Recommendation for hotel at Heathrow airport?

[willow surfside]

Just heard back from them...evidently they are either also called First Choice Minibus Services or London Tool Kit uses them. I wonder if anyone has used them. I willl probably post a thread to find out.

[elena7seas]

Hi Everyone:

 

I am still trying to sort out an overnight hotel at Heathrow before our 8:00 am flight to Vancouver.

 

There seem to be too many variables for me to use Priceline or LMT this time, so am thinking it would be best to book a hotel at a prepaid rate to secure the best pricing.

 

I am currently considering the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow, the Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow, the Marriott Heathrow and the Sofitel Heathrow. The Radisson has the best price, and the Sofitel is the most expensive, but may be the most convenient for an arrival/departure from Terminal 1, although I have to say, it is very hard to tell if the Sofitel would be convenient or not. The hotel pricing is running between 127 CAD and 235 CAD, taxes included. The taxi fare from the Radisson seems to run around 15 GBP each way.

 

I am willing to pay a little more for convenience, but it is really difficult for me to tell which hotel is most convenient to Terminal 1. :confused:

 

If anyone has any opinions, I would be really happy to hear them. Picking a hotel is usually not something I have a problem with!!

 

This hotel stay is the last element of a Transatlantic cruise with a post-cruise week-long stay in Mallorca, so I don't want a poor choice of a hotel in Heathrow to mar the stress-free holiday I am planning for my DH.

[JPRLHR]

Hi Everyone:

 

I am still trying to sort out an overnight hotel at Heathrow before our 8:00 am flight to Vancouver.

 

There seem to be too many variables for me to use Priceline or LMT this time, so am thinking it would be best to book a hotel at a prepaid rate to secure the best pricing.

 

I am currently considering the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow, the Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow, the Marriott Heathrow and the Sofitel Heathrow. The Radisson has the best price, and the Sofitel is the most expensive, but may be the most convenient for an arrival/departure from Terminal 1, although I have to say, it is very hard to tell if the Sofitel would be convenient or not. The hotel pricing is running between 127 CAD and 235 CAD, taxes included. The taxi fare from the Radisson seems to run around 15 GBP each way.

 

I am willing to pay a little more for convenience, but it is really difficult for me to tell which hotel is most convenient to Terminal 1. :confused:

 

If anyone has any opinions, I would be really happy to hear them. Picking a hotel is usually not something I have a problem with!!

 

This hotel stay is the last element of a Transatlantic cruise with a post-cruise week-long stay in Mallorca, so I don't want a poor choice of a hotel in Heathrow to mar the stress-free holiday I am planning for my DH.

 

The Sofitel is attached to T5 and is definitely not convenient for a T1 arrival and departure.

 

The Sheraton Skyline, the Radisson and the Marriott are all far more convenient for T1 and are all accessible via the Hotel Hoppa service. They are located on the Bath Road just outside the main entrance to LHR.

[Cotswold Eagle]

The Sofitel is attached to T5 and is definitely not convenient for a T1 arrival and departure.

 

The Sheraton Skyline, the Radisson and the Marriott are all far more convenient for T1 and are all accessible via the Hotel Hoppa service. They are located on the Bath Road just outside the main entrance to LHR.

 

It is relatively simple to get from T1 to T5 using the free connecting train service on the Heathrow Express - to get that you do have to walk through to the Heathrow Central station, which serves T1 and T3, but it will take around the same amount of time as getting the Hoppa to one of the Bath Road hotels.

 

For the other hotels, you will catch the Hotel Hoppa right outside T1. Make sure you get the right one, there are boards to tell you which hotels each one serves.

 

The Sofitel is definitely a level up from the others, but the three you are looking at are perfectly adequate airport hotels.

[elena7seas]

It is relatively simple to get from T1 to T5 using the free connecting train service on the Heathrow Express - to get that you do have to walk through to the Heathrow Central station, which serves T1 and T3, but it will take around the same amount of time as getting the Hoppa to one of the Bath Road hotels.

 

For the other hotels, you will catch the Hotel Hoppa right outside T1. Make sure you get the right one, there are boards to tell you which hotels each one serves.

 

The Sofitel is definitely a level up from the others, but the three you are looking at are perfectly adequate airport hotels.

 

 

Hi Everyone:

 

We are back from our European trip and despite all my worries, we had a great experience with our accommodations at London Heathrow.

 

Even up to the time we left for the transatlantic out of Fort Lauderdale, I was still uncertain about our plans for a hotel at Heathrow. Honestly, I don't ever remember dithering so much about any travel decision EVER :p.

 

When we finally arrived in Mallorca, and I could access some free internet time, I booked a 4-star hotel through Priceline (North Heathrow Airport Zone). We had had such a great trip so far, and I just decided, really, how bad could a four-star hotel be? We were only going to be in the hotel for a total of 8 hours, as we had to leave the hotel for the airport at 4:45 am.

 

I was surprised and pleased to get the Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 5 Hotel for $50 USD on Priceline on my first bid.

 

In order to avoid the outrageous price for a cab from Terminal 1 to the Hilton London Heathrow T5 (we were quoted 37 GBP at the Terminal 1 information desk) I relied on the advice of Cotswold Eagle, that it would be relatively simple to get to Terminal 5, where we could catch the Hoppa bus to the Hilton T5 (4.50 GBP per person, one way). This involved us getting over to Terminal 5, using the free connecting train (Heathrow Express).

 

It took us about 5 minutes to take the elevator from T1 down to the underground tunnel and walk through the underground tunnel to the platform for the free train. We had about a two minute wait and then it took us about 4 minutes on the free train to get to Terminal 5. Perfectly painless.

