Taxi or Car Service from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Holiday Inn Express - London Heathrow T5

[tj_shopper]

We are a group of 23 (family and friends) connecting through London from Athens on our way home to Chicago on May 23th.  Our flight gets into London at 10:00 p.m. and Air2Sea has booked all of us at Holiday Inn Express in Sloth.  The hotel does not have a shuttle service and the local buses stop operating at 10:00 p.m.  By the time we go through Customs and get our luggage, it will probably be close to Midnight.  Will there be taxis, Uber or car service we can use at this late time of night - preferably something economical?

 

Thank you.

[gumshoe958]

Ok, the good news is there are local bus services, even late at night: Route 4 runs from Heathrow Central bus station (for Terminals 2 & 3) every hour all night, and the Route 7 runs from Terminal 5 every hour until just after midnight. Both routes stop very close to the HIE T5.

 

(You don’t say which airline you’re flying but if it’s Aegean you’ll arrive at Terminal 2 or if it’s British Airways it’ll be Terminal 5.)

 

Alternatively there will be Ubers available but you’ll need 4 XL cars so there may be a wait, and you’re looking at the £150-200 mark for all of you. The bus is currently £2 per person.

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by gumshoe958

[tj_shopper]

2 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Ok, the good news is there are local bus services, even late at night: Route 4 runs from Heathrow Central bus station (for Terminals 2 & 3) every hour all night, and the Route 7 runs from Terminal 5 every hour until just after midnight.

 

(You don’t say which airline you’re flying but if it’s Aegean you’ll arrive at Terminal 2 or if it’s British Airways it’ll be Terminal 5.)

 

Alternatively there will be Ubers available but you’ll need 4 XL cars so there may be a wait, and you’re looking at the £150-200 mark for all of you. The bus is currently £2 per person.

Thank you @gumshoe958

 

Holiday Inn Express told us to take Bus Number 7 but it stops running at 10:00 p.m.  We are flying American Airlines but I think we're on a British Airways flight even though the flight number is AA.  We all will have a lot of luggage as we're coming home from a few days in Rome and a 7 day cruise.  I was hoping we could catch the Hoppa but it doesn't go to our hotel.  So, will the Uber XL cost £150-200 for every 4 to 5 passenger?

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, tj_shopper said:

Our flight gets into London at 10:00 p.m. and Air2Sea has booked all of us at Holiday Inn Express in Sloth.

 

11 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

We are flying American Airlines but I think we're on a British Airways flight even though the flight number is AA.

 

Yes, you are - and the flight number is BA633. It is also sold by American Airlines as AA6849, but the prime flight number is British Airways'.

 

I'm pretty sure that you're heading for the "Holiday Inn Express London - Heathrow Terminal 5", at 5 London Rd, Slough SL3 8QB. However, you may want to be aware that there is also a "Holiday Inn Express Slough" at Mill Street, Slough SL2 5DD, so that there's no confusion on the day. The postcodes will completely disambiguate this, especially if you end up in an Uber and the driver is using a satnav. (BTW, "Slough" rhymes with plough/plow.)

 

The applicable timetable for First Berkshire's number 7 bus (wef 2 April 2023) is here. (Note that this is not a Transport for London bus, and will not be a red "London bus".) As gumshoe958 says, the last buses depart from Terminal 5 at 2210, 2310 and 0010. The first will be too early for you, given that you're a 2155 arrival, but one of the last two should work. (It should take you closer to one hour than two to get out of the airport.) Google Maps says that the bus stop you want is on Sutton Lane at Sutton Place here, just after the bus turns right at the hotel.

 

Have you asked the hotel whether it can organise cars to pick you up from the airport? It may have an arrangement with a local minicab company in Slough. Transport to/from Heathrow airport will be a frequent need for its guests.

[tj_shopper]

7 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

Yes, you are - and the flight number is BA633. It is also sold by American Airlines as AA6849, but the prime flight number is British Airways'.

 

I'm pretty sure that you're heading for the "Holiday Inn Express London - Heathrow Terminal 5", at 5 London Rd, Slough SL3 8QB. However, you may want to be aware that there is also a "Holiday Inn Express Slough" at Mill Street, Slough SL2 5DD, so that there's no confusion on the day. The postcodes will completely disambiguate this, especially if you end up in an Uber and the driver is using a satnav. (BTW, "Slough" rhymes with plough/plow.)

