Airport Hotel to London and Port

We plan on staying at a hotel near Heathrow to control costs(Family of 5). We are arriving 3 days before cruise with 1 of the day dedicated to staying at S’hampton. Could anyone advise how to get to city centre if one were to stay at an airport hotel? and likewise how to head down to the port?

or does my choice of accomodation even make sense?

Thanks

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Tube (subway) runs to just about everywhere in London (with connections). Easy. Huge, very effective system. Google search their system, and plan your day trips. Very easy to do.

I would not stay at the airport. I would stay someplace closer to downtown. Many threads here with recommendations.

Thanks.. I dont mind the city centre, but its costly for a family of 5. Any alternatives?

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Do a search on London Hotels here. You will find threads discussing options.

If you want to go into Central London to see the sights, you are going to eat up much of your savings on hotel with train/tube passes, and you'll eat up a lot of time traveling between Heathrow and Central London. Think about how much your time is worth while in England, with the cost to get there from your home--don't short-change yourself on time to see the things you really want to see after spending so much money to get to England! You are really better off staying in the city center.

That's my opinion, at least. :)

It takes 45 minutes each way on the tube, plus the cost of the fare, you’ll need to decide what works. We stayed at the Corus Hyde Park last summer we’ve also stayed at the Renaissance LHR several times. You will likely be better off in the city. We took the National Express bus to Southampton from the Central bus terminal at LHR.

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There is also the question of getting from your hotel to the airport, unless you stay at one of the few hotels attached to one of the terminals. Forget free shuttles that you find at many other airports.

The local bus services around Heathrow are free, but obviously do not run to the door of your hotel. Otherwise you need a cab or use the Hotel Hoppa at £9 per person each day (one child free per fee-paying adult).

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or does my choice of accomodation even make sense?

There’s so many ways to do this, so here’s just one option. If you stay in somewhere like a Premier Inn it is about £70 per room per night, BUT officially only 4 to a room. Two rooms might still be cheaper than a city hotel.

An option is to stay in the suburbs, like Kingston. Taxi from the airport if you prebook will be about £25. Or a bus if you are brave with luggage. Train into London takes about half hour.

Getting to port I think the consensus is taxi again, as our trains are not having the best of times since a franchise change.

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If you want to go into Central London to see the sights, you are going to eat up much of your savings on hotel with train/tube passes, and you'll eat up a lot of time traveling between Heathrow and Central London. Think about how much your time is worth while in England, with the cost to get there from your home--don't short-change yourself on time to see the things you really want to see after spending so much money to get to England! You are really better off staying in the city center.

 

That's my opinion, at least. :)

Agreed!

I would go self-catering and use airbnb. I see a 3 bed flat (apartment) in The City for £107 per night - there are many others. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/8255818?location=London&adults=2&children=3&home_collection=1&s=QR07oei1 or one in Westminster for £107. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/16940419?location=London&adults=2&children=3&s=tmTgRAIb

Hotel food is expensive, so self-catering will be more flexible and save money.

I’d also advise checking airbnb. Can be much cheaper for a family and offers benefits of being able to make own coffee/snacks etc.

Transport to Southampton is easy from central London - either coach from Victoria coach station (probably cheaper) or direct train from Waterloo (quicker).

Kids under 10 can travel around London on tube and bus for free with a paying parent (up to 4 kids per parent).

Staying at the airport may be a little cheaper but as someone who lives close to Heathrow it’s not really “London” and you miss out on seeing the city properly!

Good luck and let me know if I can help with other suggestions!

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I won't automatically agree with the others, I think a Heathrow hotel can work for just a one-day foray into central London.

It means travel into central London unencumbered with luggage, and there's a tube train every five minutes for the 45 minute journey - a journey which you won't relish with luggage, and a private transfer will add to your costs.

If you stay in central London you'll have to make that journey one way anyway, so a conveniently-located Heathrow hotel will only cost you an extra 45 minutes.

