Heathrow hotels?

[phabric]

Can anybody recommend a hotel near Heathrow airport? We might take a flight that arrives at 21:00 that arrives at Terminal 3. How did you get to the hotel? We would return to Heathrow in the morning to pick up a rental car.

[TLCOhio]

Can anybody recommend a hotel near Heathrow airport? We might take a flight that arrives at 21:00 that arrives at Terminal 3. How did you get to the hotel? We would return to Heathrow in the morning to pick up a rental car.

 

We stayed last month on July 16 at the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel on Bath Road that overlook the main runway and Terminal 3. The cost was 76.37 pounds or about $110. We booked it through the Marriott website with a AAA discount. There's either a pay shuttle bus that will take you to this hotel or there is also a free bus connection possible. There are a number of other hotel options along that road north of Heathrow. This Renaissance Hotel is not super fancy, but it has about 600 plus room and all of the basics you'll need.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[HeinBloed]

Can anybody recommend a hotel near Heathrow airport? We might take a flight that arrives at 21:00 that arrives at Terminal 3. How did you get to the hotel? We would return to Heathrow in the morning to pick up a rental car.

 

We used once Renaissance Hotel and once Crowne Plaza Hotel. Both hotels are fine. You can book easily by hotwire and enter 5* and see whatever you get... So we booked for 100 USD instead of 230 GBP which was shown on the day of arrival.

 

The Hotel-Hoppa-Shuttle costs money... so I would make it a little easier:

 

You book Enterprise and they collect you the next morning.

 

If you book others like us:

 

We go first to collect the car and the car stayed with us at the hotel.

 

So we do not have the stress to use a taxi to the car rental or to return on the Hotel-Hoppa back to the Terminal and to use the complimentary shuttle again.

 

Or from Renaissance Hotel you may also walk depending to the company you booked.

 

Regards

HeinBloed

[lord of the seas]

Can anybody recommend a hotel near Heathrow airport? We might take a flight that arrives at 21:00 that arrives at Terminal 3. How did you get to the hotel? We would return to Heathrow in the morning to pick up a rental car.

 

Cliveden is probably the best Hotel near to Heathrow.The Hotels that are at or very near to Heathrow are just Airport Hotels.It does depend on what you are looking for in a Hotel.

[Bruin Steve]

When making our plans for our recent Eclipse cruise, we decided to do a long pre-cruise in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset...

We booked most of the hotels before we finalized our flights...and by the time we booked the flights, we found that the best choice was one that got in late the day before we originally intended to get there...

 

We had planned to arrive on a flight early on Friday, rentiong a car and driving directly to Falmouth... but instead we were getting in around dinner time on Thursday...

 

So, we changed the plans a bit and decided to find a hotel for the night somewhere near Heathrow...I decided it really didn't matter to me which hotel it was as long as it was 4 stars or better and would provide a decent place to rest--we had 11 hours of airplane travel and 8 hours of time zone changes to catch up with...

 

So, we decided to gamble on one of those priceline/hotwire type services...I think it was Hotwire I ended up using and ended up getting the Marriott Heathrow Windsor for $81.61 including taxes for the night!

 

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lhrsl-heathrow-windsor-marriott-hotel/

 

Rather than dealing with taxis or the shuttle bus to get to the hotel, since we had intended to pick up the rental car the next morning anyway and since parking at the hotel was cheaop enough, we decided, for convenience sake, to arrange to pick up the car early (really didn't make that much of a difference--the total days until we turned the car in really came out to about the same, IIRC, since we picked up the car at 5 pm Thursday and dropped it off in Southampton the following Friday afternoon...if we had picked up the car Friday morning, we still would have been charged for 8 days...

 

So, basically, we traded a shuttle cost of a few pounds in each direction for a 9 pound hotel parking charge...and got the convenience of having the car--and not dealing with the logistics of airport to hotel to airport car rental office...We were able to get up in the morning and just go...I am glad we made that choice...

 

I assume you are in the same position we were...you just want a nice place to crash out in...To me, it doesn't really matter which hotel, so use Priceline or Hotwire...

[paul_a142]

Can anybody recommend a hotel near Heathrow airport? We might take a flight that arrives at 21:00 that arrives at Terminal 3. How did you get to the hotel? We would return to Heathrow in the morning to pick up a rental car.

 

Hi Try londontoolkitdotcom travel heathrow

 

Sorry but when I pasted the addy it went to **************** hopefully you wil be able to work out the link.

