Heathrow Chauffeur service
 

Hi, I'm arriving into Heathrow in the morning (rush hour). I don't want to take the tube with my luggage etc at that time. I also don't want to take the Heathrow express then a cab. I read some older posts that mentioned http://www.chauffeur.co.uk/index.htm and Hotellink. Has anyone used these recently or can recommend some other chauffeur places that you used?

Thank You!

Try Ray Skinner at London-Transfers.com. His services are excellent, reasonably priced, and he and his other drivers are totally reliable and charming. We used his services this July coming and going to Heathrow and couldn't have been more pleased.

Thank You!

I have also used Mr. Skinner's service and was quite pleased as well. On my most recent trip to London this past June, however, I used a car service known as Just Airports (www.justairports.com). The service was very reliable and the drivers helpful. The rates were also better than Mr. Skinner's. Good Luck.

I use Swiss Cottage Cars. No website but their phone is 011-44-207-431-2700. I have no problem with the very popular Ray Skinner, but Swiss Cottage Cars is about $20 less expensive each way, and they have always been totally efficient!!

Thank you rajaw. I checked out Justairports.com and the rates are very reasonable.

AirCars 2000 (aircars2000.co.uk for tel no.) offer a fantastic service; comfortable cars and exceptionally courteous and knowledgeable drivers, I use them all the time - you will not be disappointed!

We just returned from London. Used Ray Skinner and he was great. He was waiting for us at Heathrow when we arrived and picked us up at our hotel at the arranged time for our return to the airport. He handled all the luggage. I too would highly recommend his services.

The above services are recommended repeatedly on this site and I am sure they are fine. We were successful with another route. Our accomodations made the arrangements for us. You might want to check with your hotel to see if they do that service. If you feel more comfortable make the reservations yourself.

I wouldn't suggest Hotellink unless your hotel is first on the list. It is not uncommon to take 3 hours to travel back & fourth between the airport with all the hotel stops. You can get a Mercedes or Jaguar transfer for 35 pounds. Just used them last week. 1st Premier chauffeur driven tel # 020 8560 5999.

35 pounds sterling for a jaguar or mercedes transfer from Heathrow to central London? Don't think so!

Certainly if you are staying in a hotel (at least the larger ones) you can have them arrange a pick up service for you. We've always used Ray Skinner (we just enjoy his company, he's been a delight since the very first time we rode with him) but there are other ways to get into town as mentioned here all the time.

35 pounds it is. I am looking at the ad. Page 61 WHERE magazine London Sept 2003.

Has anyone else used Justairports.com which was recommended in an earlier posting? They have a nice web site with good prices but they have not confirmed (or answered) my original requests or my subsequent e-mails?

m_kingdom, what about the 35 pounds for a Mercedes or Jaguar transfer? I pay Swiss Cottage cars 25 pounds for the transfer from Heathrow to Covent Garden and about half the time it is in a Mercedes. Not a limo, but a nice Mercedes sedan. Different drivers have different cars, but a number of their drivers do have Mercedes.

Of all the services listed I have used most including Ray. But I think that I have found a home with Central Chauffeur www.centralchauffeur.com not only do they have a toll free number to the Uk but the company is 24/7 and gives you the choice of vehicle. Plus they will take a US check!

DMG,
Did you end up using justairports.com for your transfers? If so, how were they? Thanks.

Wow. After finding out today on another thread that Swiss Cottage Cars now has a website and has increased their fees, I just looked at this centralchauffeur website. But 55 pounds for Heathrow to Central London? Yikes!!! That's more than double what I've been paying, and still nearly 60% higher than the new Swiss Cottage Rates. It's also a whole lot more than Ray Skinner whom I avoided because of their high costs.

Swiss Cottage Cars quoted me 43.50 pounds for Heathrow to central London. There will be four of us with luggage.

About $ 70.00, huh? Or for two of us, now about $56. I swore I'd never do it again, but taking the tube from Heathrow to Covent Garden, taking the elevator up and pulling my luggage just over a block to my flat is sure starting to look awfully good.

Is there any more feedback on anyone using"Just Airports".
Thanks..