But there are downsides - for instance you can't just pop back to your hotel to freshen up between day & evening, you'll have very limited options (probably the hotel) for eats & over-priced drinks, getting between hotel & a tube station (probably back at a Heathrow terminal). And Heathrow is a bland & soul-less international area of hotels in a sea of car-parking.

For a few days, no :eek:.

For just your one day, mebbe.:confused:

Yes, altho central London is expensive, there are some attractively-priced hotels and a Premier Inn would be a good choice.

But just like "Heathrow", "central London" covers a wide area and a lot of places will be inconvenient so you need to choose with care - mebbe come back here with options before you commit.

Sorry Linda, but I can't agree with your suggestion of "somewhere in the suburbs like Putney", which I see as having most of the disadvantages of a Heathrow hotel without the advantages of a central London hotel. For instance unless you opt for a private transfer you have to go from there back to Heathrow or central London (with luggage) for transportation to Southampton. Just my opinion.

For couples, buses from Heathrow or central London's Victoria coach station, or trains from central London's Waterloo or Victoria train stations (not from Heathrow), would be a lot cheaper than a private transfer.

But for a family of five it's worth comparing costs.

Bus - https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

Your start point will be London Victoria coach station or Heathrow, and your destination will be Southampton coach station.

Train - http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Your start point will be London Waterloo or London Victoria station and your destination will be Southampton Central

(London Waterloo trains are much more frequent and journey time ah hour quicker, but Victoria might be better if your hotel is there)

Private transfer - loads of operators based in London, or for a Southampton-based operator try www.smithsforairports.com or www.westquaycars.com or www.aquacars.co,uk

Most folk travel down to Southampton on the morning of their cruise, no worries.

If you change your mind & choose to have an extra day in London by doing the same, a central London hotel becomes much more attractive than one out near Heathrow.

All JMHO as always

JB :)

Ok im tweakin’ my plans.

But first let me throw this out there:

1. Airport hotels - $3-5 bills for 2 or 3 nts for 5 guests.

2. City centre - $1-2k

for 5 guests. LOL

Thanks for the Premier Inn suggestion, that never showed up on my fave booking site.

Now for my modified plans:

1. Stay in London, close to the bus station for 2 nights.

2. Transfer by bus to Salisbury and stay there for another night.

3. Salisbury to Cruise terminal on the day of the cruise.( there’s a train right?)

Airport hotel will sit on the sidelines for now..

Will this be cheap and easy for a family of 5?

.. yeah airbnb will be thrown in the mix, when push comes to shove.

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.. yeah airbnb will be thrown in the mix, when push comes to shove.

We're a family of 6, so apartment rentals have been my go-to for years, and I love the cost-savings, the space (separate bedrooms!), and the ability self-cater. Last time we were in London, we stayed in an apartment near Victoria Station for $1000 for 10 days (it was off-season) and almost all of our breakfasts and dinners were courtesy the local supermarket (who had tasty and cheap take-out curry dishes). If you haven't checked apartment rentals yet (and Airbnb or on other sites), I would recommend them.

ETA: I have also found that the more people we have, the more cost-effective private transfers become.

We're a family of 6

 

ETA: I have also found that the more people we have, the more cost-effective private transfers become.

From your experience, If we were to stay near Victoria coach stn, what roughly would be the cost for a private transfer? for a van i presume.

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From your experience, If we were to stay near Victoria coach stn, what roughly would be the cost for a private transfer? for a van i presume.

 

 

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That I cannot answer as we weren't transferring to Southampton when we stayed there.

Ok im tweakin’ my plans.

But first let me throw this out there:

1. Airport hotels - $3-5 bills for 2 or 3 nts for 5 guests.

2. City centre - $1-2k

for 5 guests. LOL

 

Thanks for the Premier Inn suggestion, that never showed up on my fave booking site.