 

Regards

 

Paul

[Globaliser]

We might take a flight that arrives at 21:00 that arrives at Terminal 3. How did you get to the hotel? We would return to Heathrow in the morning to pick up a rental car.

Bruin Steve's experience and advice are salutary. Planning involves more than one step at a time. Where are you going with your rental car? That has a bearing on what the best plan will be.

[phabric]

Bruin Steve's experience and advice are salutary. Planning involves more than one step at a time. Where are you going with your rental car? That has a bearing on what the best plan will be.[/QUO

 

Last year, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Southampton and drove to Portsmouth and the National Car Museum, New Forrest.

 

Next year, we plan on staying at a hotel in Southampton and travelling out each day.

[Globaliser]

Next year, we plan on staying at a hotel in Southampton and travelling out each day.

On the assumption that your planned car return time won't lead you to incur an extra day's rental charges, I then think that it would be best if you were to collect the car on arrival at Heathrow and then drive to a nearby hotel. Two reasons: You will lose a lot of time going back to the airport and then going to the car rental location if you do that in the morning; and having a car when you arrive means that you will be less constrained in where you stay the first night.

[Twickenham]

On the assumption that your planned car return time won't lead you to incur an extra day's rental charges, I then think that it would be best if you were to collect the car on arrival at Heathrow and then drive to a nearby hotel. Two reasons: You will lose a lot of time going back to the airport and then going to the car rental location if you do that in the morning; and having a car when you arrive means that you will be less constrained in where you stay the first night.

 

I agree with this advice, and would add this tip for saving time and fuss: when renting with Hertz, those with Gold Club membership have their cars ready and waiting when they arrive. You either go to the special canopy section (which I believe their LHR office has) and jump into the car which has your keys and contract waiting, or get the keys at the office and pick up your contract and keys, and proceed to the car. While you usually have to pay for Gold Club membership (I think $70), there's a code for a free membership for Aeroplan members - and since that membership is free, essentially anyone can get free GC membership.

[financialgrl]

We made an overnight stop at Heathrow on our way to Barcelona. We arrrived at Heathrow relatively late (10:30pm). We stayed at the Novotel. This past May it was $109 US. By the time we collected luggage and thru immigration it was pretty late. We then walked outside to catch the Hoppa bus. Hotels in Europe don't usually offer hotel/AP shuttles (some American chains might) and if they don't - at Heathrow it's either a cab or the Hoppa bus system. After collecting your luggage head outside and they have a sign listing all the hotels. Find yours and see what corresponding number Hoppa bus goes there and go find that numbered waiting area. The Hoppa drops you off in front of each hotel it services.

 

Hoppa buses stop at a few hotels each way but it was fine for our needs. Can't remember the cost but want to say 4.5 pounds each. Next morning we made that trip in reverse. From the hotel, you select the bus going to your corresponding terminal and get picked up where you were left off the night before. It was relatively painless and cheap.

[Giantfan13]

You have been given some great advice so far. I think I get your drift in that you arrive late so you don't want the added day of car rental added on.

 

We also arrived London very late at night and didn't want to ride into the city that same night so we looked for an inexpensive hotel near Heathrow. We ended up in the Travelodge Heathrow at a cost of about $30 for the night. It was fine as we were so tired and the room was clean and comfortable. They gave us the name of a local cab company who picked us up right at the airport and took us to the hotel for about $15.00. The next morning we got an early start and went into London. we stayed at the Hilton Tower Bridge, which worked out perfectly for us.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[handfordr]

We ended up in the Travelodge Heathrow at a cost of about $30 for the night. It was fine as we were so tired and the room was clean and comfortable. They gave us the name of a local cab company who picked us up right at the airport and took us to the hotel for about $15.00.

 

Its a good point that for many hotels at Heathrow it can be cheaper, quicker and more effecient to get a local cab than the hotel shuttle bus that charges 4 GBP per person each way between hotel and Heathrow Airport. At least in the hotel to airport direction.

[sunshine nana]

Two questions: How to get from a Heathrow Hotel into London to sight-see and back to the Hotel?

How to get from the Heathrow Hotel to the ship other than taking a ship transfer? Thanks

[silkismom]

We were planning to stay at the Comfort Hotel, Heathrow, we land at Terminal 5, is there a place to check our bags for 1 night instead of hauling them to the hotel & then back for the transfer to Southhampton? Also is there a small grocery store etc where we could pick up some 7-up & tonic to bring to the ship near the hotel?

