I would like to rent a mini-bus (with driver)to take the family from Heathrow airport to the marybelone area in london. Any suggestions of companies that do that?

Why don't you take the tube (underground) instead to Marylebone? It would be much cheaper. How big is your group? The underground is pretty much safe these days and also, they're having discounted offers aimed at tourists for day passes. Look at www.tfl.gov.uk for more information.

We used hotel-link when we booked a trip with British Air.
It is a pay per person van, but you may be able to get a group rate.

How many of you are there? Many Fodorites like Swiss Cottage and Ray's London Transfers, which you can find at www.london-transfers.com. Both charge per trip, not per person.

Some Fodorites have complained that Hotel Link vans take an hour or more to load up at the airport and then take you on a tour of multiple hotels, adding even more transit time.

We have used Hotelink before and I can vouch that you do wait close to an hour before leaving the airport. I would find another means of transport besides Hotelink. I've several posts on this site about people using Ray Skinner (I think that's correct) and getting wonderful service. You may want to do a search.

Ray Skinner at www.london-transfers.com has mini-vans. Also you call call Swiss Cottage Cars - they are a little cheaper than Ray but don't have a website. If you search in the text box in the left hand corner for Swiss Cottage you should pull up a thread that has their phone number.

Karen

Just came back and used Swiss Cottage cars - called on a Sunday a.m. for Monday a.m. it was quick and painless. 011 44-207-431-2700. For the 3 of us & 3 good sized bags + carryons I asked for their "station wagon" which just held us & bags for 33 pounds + tip. Driver was waiting after baggage was cleared with a sign with our name on it. They also had minivans. We were very pleased not to have to drag bags, etc. to Tube since we were very tired after the overnight flight to our downtown London hotel. With generous tip it came to a well spent L40. We sure wouldn't have wanted to drive it ourselves (and there is a daily downtown "congestion charge" of L5 which is controversial..) FYI, Swiss Cottage is a north London area.

Likewise, search this forum for the name Eddie Manning.

Best wishes,

Rex

We just got back from London and used Ray Skinner from Heathrow to London and back. He was waiting for us when we got into the arrival area, and he picked us up at 5:30 a.m. when we were going back to Heathrow. His charge is 39 pounds into London and 34 pounds to Heathrow. That is for the trip, not per person. We would highly recommend him.

You can also try Ciy Transfers--
Citytransfers <[email protected]>

They also have a good van service...

and here is Eddie Manning's service:

Eddie Manning

Telephone: 07970 761 505
From USA dial: 011 44 7970 761 505
http://www.limo.co.uk

I stick with Swiss Cottage Cars. They just charged us 25 pounds from Heathrow to Covent Garden once again. That's 14 pounds less than Ray Skinner -- that's 14 pounds or about $23.00 less, worth the phone call to me rather than booking on a website.