 

Upon arriving at the platform for Terminal 5, we followed the signs and came above ground, arriving almost directly in front of the doors to the outside covered area where the Hoppa buses stop. We asked one of the bus drivers which Hoppa bus to take to the Hilton T5, and found the correct place to wait, which was only about 30 feet from where we had come through the exit doors. We waited about 15 minutes for the bus to arrive. The Hilton T5 was the first stop for the Hoppa bus, so we were at the hotel in 5 minutes. The hotel is 3 miles from the bus stop at T5. I think it took us a total of 35 minutes to get from Terminal 1 to the hotel, at a total cost of 9 GBP.

 

The service at the Hilton was excellent, and the accommodations were solidly 4 star. Only one of the 3 restaurants in the hotel was open, as it was a Sunday evening and the restaurant/bar was hosting a private function. The food was very good, and the service was excellent. Everyone in the hotel was exceptionally friendly and helpful, particularly the hotel concierge.

 

On arriving, we arranged with the concierge to order a cab for the morning (4:45 am) for a total cost of 16 GBP. (The information desk in Terminal 1 had told us that a cab from ANY hotel in the Heathrow area to Terminal 1 would cost us 37 GBP one way. This was not the case, but I already knew this from Cruise Critic.) The cab arrived promptly and we were at Terminal 1 in ten minutes.

 

Thanks to everyone on this thread who was so helpful. Cotswold Eagle, thanks especially for all your excellent advice.

[Cotswold Eagle]

Glad it all worked out for you and thanks for coming back with a report :)

 

$50 for that hotel sounds like a great deal! Shows the benefits of NOT planning too far ahead.....Hoppa to the hotel and local minicab back is a very good way of doing it, especially for an early am flight, IMO.

 

As you discovered, the taxi desks in the Terminals try to scare people and rip them off, frankly. It's not at all clear that when they give you 'advice', you are in fact negotiating a fixed fare ride with a society of black cab drivers who use Heathrow and try to divert traffic from other drivers who come through the feeder park and onto the rank. Their fixed fares are often higher then the meter, but they get away with it because you have 'agreed'. In any case, your hotel is outside the metered area, I think. I looked at the Hilton T5 website and they have a banner across the page warning of high fares being charged by black cabs, so it is obviously a running issue!

[elena7seas]

Glad it all worked out for you and thanks for coming back with a report :)

 

$50 for that hotel sounds like a great deal! Shows the benefits of NOT planning too far ahead.....Hoppa to the hotel and local minicab back is a very good way of doing it, especially for an early am flight, IMO.

 

As you discovered, the taxi desks in the Terminals try to scare people and rip them off, frankly. It's not at all clear that when they give you 'advice', you are in fact negotiating a fixed fare ride with a society of black cab drivers who use Heathrow and try to divert traffic from other drivers who come through the feeder park and onto the rank. Their fixed fares are often higher then the meter, but they get away with it because you have 'agreed'. In any case, your hotel is outside the metered area, I think. I looked at the Hilton T5 website and they have a banner across the page warning of high fares being charged by black cabs, so it is obviously a running issue!

 

Hi Cotswold Eagle:

 

It was an amazing deal, and for a really nice hotel, as well. All the more impressive when you realize that the cost of the hotel was $10 CAD less than the cost of a black cab to get there from the Heathrow airport!

 

With respect to the black cabs, I don't mind paying a fair price, but 37 GBP is just highway robbery and I wouldn't want to pay it on principal.

 

When we arrived at Terminal 1, I asked at several places, including the information desk, about the cost of taking a cab to our hotel and was clearly told the 37 GBP fare was the only option :(. I finally found a very helpful young lady at another desk when I was asking for directions to get the free train to T5, and she told me quietly to ask the hotel to book me a cab for the morning.

 

37 GBP is the equivalent of 60 Canadian dollars. It would cost me about $5 here to take a 3 mile cab ride, the distance to the Hilton hotel from T5. (The same 37 GBP fare applied from T5 to the hotel as well.) It's certainly hard to understand why this kind of outrageous gouging would be supported by the London Heathrow airport.

 

Luckily, with your help, our transit through Heathrow on our way home from a wonderful vacation, was a very positive experience. Cruise Critic rocks:D.

[hbear]

Hi Cotswold Eagle:

 

It was an amazing deal, and for a really nice hotel, as well. All the more impressive when you realize that the cost of the hotel was $10 CAD less than the cost of a black cab to get there from the Heathrow airport!

 

With respect to the black cabs, I don't mind paying a fair price, but 37 GBP is just highway robbery and I wouldn't want to pay it on principal.

 

When we arrived at Terminal 1, I asked at several places, including the information desk, about the cost of taking a cab to our hotel and was clearly told the 37 GBP fare was the only option :(. I finally found a very helpful young lady at another desk when I was asking for directions to get the free train to T5, and she told me quietly to ask the hotel to book me a cab for the morning.

 

37 GBP is the equivalent of 60 Canadian dollars. It would cost me about $5 here to take a 3 mile cab ride, the distance to the Hilton hotel from T5. (The same 37 GBP fare applied from T5 to the hotel as well.) It's certainly hard to understand why this kind of outrageous gouging would be supported by the London Heathrow airport.

 

Luckily, with your help, our transit through Heathrow on our way home from a wonderful vacation, was a very positive experience. Cruise Critic rocks:D.

 

Elena,

I know this is not the place to discuss using Priceline. Would you please email me at betteshermanathotmail.com. My last experience with Priceline was a bad one and we hated the hotel we got.

Thanks

DJ