for three explains what a British "family room" actually is.
Staying in London instead
For a departure after about 08:00, the airport hotel is rarely needed. A hotel near Liverpool Street, or in the east of the city where the Stansted Express calls at Tottenham Hale and some trains at Stratford, puts you on the train with time to spare. Our guides to staying in Shoreditch and the east and staying in the City of London cover the areas closest to the terminus, and the Liverpool Street station guide covers the station itself.
On the morning itself, our page on departure day in London covers the last hours, from check-out to the train.
Frequently asked questions
Which hotel is closest to Stansted Airport?
The Radisson Blu, which the airport describes as the only hotel directly connected to the terminal by a covered walkway, a short walk from check-in. The Hampton by Hilton, on the airport grounds, is about five minutes' walk according to the airport. All other listed hotels need a shuttle or a taxi.
Can I get a train to Stansted for a 6am flight?
Sometimes. The airport gives the first departure from Liverpool Street as somewhere from 03:40 to 04:40, varying by day. In November 2026 it arrived at 04:27 on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays but not until 05:39 from Tuesday to Thursday, which is tight for a 06:00 flight. Coaches run all night.
How far is Bishop's Stortford from Stansted Airport?
About 8 to 13 minutes by train, with the cheapest single at £4.40 in November 2026. The earliest arrival from the town is around 05:40, so for an earlier flight you need a pre-booked taxi from the town.
Is it cheaper to stay in Bishop's Stortford than at Stansted?
The room usually is, but add the cost of getting to the airport. After about 05:30 the train is cheap and quick; before that, a taxi at dawn can wipe out the saving, especially for one person travelling alone.
Do I need a UK ETA to stay at a Stansted hotel between flights?
Probably. Every hotel at Stansted is landside, so a night in one means entering the United Kingdom through the border. Visitors who do not need a visa usually need an Electronic Travel Authorisation instead. GOV.UK has the rule for each nationality, and our page on the UK ETA explains how to apply.
Sources
- London Stansted Airport - Airport hotels (checked November 2026)
- London Stansted Airport - Radisson Blu Hotel (checked November 2026)
- London Stansted Airport - Hampton by Hilton (checked November 2026)
- London Stansted Airport - By train (checked November 2026)
- London Stansted Airport - By bus and coach (checked November 2026)
- National Rail - Journey planner, Liverpool Street to Stansted Airport (checked November 2026)
- Food Standards Agency - Food hygiene ratings: Radisson Blu Hotel, CM24 1PP; Hampton By Hilton London Stansted Airport, CM24 1AQ (checked November 2026)