Now for my modified plans:

1. Stay in London, close to the bus station for 2 nights.

2. Transfer by bus to Salisbury and stay there for another night.

3. Salisbury to Cruise terminal on the day of the cruise.( there’s a train right?)

Airport hotel will sit on the sidelines for now..

Will this be cheap and easy for a family of 5?

 

.. yeah airbnb will be thrown in the mix, when push comes to shove.

 

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For Premier Inn bookings, you need to go to their own website http://www.premierinn.com as they don’t often come up on general hotel booking websites.

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Thanks for the Premier Inn suggestion, that never showed up on my fave booking site.

Now for my modified plans:

1. Stay in London, close to the bus station for 2 nights.

2. Transfer by bus to Salisbury and stay there for another night.

3. Salisbury to Cruise terminal on the day of the cruise.( there’s a train right?)

Airport hotel will sit on the sidelines for now..

Will this be cheap and easy for a family of 5?

 

That looks like a perfectly sensible plan, but you'll need to do the maths with your dates to figure if it's economical.

Premier Inn Victoria is very handy for the Nat Express coach station, just a 5 to 7 minute walk - not only for travel to Salisbury or Southampton, but also from LHR As cheap as the tube (£5 to £6) from LHR but no hassle with luggage - the driver loads it. And several buses per hour. You can book the most appropriate time (about 90 mins after your scheduled arrival) but change it for an earlier or later one.

If Premier Inn Victoria is more money than you hoped (most nights I checked, twice the £70 mentioned by Linda) the area has a very wide selection of chain hotels & small privately-run hotels & is popular with tourists.

Just a couple of caveats ............

Coaches to Salisbury are much less frequent than those to Southampton - the first direct coach isn't til 11.30 & gets to Salisbury at 2.30pm. Fare about £8.

So from central London consider the train to Salisbury - half-hourly service, quicker, about the same cost. But you do have to get to London Waterloo station. No cheap hotels around Waterloo, the Premier Inns are even more expensive than the one at Victoria.

Choose a hotel within walking distance of Salisbury city centre - nowhere near the cost of central London.

Sadly Salisbury Premier Inn is about 2 miles from the centre.

Monday to Saturday there's a half-hourly train service Salisbury to Southampton Central (I think it's hourly on a sunday).

Fare about £8, journey time 40 mins. Then a short taxi hop to ant cruise terminal.

JB :)

I tried their website, wont allow me to book 5.(2 children max) wonder how stringent the policy is for this chain or/and the hotels in London when it comes to headcount..

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I tried their website, wont allow me to book 5.(2 children max) wonder how stringent the policy is for this chain or/and the hotels in London when it comes to headcount..

 

 

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Very stringent, as in zero chance you'll get away with having 5 to a room. Most times occupancy limits in Europe are due to fire laws, so there's really no getting around them.

You could look at the Travelodge London Waterloo - never stayed there myself, but it looks quite nice, and it would be quite convenient for the train to Salisbury.

Very stringent, as in zero chance you'll get away with having 5 to a room. Most times occupancy limits in Europe are due to fire laws, so there's really no getting around them.

Its ok.. On to the next chain or airbnb.

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That I cannot answer as we weren't transferring to Southampton when we stayed there.

Last July we paid $180 for 4 people to travel directly from hotel to cruise port.

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From your experience, If we were to stay near Victoria coach stn, what roughly would be the cost for a private transfer? for a van i presume.

 

 

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We’re using Woodbury Cars/Cruise Connections. For 6 people we’re paying £310 from London to Southampton, but that’s with stops in both Salisbury and at Stonehenge. The return trip from the ship to LHR is £160 for 6 people.

For a hotel that could sleep 5, look at Staybridge Suites Vauxhall. You can get a reduced rate if you join the IGH club and choose a non-refundable rate. There’s also a new Marriott Residence Inn opening in Kensington. They opened bookings just a couple weeks ago. My sister is staying there in June. Both hotels are convenient to tube stations, and both give you the option of self-catering if you don’t want to jump into the vacation rental market.

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