Heathrow Hotel After Cruise

[Tedferg]

Our cruise ends in Southampton June 25, too tight to get to Heathrow for reasonable flight so we will stay over and fly home June 26. Option 1 is to stay at Hilton Garden at Heathrow with an easy walk to terminal 2 on departure day. Option 2 is a more cosey hotel / pub in Windsor.

 

Option 1 makes for an easier departure option 2 is a more enjoyable day in Windsor but requires taxi to airport on departure. Flight home is at 12:15 pm.

 

Any thoughts?

[Jadn13]

I love Windsor! See if the hotel hoppa bus picks up there. I used it for the Delta Marriott in Slough

[Tedferg]

53 minutes ago, Jadn13 said:

I love Windsor! See if the hotel hoppa bus picks up there. I used it for the Delta Marriott in Slough

Great, had not heard of that - also hotel might have a shuttle, had not thought of that 🙂

 

Is two hours before flight long enough at Heathrow?

Edited March 6, 2023 by Tedferg

[wowzz]

The Windsor option every time !

You will get a full afternoon and evening in Windsor. Far more appealing than being in a ubiquitous airport hotel.

The Heathrow Hoppa does not go to Windsor, but a taxi will not be that expensive (probably cheaper than the Hoppa if there are two of you) and I'm sure the hotel will book one for you. 

I would plan to be collected from your hotel around 9 am, to give you some leaway in case of heavy traffic,  unless you are flying on a Sunday, when 9:30 or so will be fine. 

[Cobber76]

Following our cruise to Norway this summer, we are staying one night at the Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow.  Since our flight leaves the next morning around 9:00 am, we would have had to get ourselves to the airport by 6:00 am, which sounded pretty awful.  Yes, we are taking the simple route by staying at the airport hotel.  But for us, this will have been Day 17 of our trip—so we’ll likely be pretty drained by then.  But Windsor sounds fun!  Maybe I can check that out prior to our cruise!  Good luck!

[Tedferg]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

The Windsor option every time !

You will get a full afternoon and evening in Windsor. Far more appealing than being in a ubiquitous airport hotel.

The Heathrow Hoppa does not go to Windsor, but a taxi will not be that expensive (probably cheaper than the Hoppa if there are two of you) and I'm sure the hotel will book one for you. 

I would plan to be collected from your hotel around 9 am, to give you some leaway in case of heavy traffic,  unless you are flying on a Sunday, when 9:30 or so will be fine. 

Thanks wowzz - maybe time for an English breakfast before we leave 🙂

2 hours ago, Cobber76 said:

Following our cruise to Norway this summer, we are staying one night at the Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow.  Since our flight leaves the next morning around 9:00 am, we would have had to get ourselves to the airport by 6:00 am, which sounded pretty awful.  Yes, we are taking the simple route by staying at the airport hotel.  But for us, this will have been Day 17 of our trip—so we’ll likely be pretty drained by then.  But Windsor sounds fun!  Maybe I can check that out prior to our cruise!  Good luck!

With such an early departure I would do that too.

[gumshoe958]

Heathrow doesn’t let hotels use their own shuttles. It insists they use the (overpriced and often packed) Hoppa buses which stop at several hotels en route to and from the terminals. And they only serve hotels close to the airport so are of no use if you’re staying further afield (like Windsor). 
 

There is a public bus between Windsor and Heathrow every half hour but it takes an hour and only serves Terminal 5 (the British Airways terminal) so it’s not ideal and a cab is really the only viable option from there.

[John Bull]

 

Making a 12.15pm flight is rather tight on a weekday due to the variable traffic between Southampton and LHR, because it's the main route from the south-west to the city of London and you're mixing it with commuters and those doing business in London.

But your cruise ends on a sunday 🙂

On a summer sunday morning the drive to Heathrow will be quick and easy, any traffic will be heading in the opposite direction - Londoners heading out of the big bad city for a day-trip to the coast or countryside.

 

So a 12.15pm flight is very doable with a private transfer.