[Twickenham]

Two questions: How to get from a Heathrow Hotel into London to sight-see and back to the Hotel?

How to get from the Heathrow Hotel to the ship other than taking a ship transfer? Thanks

 

Best way to go from LHR hotel to Central London would be by underground, but you're looking at an hour each way. The National Express bus is the best way of going from LHR to Southampton.

There's really no great advantage to staying at the airport rather than going into London. You save enormous travelling time, and while it feels like it would be easier to go to Southampton from LHR, you actually have more options from Central London, as you have either the bus from Victoria Coach Station or the train from either Victoria Rail Station (a different place) or Waterloo.

[handfordr]

We were planning to stay at the Comfort Hotel, Heathrow, we land at Terminal 5, is there a place to check our bags for 1 night instead of hauling them to the hotel & then back for the transfer to Southhampton? Also is there a small grocery store etc where we could pick up some 7-up & tonic to bring to the ship near the hotel?

 

There is a left luggage office in T5 that charges 8 GBP per bag for a 24 hour period.

The Comfort Inn is one of the furthest airport hotels from T5.

Your only practical option of getting to the Comfort Inn is the Hoppa Bus that costs 4GBP each way per person and runs every 40 minutes.

 

Journey will take longer than the Heathrow Express train into Central London from T5 that runs every 15 minutes.

 

The Comfort Inn is in a residential area, a 5/10 minute walk will bring you to small neighbourhood shops.

[Globaliser]

How to get from a Heathrow Hotel into London to sight-see and back to the Hotel?

Twickenham's advice is very sound. If you are thinking of staying at Heathrow, sightseeing in London, and then going to the ship, you really need to evaluate very carefully whether staying at Heathrow is a good idea. From most Heathrow hotels to central London is likely to take you closer to two hours, as you have to transfer from the hotel back to Heathrow, and only then start your journey into town. The transfer back to Heathrow to get transport to the ship is also likely to prove to be aggravating.

[Globaliser]

We were planning to stay at the Comfort Hotel, Heathrow, we land at Terminal 5, is there a place to check our bags for 1 night instead of hauling them to the hotel & then back for the transfer to Southhampton?

There is a left luggage office in T5 that charges 8 GBP per bag for a 24 hour period.

Before planning to avail yourself of this, you need to make sure that you are going to be able to start your transfer to Southampton (note spelling) from Terminal 5. The last thing you want to find is that you have to take the Hoppa from your hotel back to Terminal 5, pick up your bag, and then have to transfer go to the central terminal area to get your transfer to Southampton.

[Globaliser]

Hotels in Europe don't usually offer hotel/AP shuttles (some American chains might) and if they don't - at Heathrow it's either a cab or the Hoppa bus system.

With only one exception, hotel shuttles have been banned at Heathrow. The Hotel Hoppa bus system, which is almost universally loathed by those who have to use it, was put in place to replace hotel shuttles.

[sunshine nana]

Thanks for your help. I was thinking of the Marriott at Heathrow to use points. The hotels in London seem very expensive. I thought the Marriott was very close to the airport and would not be too hard to get to. Am I wrong on that? Also I thought we would not have to take our luggage into London, but could leave it at the hotel. I'm confused on the locations of the Express into London and also to Southampton. After we checked into the Marriott, we would go back to the airport and get the Express into London and then at the end of the day, take the Express back to the airport and then back to the hotel? How long would the trips to/from airport to the Marriott take? Also, then the day of the cruise, we would have to go to the airport to get the Express to the port? If we do that, should we get tickets ahead of time? I appreciate all your help. All this was easy in Copenhagen and Barcelona and by the time we went, I had Venice figured out!

[Globaliser]

I was thinking of the Marriott at Heathrow to use points. The hotels in London seem very expensive. I thought the Marriott was very close to the airport and would not be too hard to get to. Am I wrong on that?

Assuming that you're thinking of the London Heathrow Marriott, it's on the main road that basically runs along the northern boundary of the airport. There are many hotels here. (The Heathrow/Windsor Marriott is a different hotel. Make sure you know which you're looking at.)

