Ok, first it's worth it to use for extended travel, say a week or nore.
Now, the nitty grtty. The instructions on line don't fully explain what you need to know.
Upon arrival you need to flash the barcode on the receipt you need to print out with your reservation. There might not be an attendant there so ty he barcode reader will raise the gate and let you in.
A shuttle will take you from the garage basically across the street to the Crown Plaza Hotel which has shuttles to Dulles Airport every 30 minutes. Pretty simple.
What they don't tell you is how to get back to your car after you return from your trip. You pick up the shuttle where all the other hotel shuttles pick up passengers, at the far end of the terminal baggage claim level. When you board, you must tell the driver you want to be dropped off at the Herndon Park and Fly. The shuttle you took from the garage to the Crown Plaza only drops off. It does not pick up...thst is, it's parked at the garage. It only goes to the hotel when someone at the garage needs to go there. So if you don't know this, like I didn't, you end up at stranded at the hotel. When I learned this from the hotel shuttle driver, I'd been waiting over 45 minutes. So by the time I got to my car to leave, the automated gate told me I owed an additional $7 because I was checking out over 45 minutes later than I had originally scheduled and paid for. Fortunately the parking attendant was able to let me out without having to pay the additional charge.
Confused? Yeah I was too. Now that I know the system, it should go more smoothly next time.
Forewarned us forearmed. read more