 

The applicable timetable for First Berkshire's number 7 bus (wef 2 April 2023) is here. (Note that this is not a Transport for London bus, and will not be a red "London bus".) As gumshoe958 says, the last buses depart from Terminal 5 at 2210, 2310 and 0010. The first will be too early for you, given that you're a 2155 arrival, but one of the last two should work. (It should take you closer to one hour than two to get out of the airport.) Google Maps says that the bus stop you want is on Sutton Lane at Sutton Place here, just after the bus turns right at the hotel.

 

Have you asked the hotel whether it can organise cars to pick you up from the airport? It may have an arrangement with a local minicab company in Slough. Transport to/from Heathrow airport will be a frequent need for its guests.

@Globaliser Thank you for the detailed information and also for telling me about the other Holiday Inn Express.  I would not have known there was another one.  I pulled up my reservations and the one we are staying at is Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T5, an IHG Hotel London Road, Slough, England, SL3 8QB.  I'm going to make sure I put that down in my notes so as not to be confused with the other one.

 

I will take a look at google map to familiarize myself and look at First Berkshire's number 7 bus.  The hotel told us that this bus only runs to 2200, thus they suggested we go through preferred taxi company “Five Star".  When I looked them up, they had horrible reviews.  

[gumshoe958]

@tj_shopper In answer to your question about Uber, £150-200 is the ballpark total amount for 4 XL cars - so about £40-50 per car. (At this precise moment it’s quoting £41.95 from Terminal 5, but obviously that varies.)
 

In my experience it’s rare that hotels anywhere have good, up-to-date information about local buses so I’m not surprised they gave you the wrong details. The Hoppa used to serve that hotel but they seem to have cut back their network post-Covid. The number 7 will be much cheaper, anyway. I see no reason why you wouldn’t make the 11:10pm bus unless your flight’s late.

 

 

[Globaliser]

3 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

The number 7 will be much cheaper, anyway.

 

It would probably also be worth doing this for the entertainment value. I'd love to see the driver's face when they notice a group of two dozen people plus luggage all intending to get on to a late night bus.

 

There's a more serious question: Has the OP worked out what they're going to do to get back to Heathrow in the morning? They'll need to know whether they're heading for Terminal 3 (if the flight to Chicago is operated by American Airlines) or Terminal 5 (if it's BA again), and to plan the journey. If they're going to get the bus again, they'll need to know which bus stop to go to as (according to Google Maps) routes 4 and 7 will depart from different stops. Plus they'll need to check the timetable, especially if it's an early flight.

[tj_shopper]

30 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

@tj_shopper In answer to your question about Uber, £150-200 is the ballpark total amount for 4 XL cars - so about £40-50 per car. (At this precise moment it’s quoting £41.95 from Terminal 5, but obviously that varies.)
 

In my experience it’s rare that hotels anywhere have good, up-to-date information about local buses so I’m not surprised they gave you the wrong details. The Hoppa used to serve that hotel but they seem to have cut back their network post-Covid. The number 7 will be much cheaper, anyway. I see no reason why you wouldn’t make the 11:10pm bus unless your flight’s late.

 

 

@gumshoe958

 

That's actually not a bad price if we could fit 5-6 people with their luggage in each XL car.

 

We will each have one full size luggage and a carry on bag - 23 of us lol.  I can't image how we're all going to fit on the bus with all our luggage.  I think this is a regular type bus right - no luggage rack like shuttles to hold our luggage.  Maybe we can split up - some on the bus and some with Ubers as there are so many of us.

 

[tj_shopper]

22 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

It would probably also be worth doing this for the entertainment value. I'd love to see the driver's face when they notice a group of two dozen people plus luggage all intending to get on to a late night bus.

 

There's a more serious question: Has the OP worked out what they're going to do to get back to Heathrow in the morning? They'll need to know whether they're heading for Terminal 3 (if the flight to Chicago is operated by American Airlines) or Terminal 5 (if it's BA again), and to plan the journey. If they're going to get the bus again, they'll need to know which bus stop to go to as (according to Google Maps) routes 4 and 7 will depart from different stops. Plus they'll need to check the timetable, especially if it's an early flight.

@Globaliser - haha yea I don't know how we will all get on the bus with all our luggage - 23 of us - all adults!

 

I haven't even begun to think about the ride back to the airport.  We are on American Airlines back to Chicago.  Our flight is at 9:15 a.m. (flight #99).  I had to make sure the hotel knows that we're a late arrival and that wouldn't be a problem.  They say it isn't and they put a note in each of our reservations.  Once I figure out the ride to the hotel, I will start thinking about the ride back to the airport and timing.  We'll probably have to leave around 6:30 a.m. to get us to the airport two hours before our flight.