To give yourselves the widest possible window I'd suggest disembarking unassisted (haul your own bags from your cabin) which for most cruise ships at Southampton is from around 7am, Terminal formalities will be very quick because there won't be a long line at that time and a car booked for say 7.15 - 7.30 should get you to LHR by 9am. 

There's always the small risk of a serious accident blocking the motorway (late saturday night into the early hours of sunday morning is a popular time for kamikaze drunk-drivers) but even that's not a big delay because alternate routes won't be clogged on a sunday morning. And  2 hours is adequate for airport formalities etc, so you'd have well over an hour of wiggle-room.

 

---------------------------------------

 

That said, altho I certainly don't rate 24 hours marooned in a hotel in airport-land 😟, I agree that a day in Windsor would be a great finale to your vacation.

Especially on a sunday public transport So'ton to Windsor is slow and complicated, so it needs a private transfer but you could have a ship's breakfast and a leisurely disembarkation, drop your luggage at the hotel and still be exploring Windsor Castle before noon.

A pre-booked private transfer from Windsor to LHR is about 8 to 9 miles, will cost about £40 to £45, and takes around 30 minutes on a monday morning.  A hotel in the centre of Windsor would be ideal but quite expensive

 

Alternatively....

 

The long-established & reputable coach operator International Friends offers a door-to-door tour-transfer from the ship's cruise terminal to Salisbury, Stonehenge and Windsor, and onward to Heathrow or central London. Many CC members have been very happy with this service, which serves most cruise ships arriving in Southampton. You'd have the option of baling out in Windsor for a Windsor hotel, or continuing on the coach to a Heathrow hotel.

A very comprehensive tour-transfer, but gives you two hours or less in Windsor.

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html

 

Or

Some "airport" hotels are actually closer to Windsor than to Heathrow.

They'll be easier on the pocket than a hotel in Windsor itself, and you could arrange for your transfer driver to drop your luggage at your hotel then drop you in Windsor. Local taxi back to your hotel, then in the morning a taxi or if available the overpriced "hotel hoppa" to Terminal 2.

Google "Heathrow hotels map"

 

Sorry - suggesting various options intended to be helpful, but probably adds confusion 🙄

 

JB 🙂

 

 

 

[Tedferg]

Thanks gumshoe958 I was wondering if Windsor hotels had shuttles.

 

Many thanks John Bull a very complete answer and very helpful.

 

Another option we are considering is Princess excursion that includes Windsor and terminates at Heathrow. They say flights must be 4:00pm or later, so I assume it arrives at Heathrow at 2:00. Not as much time in Windsor but shorter time at airport hotel.

 

I will look at hotels closer to Heathrow as you suggest and at International Friends.

 

BTW we did look at flying home on Sunday but felt it was too tight and we are using air miles and Sunday flights need twice as many miles.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Tedferg

[Twickenham]

23 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Our cruise ends in Southampton June 25, too tight to get to Heathrow for reasonable flight so we will stay over and fly home June 26. Option 1 is to stay at Hilton Garden at Heathrow with an easy walk to terminal 2 on departure day. Option 2 is a more cosey hotel / pub in Windsor.

 

Option 1 makes for an easier departure option 2 is a more enjoyable day in Windsor but requires taxi to airport on departure. Flight home is at 12:15 pm.

 

Any thoughts?

 

My thought is that with a 12:15 pm departure, there's absolutely no reason to maroon yourself in a Heathrow hotel. Anywhere in Central London with reasonable connections to LHR (i.e., with easy access to the Heathrow Express/Elizabeth Line/Piccadilly Line) is available to you. Not that I don't like the Windsor option - I do - but in many ways a London hotel say in Paddington would be more convenient for getting to LHR than Windsor.

[Tedferg]

4 hours ago, Twickenham said:

 

My thought is that with a 12:15 pm departure, there's absolutely no reason to maroon yourself in a Heathrow hotel. Anywhere in Central London with reasonable connections to LHR (i.e., with easy access to the Heathrow Express/Elizabeth Line/Piccadilly Line) is available to you. Not that I don't like the Windsor option - I do - but in many ways a London hotel say in Paddington would be more convenient for getting to LHR than Windsor.

What an excellent idea, I simply thought of stopping along the way to LHR!