I'm hoping I can get some advice about picking up a rental car from Heathrow. We arrive at LHR from SFO after 10:00 pm then we're heading direcetly to Somerset area to stay with some friends. We plan to spend the first night close to the airport before meeting up with them as we don't want to tackle too much after the long flight . We';re using FF miles to get there so they have us taking the long way round to London! These are my questions:

Should we pick up the car first then drive ourselves to a nearby hotel? Or go to the hotel (which I haven't figured out yet either!) get a good night's sleep and then get the car in the morning?

Any advice about which rental car agencies to use? Are there some more convenient for pick up/drop off?

Any advice about an inexpensive hotel by the airport? We'll spend so little time in it so hate to spend too much.

We'll have the car for a week and will return it back to LHR before spending the last part of our vacation in Switzerland and France.

Thanks for your help!

I have never flown from California to Europe, and I suppose it's somewhat rough no matter how you do it - - but this sounds like a nightmare to me. You're flying overnight, red-ey from LAX to Chicago, right? and then takig AA flight 90 "during the day", arriving at 10:35 pm? (which will 2:35 in the afternoon, "body time" - - PDT, for you?)

I suppose you will (pray you can) sleep well (? but fitfully?) on the ORD-LHR flight? I submit that you will be messed up, time zone wise, for a few days. I guess it's like you are leaving "the night before" the usual daytime California departure - - i.e, if you leave Monday night, your first sunrise in England will be Wednesday morning - - the same time it would be if you had left Tuesday day. But it sounds very unpalatable to me. No chance you can get waitlisted on something the following day?

In any event - - NO - - I would not pay to pick up a rental car when you arrive, bleary-eyed at LHR, only to have it spend the night parked while you get adjusted. Get it the "next day" (i.e., the day you would have arrived, if you had departed the "next morning&quot.

Best ishes,

Rex

To help you with your other two questions, all rental agencies are off-site at LHR, requiring a shuttle bus ride.

Here is the list of hotels that are served by the Hotel Hoppa shuttle bus service, http://www.nationalexpress.com/p.cfm?n=pai-hhh

I have stayed at the Novotel and it is a good choice. The cheapest would be the Ibis and the TravelInn.

Just go to the hotel (good rates can be got through priceline or Travel Inn is good for cheap off the rack). get a good night's sleep and then pick up your car the next day. Any of the major rental agencies are convenient and you can take a cab to the agency in the a.m.

Actually we leave SFO around 11 pm (can't remember the exact time) for a red eye to IAD (Dulles) from there we take a flight to LHR arriving at 10:05 pm. Maybe something better will become available as August approaches (that's when we leave) but we're using FF miles and so can't be too picky -- at least we got flights!

I think I agree that going right to the hotel and picking up the car in the morning might be the best option. Guess I was thinking if things were close by and we only had to drive a couple miles it might be nice to get it over with.

Thanks for the responses.

I highly recommend Peter Waugh Car Hire. (www.peter-waugh.co.uk)

We used them two years ago and found their rates to be the best (by far) for the vehicle we wanted.

They were also precisely on-time for both pickup and dropoff and organized everything really well for us.

We've booked them again for a trip this fall, and they've got the best rates this time too.

Give them a try!

Gayle