I am arriving into Heathrow airport after a 10 hour flight and have a 7-1/2 hour layover until our flight to Kenya. I am traveling with 2 thirteen year old girls and I am wondering how to spend the time.
Do we find a day room at a hotel close by and try to get some R&R? If anyone has done this, if you can offer advice on which hotel I'd appreciate it.
Do we try to fit in some sightseeing? Any suggestions on whether this is doable? In past experience it can take well over 1 hour to clear customs on entrance into the UK and then 2 hours pre-boarding to Kenya will only leave a max of 4 hours to kill.
Or do we just hang around the airport? Perhaps take advantage of the airports shower facilities to freshen up, walk the 10 hour flight off, have a bite to eat.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

On our way to Kenya we stopped in Amsterdam and had a day room at an airport hotel, but the layover was considerably longer than yours. For the reasons you mention, just hanging at the airport would probably be a good option. Don't know what terminal you will be in, or if you need to change terminals, but there are clubs where you can get daily access.

For a quick visit w/o the hassle of going into central London - you could go to Windsor. It is about 7 miles/15 mins by cab or 30 mins by bus. You could walk around a bit if the weather is nice - have a meal and then cab back to LHR.

If you land early and get out of the airport quickly, then you might even have time to tour the Castle.

But if you have access to an airline lounge - that might be your best option.

My son did this trip in January. He also had a layover in Nairobi before flying to Entebbe, so he was only interested in cleaning up and sleeping, not in sightseeing in London. He stayed (we paid) in the Yotel and thought it was perfect - private bed, bathroom, tv and internet access with food available. Here's a link. I think he ended up staying 4-5 hours.

http://www.yotel.com/

Now if your stopover was in Amsterdam I'd say get out and see the city. In Heathrow I'd try either a speedy trip to Windsor, just to get away from the place or maybe a lounge or the Yotel/a hotel. Staying in the airport itself will lead to insanity.

Thanks for the suggestions – much appreciated! The Yotel looks like a good solution for us. I have also heard that the Hilton has day room use at Terminal 4... does anyone know about this?

Alot of hotels around the airport offer day room rates.

I don't know what airline you are flying, but you might see what the costs are for a day pass to the airline lounge, if available. We had stopevers at Heathrow last month for several hours each way; we had lounge access, and my DH took a shower there after our overnight flight. We were also able to come in and out, so that we could do some shopping in the terminal - if you are at T5, the shops are really something to see - I was window shopping, but still, those hours could go by quickly.

And boarding is earlier than you think so 7 hours is probably more like 4-5, what with transfers to terminals, gate delays to factor in, etc.

I haven't stayed myself, but you should check the room size for Yotel, considering there will be 3 of you.

There might well be a day spa at the airport you could visit (Molten Brown?).

Failing that, Picadilly line on the tube into central London, and perhaps a quick open top bus tour to see the main sites or Fortnums for posh ice-cream with the girls?

We stayed at the Novotel (short ride from Terminal 4) for a day room, but we had 12 hrs between flights, and we arrived just at the right time to make good use of the room.

If you are arriving in the AM, and will be tired, it may be a reasonable thing for you to do.

You may want to check out the Heathrow Express. It takes 15 minutes to Paddington Station. Paddington is on the Hammersmith/City, Circle and District tube lines. The Heathrow Express has the "Just Visiting London" reduced rate return tickets. The following is from the Heathrow Express website:

Just visiting London?
Adult Fare £17 Return
Child Fare £8.50 Return
Visit London tickets are only available from the Heathrow Express ticket office at Heathrow Airport
Visit London.

These tickets are available from 13:00 until midnight of the same day. The children tickets are for ages 5 - 15, so your girls will get the child rate.

Good luck and have a safe trip!

The HEX only gets one to Paddington which is not near any of the major sites in London. By the time one gets to Paddington, then walks down to the tube and travels to anywhere interesting - it would have been faster just hopping on the Piccadilly line at LHR.

That "only 15 minutes" to London is a bit misleading when you are talking total point to point times.

Since you will have another long flight ahead of you I'd do a day room/or airport lounge, or a hop over to Windsor. I love London, but the hassle and crowds in the city squeezed in between two long haul flights would be very tiring.

BTW - it isn't "Customs" that will take time - it is "Immigration" (passport control). Customs takes no time at all.

I did spend the same amount of time at Heathrow in 2005 when I traveled to Kenya but I was by myself and found it easy to kill time with a good book after a refreshing shower.

Author: janisj
"BTW - it isn't "Customs" that will take time - it is "Immigration" (passport control)."

Thanks Janis again for correcting me... bureaucracy by all accounts and although necessary, Heathrow is the worst of all places I have traveled.

I spent 10 months backpacking and traveling South America and Africa arriving home last summer. This trip will be different than that trip – I am finding that I am hyper-planning due to the fact that I am taking 2 thirteen year olds with me and although related they are not my children.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions – this just may be a day that I wing it!