I did end up using justairports.com and was happy with their service. There have been a few others who used them recently with similar comments. You should be able to pull up some posts by doing a search under "justairports.com"

Thanks Patty
,Another question for you.Do you tip the driver in addition to the fare?

Patty, I have tried to book through justairports, and my CC does not go through! I have tried at least 10 times! I know it is not my cards, cause they work elsewhere> I may have to call them using 10-10-987. Patty, what did you do? Judy

Patty, I just booked it now using the "cash" screen instead! Should get an e-mail tomorrow, The fare was 23lbs. I think that is very reasonable!!!! FYI< Judy :-)

Lovejoy,
I tipped our driver approx. 10% of the fare.

Judyrem,
I didn't book online so I'm not sure why your credit card didn't go through. I do know that they charge quite a bit more for credit card payment rather than cash payment. I phoned them a couple of days before our arrival to book and paid the driver in cash.

As you are no doubt aware "lbs" is the abv. for a weight. Please use GBP to express the currency pounds sterling. It looks most queer having a currency expressed in the same manner as a weight.

Patty, Glad to hear your experience with justairports.com was a good one. They have been getting good press on this site recently.

m_kingdom, as you no doubt aware, this is a travel forum on the internet where all sorts (or in your terms, allsorts) of terminology, abbreviations, and acronyms are acceptable or at least passable as long as the intent is understood. Why the need to ridicule?

mkingdom you are right, it does look mighty queer... I was hesitating using lbs, but was in a hurry. Wish I had that GBP symbol on my keyboard.

GBP is the universal terminology for pounds, either write it in full, and don't be lazy or if you intend to abreviate it please use the correct form.

Patty,Thanks for your response,As for lbs, I am using a Microsoft US keyboard on Windows XP, and ALT 156= £

Judyrem: You probably do have the £ symbol. On my mac it is option + 3. Since you are probably on a windows machine, the keys might be different, but it will be there somewhere. Try alt + 3 or some other similar combination. Windows folks - help Judyrem out here.

After reading all the info here, I booked justairpots for pick-up and return to Heathrow for our trip in March. Their cash option seems like a good value. Also their email confirmations and responses were great. Hopefully there will be a uniformed driver holding a sign with my name on it when we land at Heathrow.
Hey m kingdom - what do you think of using # as a symbol for GBP?
JoeG

A hash sign is an abv. for "number" not any form of currency. Simply use international notation such as EUR, USD, GBP or indeed the actual symbol used to represent the currency. Thank you.

Well m kingdom, you have enlightened poor misinformed me. Thnak you very much. I will NEVER use anything less than GBP. But as obxgirl said, it could have been done in a more gentile manner. Joe, did you get an e-mail the day after you contacted them? I believe you are right about the differance between cash and credit card pricing. I go next week, so I will let you know how they were. Janis, I have to take some tutorials on this little machine. I tried to do the alt 156 and my Dell Inspiron got all huffy about it ;-) Judy

Judy,
I received an email confirmation from justairports the same day I made the reservation. I still had a few more questions which they answered promptly as well.
We were really prepared to take the Tube, but the thought of dragging luggage around after an all night plane ride made the car service seem very appealing.
I look forward to hearing about your experience.
JoeG

I just returned from a biz trip to London and want to confirm what most are saying about justairports. I made reservation by phone 4 hours before arriving from Munich. Driver was waiting for me; cost 24 GBP to Belgravia and 19 GBP back to Heathrow. Next morning, driver was waiting for me. Cars were very clean. Highly recommend them.

Thanks dxxxg, that is good to know! IMO, price can't be beat......22GBP ;-). Judy :-D

You should avoid the meal anyway. According to The Economist the average airline meal has more calories than a Big Mac meal. I haven't eaten in a McDonalds for at least a decade but I seem to remember a Big Mac meal contains around 2,000 calories. A fit man should eat approaching 3,000 and a women around about 2,000.

This thread just saved me $$$!! I was about to book online w/ another company that came highly recommended by a fodorite...Thought hmmm...let me search it one more time - Lo and behold! this thread was up at the top.
Quote from Eddie Manning www.limo.co.uk:
Stansted airport to London hotel- 89GBP;
London hotel to Heathrow- 54GBP

justairports quote: 37GBP and 21GBP respectively; same route... 85GBP less! Thanks Fodorites!