manchester to london ,staying at airport hotel ?

[mmaria]

hi hello everyone
I and my family (8 in total) are going manchester via london to Florida 22 march ,we have never been this way before usually going direct from manchester .
so ,Ive been told I have to check in at manchester for our connecting flight 3 hours before ,eg 3.30am for 6.30am flight .is this the case ? and if it is ,would staying at the raddison hotel be a good idea ? there 's 2 grandparents ,1 aunt ,us ,2 teenagers and one 6 year old . could I check in the previous evening ? or just us at the 3.30 check and then get the others up later ? can you do this ?
also ,whilst I was looking around at the Raddison website ,I can't seem to get more than 2 adult in any of the rooms .......surely this can't be correct ?
any ideas or suppestion would be most welcome

we don't live very far from the hotel but thought this might be an easier start to the holiday ?
thanks

 

[JohnW]

You shouldn't need to check in more than an hour before your domestic flight. I travel MCR-LHR-SFO three or four times a year and I never check in much more than an hour before the shuttle leaves. Depending on which airlines you are using you should be able to check in for the Orlando flight whilst you check in in Manchester. I usualy take the Midland flight down and they always offer to check me onto the Virgin flight at the same time. I usually don't bother because I like to check in at the Virgin desk on the chance of an upgrade!

 

[MKLOVER]

Just a suggestion...........

could you not fly down the day before and stay at a Gatwick hotel? Or are the connecting flights few and far between?

This way you could check in with Virgin on the twighlight check in and then the day of your trip to Orlando you can leisurely go through departures.

This would be no dearer than what you already planned.

We are staying at the La Meridien hotel (connected to North Terminal - Gatwick£109) or we have stayed at the Rennaissance 01293 826918 (it was £115 for a triple room when we stayed before).

Or you could try www.holidayextras.co.uk for hotel reservations.