Heathrow Express -- worth the cost?
 

I will be in London for just over two days the week after next (after a week in Ireland). It is my first trip to London and am taking my two children (ages 8 and 6) and my 71 year old mother. We arrive at Heathrow (from Dublin) on Monday morning at 8 am and are staying at the Hilton on Edgware Rd. (near Paddington). I cannot decide if Heathrow Express is worth the cost.

The four of us will have four bags among us (not counting our carry-on bags) and we'll be traveling toward Paddington at the tail end of rush hour.

From your own experiences, does the relative comfort and speed of Heathrow Express justify the added expense over the tube at that hour?

No, but if I had a room near Paddington I'd be using the Heathrow Connect.

If I was however American I'd be using a car service instead

By tube, you could change at Hammersmith, cross the platform for an eastbound District Line, change at Earls Court and wait on the same platform for an Edgware Road train. Edgware Road station is over the road from the hotel, whereas Paddington is quite a long walk or a taxi-ride up Praed St.

The inconvenience factor with the tube is partly a matter of time (say, half an hour more, door to door, than with Heathrow Express), partly a matter of time of day. Depending on how quickly your luggage comes up, you might find you're still catching up with commuter crowds at both Hammersmith and Earls Court.

But it's up to you whether you want to arrive quickly and in some (expensive) style, or take your time at the airport to start your journey after about 9am to avoid the commuter crowds - you'd still be in the hotel by about 10am.

<It is my first trip to London and am taking my two children (ages 8 and 6) and my 71 year old mother.>

no one in their right mind would take the Tube with these demographics - could end up a complete horror. Heathrow Light (Connect) is fine.

If I was however American I'd be using a car service instead

Alan - why do you say If i were (note) American i'd take a car service?

Irresepctive of nationality with that much luggage and two kids I would just book a car.

For someone travelling on their own without too much luggage I am a firm believer in tube/hop across platform at Hammersmith option

<<no one in their right mind would take the Tube with these demographics - could end up a complete horror. Heathrow Light (Connect) is fine.>>

Exactly my concern, particularly given the hour of our travel.

I will look into Heathrow Connect. Thanks to all for your quick input!

If normal Taxies are expensive. You can check and get estimate of their cost from: www.justairports.com
This was recommended at this site. A friend of mine has used them and was very pleased with their services. I have not yet. You can choose normal car which would be small for your requirement or with little extra select the MPV to be sure or the Estate. Their web is easy to check estimate and do the booking. Good luck.

In your situation, I definitely would NOT take either the Heathrow Connect nor the Heathrow Express. After you got to Paddington you'd still have to squeeze into a cab to the hotel. so the over all cost will be higher, plus you'd have to schlep your bags from the train platform to the taxi rank.

Book a car service. It will be door-to-door and no bag schlepping at all. The already mentioned justairports will be the cheapest and cheaper yet if you pay cash . . . .

I checked the justairports site and think it looks good. Just to verify, though, the prices quoted are per car, not per passenger?! (You never know!)

yes - the price is per car . . . . .

I've taken the tube, Heathrow Express, taxi and car service.

I would recommend the car service for you. Based on recommendations from this site, we used justairports and were happy with them.

The tube took almost 1 1/2 hours. It was a long walk to the station and then with the various transfers I had to make, I carried my luggage up/down stairs a couple of times. Very economical though.

The Heathrow Express was great directly from Paddington, but for 4 people it wasn't cheap (we had a 2 for 1 deal though), so I'd probably go for car service (unless you are staying directly in the Paddington Hilton, as we did one time).

Also, it sounds like your other passengers may not be able to handle their own luggage too easily over a distance, so a door-to-door car service would let everyone arrive refreshed and ready to go.