 

However, getting to the hotel from any airport terminal is not that straightforward. You either get a taxi (probably with grumbling from the taxi driver about the short trip, which you can ignore), or get the Hotel Hoppa which is £4 per person each way. Typically, each Hoppa route has a frequency of once every 20 or 30 minutes, and they call at a number of hotels so it may take some time before you reach yours. Personally, I would allow about 45 minutes each way for the transfer between terminal and hotel. Thus, simply going to the hotel to drop your luggage and back to the airport could consume 1½ hours, plus the time needed to check in and actually get stuff into your room.

 

Then, when you get back to the airport, you need to go to the train station (see below) and then get the train into town. Heathrow Express plus Tube to most central London tourist areas will take 60-75 minutes; Tube alone to most central London tourist areas will take 75-90 minutes. And, of course, you have to allow for that 60-90 minute journey back to Heathrow, plus 45 minutes or so to get to your hotel, when you have finished sightseeing.

I'm confused on the locations of the Express into London and also to Southampton.

You need to be carefully with your terminology here; precision is everything.

 

The Heathrow Express is a fast train service that runs from Heathrow to London Paddington station. It takes about 25 minutes from Terminal 5 and about 15 minutes from the station serving Terminals 1, 2 and 3. However, Paddington is not quite central London from a tourist point of view, so you would still have to get another form of transport to get to a tourist area. Downside: the Heathrow Express is very expensive (about £16-18 pp each way to Paddington).

 

There is also the Tube (the Underground), which runs from Heathrow directly to central London. This is much cheaper, particularly if you don't buy cash single fares.

 

The National Express coach service to Southampton is something different altogether: it's a coach service. This goes from the central bus station (in the central terminal area near Terminals 1, 2 and 3); I think some services also stop at Terminal 5 but you'd need to check this. If you were going to use this to get to Southampton, you would have to get back to the airport. The same applies to using a cruise line transfer that goes from the airport to the ship. These are intended for people who have just arrived by air.

[Twickenham]

Thanks for your help. I was thinking of the Marriott at Heathrow to use points. The hotels in London seem very expensive. I thought the Marriott was very close to the airport and would not be too hard to get to. Am I wrong on that? Also I thought we would not have to take our luggage into London, but could leave it at the hotel. I'm confused on the locations of the Express into London and also to Southampton. After we checked into the Marriott, we would go back to the airport and get the Express into London and then at the end of the day, take the Express back to the airport and then back to the hotel? How long would the trips to/from airport to the Marriott take? Also, then the day of the cruise, we would have to go to the airport to get the Express to the port? If we do that, should we get tickets ahead of time? I appreciate all your help. All this was easy in Copenhagen and Barcelona and by the time we went, I had Venice figured out!

 

Do you have enough points for one of the Central London Marriotts? Even if you can't stretch to the Grosvenor House or County Hall, you still have some cat. 6 possibilities - the Kensington Marriott is probably the better one in terms of location, as its just down the road from the Glouscester Road underground station (direct line to LHR).

[silkismom]

The reason we chose Comfort hotel was the price, any other suggestions? We've been to London many times before and just want a bed for the night, also incase of plane delayes etc. Do the Hoppa buses take large suitcases?

[handfordr]

The reason we chose Comfort hotel was the price, any other suggestions? We've been to London many times before and just want a bed for the night, also incase of plane delayes etc. Do the Hoppa buses take large suitcases?

 

The Comfort Hotel can have low prices about 39 GBP room only. The Comfort Hotel is next door to a fire station and the main motorway into London.

The Hoppa Buses run every 40 minutes from T5, there is no public bus alternative

 

The cheapest hotels are normally the two Travelodges where more often than not you can pick up a saver room for 19 GBP if you book well in advance. Unlike most airport hotels the restauarant at these is quite reasonable.

If you want to stock up on small items then Heathrow Central Travelodge is better as its in a residential area with local shops, the T5 Travelodge is quite isolated .

 

Personally I'd go for the Ibis Hotel. They're currently in the 34-38 GBP room rate range. There is a McDonald's close by plus pubs and a small supermarket within walking range.

The 423 public bus connects T5 and the Ibis free of charge, I think it runs about every 20 minutes. There is also a Hoppa Bus running every 20 minutes.

 

Hoppa Buses are midi size buses. They have large luggage racks inside the passenger cabin.

There is no problem with large cases as long as you can haul the cases yourself on board and stack them in the racks.

At peak times Hoppa Buses can be very crowded, worse than the Underground. Ironically the free public buses at this time are often more frequent and less crowded.