Car service Heathrow to Bath

[SuzCruise]

We are seriously considering avoiding the hubbub of the trains after our overnight flight to London in a few weeks and just hiring a car to take us to our destination of the town of Bath. Can anyone recommend a service they have used and been pleased with? Has anyone used:

Majestic taxis and chauffeured cars

Express Airport Transport

Chauffeur Travel

Empire U.K. chauffeur.

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

 

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[Bob++]

You can probably rely more on the recent Tripadvisor reviews.

 

Much cheaper than a car would be National Express Coaches, with fares from £13 each. I can see the appeal of being met by a driver and taken straight to the hotel though.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/destinations/bath/heathrow-to-bath

[SuzCruise]

You can probably rely more on the recent Tripadvisor reviews.

 

Much cheaper than a car would be National Express Coaches, with fares from £13 each. I can see the appeal of being met by a driver and taken straight to the hotel though.

 

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/destinations/bath/heathrow-to-bath

 

 

 

I trust the cruise critic community more than Trip Advisor. Not looking for the cheapest option, so the bus isn't in the running. We were thinking train, but the convenience, speed and comfort of the hired car are quite appealing. But thanks for replying.

 

 

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Edited April 25, 2018 by SuzCruise

[Bob++]

The problem with the people who post here is that the locals like me probably never used these services, and the cruisers would not have any recent experience. That's why I think TA is a better bet for this kind of information.

[pickypicky]

I trust the cruise critic community more than Trip Advisor. Not looking for the cheapest option, so the bus isn't in the running. We were thinking train, but the convenience, speed and comfort of the hired car are quite appealing. But thanks for replying.

 

 

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I can’t vouch for them because we have yet to take our trip but we’ve booked Smith’s for cars to take us from Heathrow to Southampton based on recommendations we read here on cruise critic. They responded promptly to each of my questions and booking was easy.

[SuzCruise]

Thanks for the response. It seems like they are highly regarded on these boards and I am considering going with them based on that even though they are slightly higher than some of the other quotes we've received. Did their quote to you include " waiting time" for them waiting on you at Heathrow? Mine wasn't clear. Some of our quotes from other companies mentioned an hour of wait time. And lastly, any idea what is an appropriate gratuity for the driver? I know as American's we are supposedly over tippers (not a bad thing to be in my book) and I certainly don't want to ruin that stereotype and make us all look cheap. ;).

 

 

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[Bob++]

Smiths are based near Southampton, which makes them ideal for journeys to or from there. It would be pretty uneconomic for them to take a London to Bath booking, which would explain why they are charging more.

[John Bull]

I can’t vouch for them because we have yet to take our trip but we’ve booked Smith’s for cars to take us from Heathrow to Southampton based on recommendations we read here on cruise critic. They responded promptly to each of my questions and booking was easy.

 

Yes, Smiths are highly-regarded.

And very good value - for transfers to or from the Southampton/Portsmouth area, which is where they're based.

But for LHR to Bath that's kinda like using a San Antonio-based business for a transfer from Houston to Columbus Tx - the OP will be paying for an excessive amount of empty mileage, hence the higher quote.

 

Operators based at LHR or in London get very mixed reviews, they're large organisations often using inexperienced short-term employees and shuffling bookings to get maximum use of their cars/drivers - hence one screw-up like a couple of delayed flights can have a knock-on effect. Some are fly-by-night, starting up cos they think it's a highly lucrative business & finding out it's not such easy money and some charge outrageous fares in the hopes of catching-out punters who've not sought quotes elsewhere.

So if you use a LHR or London-based operator, get quotes from several that have a long & proven track record.

 

Our experience is that operators based at the other end of a journey are better value, more reputable & more reliable, eg Smiths for Southampton.

I don't know the operators in Bath, but can I suggest you google something like "Taxi Bath" and don't include "Heathrow" or "London" in the title of your search. I have very little doubt that Bath has its Smiths equivalents, and at better prices for this journey than either Smiths or airport-based operators.

 

But I agree with Bob on a couple of things -

 

I too would book https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

They have a direct service LHR to Bath every couple of hours, comfortable coaches with wifi / restroom etc and the driver loads/unloads bags. Fares are low & journey time is almost as quick as a private transfer, though that depends on the location of your Bath hotel.

 

And I too would check out TripAdvisor. What it might lack in quality it makes up for in quantity so no risk of getting just one or two reviews from folk who are too-easily pleased or dis-pleased.

Sadly I don't think we have any regular CC members in Bath.

 

JB :)

.

[matamanoa]

We used K Hill Chauffeur Hire and were extremely pleased with their service. You can find them at bathtaxis@gmail.com.

 

Barb

[SuzCruise]

Smiths are based near Southampton, which makes them ideal for journeys to or from there. It would be pretty uneconomic for them to take a London to Bath booking, which would explain why they are charging more.

 

 

 

Actually only Express Airport Transport is cheaper. Some are more expensive. Very surprising. Considering the positive reviews of Smith's, it makes them extremely appealing. I knew they were based somewhere else, but I'm guessing that like many of these companies they use a lot of contractors on these jobs. But if they vet them well and the quality is good, I'm okay with that.

 

 

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[SuzCruise]

We used K Hill Chauffeur Hire and were extremely pleased with their service. You can find them at bathtaxis@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Barb

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your reply! I will definitely contact them!

 

 

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[SuzCruise]

 

I don't know the operators in Bath, but can I suggest you google something like "Taxi Bath" and don't include "Heathrow" or "London" in the title of your search. I have very little doubt that Bath has its Smiths equivalents, and at better prices for this journey than either Smiths or airport-based operators.

 

 

 

 

 

JB :)

 

.

 

 

Excellent advice! That worked. Including Heathrow in my searches was resulting in too many results and companies with reviews that were all over the place.

 

 

 

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