Hotel in London ... Heathrow airport hotel or not?
Mar 26th, 2012, 09:06 AM
#1
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Hotel in London ... Heathrow airport hotel or not?
We have an overnight in London, arriving around noon and I want to let the kids I'm traveling with (5) to see a little bit of the city. My plans were to stay by the airport to make things easier. Now .. the more I read, I'm thinking to heading into London might make things a little easier. With six of us to get to the hotel from the airport at five pounds each, we're already in it for 30 pounds each way just to get back and forth to the hotel. But if we need to travel back to Heathrow the next morning (flight around 11:00 a.m.) by taxi ... we will need to take two taxis, correct? Last time I went to London I was single. With fix teenagers/young adults, cost needs to be taken into consideration. Do you have any suggestions what might be best?
Mar 26th, 2012, 09:12 AM
#2
You almost never want to take a taxi from London to LHR. Either take the tube or hire a car service like justairports.com
The tube will be easy enough if you can all handle your own bags. A car service will be pricey since you'll need a van but still likely only about £45-ish. Two cabs would run a minimum £100 and probably more.
The tube will be easy enough if you can all handle your own bags. A car service will be pricey since you'll need a van but still likely only about £45-ish. Two cabs would run a minimum £100 and probably more.
Mar 26th, 2012, 09:35 AM
#4
I'd stay at the airport. Yes, the Hoppa Bus is £8 each return (£9 if bought on the bus) per person but without luggage you can take the free buses that run along Bath Rd. to the airport, then the tube into central London - all much cheaper than a taxi or car service, or the Heathrow Express.
An 11 AM flight means a 9 AM check-in, which means leaving central London at 8 or before, not my idea of a pleasant morning, followed by the hassles of flying. Instead, you could check in the previous noon, take the free bus to the airport tube station and head into the city, spend the afternoon/dinner time there, then reverse your route and spend the night near the airport, and have a more leisurely time of it the next morning.
Alternatively, you could skip central London and make the (much, much easier) trip to Windsor for the afternoon (frequent, inexpensive buses from the airport main station or T5.) Visit the castle, walk around the very attractive main part of the city, visit Eton, whatever. Lots of fun, way easier than schlepping into the city.
Also, you can usually get pretty good hotel deals near LHR using Priceline - get two rooms and you're good to go.
An 11 AM flight means a 9 AM check-in, which means leaving central London at 8 or before, not my idea of a pleasant morning, followed by the hassles of flying. Instead, you could check in the previous noon, take the free bus to the airport tube station and head into the city, spend the afternoon/dinner time there, then reverse your route and spend the night near the airport, and have a more leisurely time of it the next morning.
Alternatively, you could skip central London and make the (much, much easier) trip to Windsor for the afternoon (frequent, inexpensive buses from the airport main station or T5.) Visit the castle, walk around the very attractive main part of the city, visit Eton, whatever. Lots of fun, way easier than schlepping into the city.
Also, you can usually get pretty good hotel deals near LHR using Priceline - get two rooms and you're good to go.
Mar 26th, 2012, 05:05 PM
#5
Windsor is a good option. It <i>is</i> closer to the airport . . but to say it is much easier is misleading. It requires either a 45 minute bus journey or an expensive cab.
Priceline is fabulous for LHR, unfortunately it won't be of much help. You'd have to book 3 rooms since they only guarantee doubles.
Priceline is fabulous for LHR, unfortunately it won't be of much help. You'd have to book 3 rooms since they only guarantee doubles.
Apr 19th, 2012, 12:16 PM
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I'd pick a hotel in the Earls Court / South Kensington area and use Oystercard PAYG to get around. I can't think of anything worse than being stuck at an airport hotel. It will be cheaper than the Hoppa Bus and invariably the cheap hotel is not on the free bus route. And you can get a good meal and see a show.
<i>Yes, the Hoppa Bus is £8 each return </i>
Which in itself is more than you'd spend travelling to & from London BUT if OP does intend to visit London they'd have two sets of that - ie £16 per person - plus the cost in time of getting to & from the hotel.
<i>Yes, the Hoppa Bus is £8 each return </i>
Which in itself is more than you'd spend travelling to & from London BUT if OP does intend to visit London they'd have two sets of that - ie £16 per person - plus the cost in time of getting to & from the hotel.
Apr 19th, 2012, 01:15 PM
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FFCT - yes, the Tube can be unreliable, and just when you need it most it can derail your best laid plans. Happened to me twice in the past several years, and the second time it resulted in my missing a flight and being held captive at Heathrow for three days until a space on a return flight to my destination opened up.
I was most fortunate that, due to my status with the airline, they didn't cancel my ticket and require that I purchase another, as they could have done. Instead they allowed me to wait-list for another flight. But because it was July and all flights were going out full, I had to show up each morning for three days before getting a seat. Not fun... Since then, I've never depended on the Tube to get me to the airport on time.
I was most fortunate that, due to my status with the airline, they didn't cancel my ticket and require that I purchase another, as they could have done. Instead they allowed me to wait-list for another flight. But because it was July and all flights were going out full, I had to show up each morning for three days before getting a seat. Not fun... Since then, I've never depended on the Tube to get me to the airport on time.