[Island2Dweller]

You have been booked into a hotel that is in a really inconvenient location - for it to include "terminal 5" in the name really is taking the mickey, as it is nowhere near the terminal.

There is a Hilton Garden Inn within walking distance of Heathrow T2/3.  Could you get a quote to stay there instead?  This would be massively more convenient.  There are trains between T5 and T2/3 (which are free for this journey).

BTW - no hotel at Heathrow has a shuttle - they are banned.

[tj_shopper]

3 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

You have been booked into a hotel that is in a really inconvenient location - for it to include "terminal 5" in the name really is taking the mickey, as it is nowhere near the terminal.

There is a Hilton Garden Inn within walking distance of Heathrow T2/3.  Could you get a quote to stay there instead?  This would be massively more convenient.  There are trains between T5 and T2/3 (which are free for this journey).

BTW - no hotel at Heathrow has a shuttle - they are banned.

That's what I thought when I googled mapped our hotel.  Unfortunately, our rooms are non-refundable and booked by Royal Caribbean's Air2Sea - it's a comped room for all of us -- 11 rooms in total.  I know they won't move us.

 

That's really awful that they have banned airport shuttles.  I wonder why.  We were delayed on a flight home from Houston, Texas and the airline put us up in a hotel with shuttle.  It was great.  The shuttle even took us within a one mile radius for dinner.  As it looks right now, if we did Uber, my family of 5 will probably spend about $100 to go from and to the airport.  We could take the bus back to the airport but with all our luggage, I'd rather not.

[Globaliser]

17 minutes ago, tj_shopper said:

That's really awful that they have banned airport shuttles.  I wonder why.

 

Congestion. It isn't a recent policy - it may have been two decades now?

 

It's the same reason why there's a drop-off charge at the terminals and why picking up in the drop-off zones is prohibited. There has long been talk of a charge for vehicles simply to enter the airport, but that hasn't (yet) been implemented.

 

Given that you are on such an early flight the next morning, if you try to do the journeys to/from the hotel by bus you will get almost no sleep that night. In your shoes, I would be ignoring the free room at that HIX (it's not compulsory for you to use it, whether it's free or paid for) and either taking up Island2Dweller's idea of the HGI at T2 or alternatively booking a room at the Sofitel at T5. Subject to cost, the latter would probably be preferable because of the 2-hour time change from Athens to London.

[tj_shopper]

21 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

Given that you are on such an early flight the next morning, if you try to do the journeys to/from the hotel by bus you will get almost no sleep that night. In your shoes, I would be ignoring the free room at that HIX (it's not compulsory for you to use it, whether it's free or paid for) and either taking up Island2Dweller's idea of the HGI at T2 or alternatively booking a room at the Sofitel at T5. Subject to cost, the latter would probably be preferable because of the 2-hour time change from Athens to London.

That's definitely food for thought.  I didn't even think about the 2 hour time change from Athens to London.  I'll price out the other more convenient hotels and net out the cost of the Ubers and see where that takes us.  Thanks!

[Meander Ingwa]

I would call the agent, not presume that they wont change it.  That is a terrible booking for that time of day.  HIE has a hotel at terminal 4 and it is right on the Elizabeth line.  You access the hotel via the departure hall in terminal 4 ( skybridge)

[Globaliser]

6 hours ago, Meander Ingwa said:

HIE has a hotel at terminal 4 and it is right on the Elizabeth line.

 

This is not quite so convenient for the OP, who's arriving at T5. They would have to take a train to Heathrow Central, and then change for a different train to T4. The trains go in opposite directions through the station, so it's not a same-platform change (although the walk between the platforms is not long and is level).

[Meander Ingwa]

I know that , but certainly not as inconvenient as organizing a large number of cars or taking a bus.    During the day it might be an adventure to do the car/bus. Late at night with a quick turn around to the next morning, not so much.

 

Having two easier options may allow part of the group to be at one or the other.  It might be a challenge to get sufficient number of rooms all in one hotel

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Meander Ingwa

[Globaliser]

17 minutes ago, Meander Ingwa said:

I know that ...

 

But the OP may not. It's a significant consideration when choosing between a T5 hotel, a T2 hotel or a T4 hotel, especially when arriving late in the evening.

[Cotswold Eagle]

2 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

But the OP may not. It's a significant consideration when choosing between a T5 hotel, a T2 hotel or a T4 hotel, especially when arriving late in the evening.

Absolutely. It can be quicker getting to T5 from Paddington than from the hotels attached to T4!