I just wanted to thank everyone here for sharing such great information. We spent five days in London and had a fantastic time. I got home last night at about 8:00 EST, and when I recover from jet lag I will post my trip report. Here are a few quick items:

1. Flew overnight on American from Chicago. Flight was wonderful, and I was comfortable in coach (that being said, I'm only 5'5&quot. Actually slept a good part of the time!

2. We used justairports.com to/from Heathrow to the hotel. 28 GBP from Heathrow to the Rubens, 23 GBP back to Heathrow. Lowest prices out of all the services mentioned here. Would use them again.

3. We stayed at the Rubens Hotel. Triple room for 125 including VAT. Room was smallish, but very comfortable and quiet. Breakfast was excellent.

Thanks again!

Erin,
We will be in London in March and planned to take the tube from Heathrow and maybe car service back. The rate you were charged from JustAirports seemed fair. I checked their pricing on their website and the cash fair RT was 51#. The credit card price RT was 74#. Did you pay cash? I'm wondering if this is common to have such an exorbitant surcharge for a credit card transaction.
Also, I'm assuming that you made these arrangements prior to your trip. Were they actually waiting for you at Heathrow?
JoeG

Hi Joe- We did pay cash. I was able to buy some pounds prior to departure from the bank I work at. E-mail them with your specific information- when you arrive, where you are staying, etc. and they will provide you with a firm quote. When I e-mailed them, the cost round trip went down 5 GBP. They were waiting for us right outside the arrivals area by the Hertz rental desk. They were very prompt on both legs of the trip.

My first trip to London we took the Tube from Heathrow to our hotel. While it does save money, it took a very long time, and with jet lag it was awful- I would strongly recommend the car service both ways.

Good luck!

Erin - can't wait to read your trip report. Did you travel with spouse and child? You mentioned triple room for 125 - is that US dollars or British Pounds? I'm considering trip around Memorial Day with our 16 year old daughter. Would also fly American from Dallas - glad to hear your flight was comfortable. Did you book directly through American and did you do one of their packages?

Erin,
You convinced me to use the car service and the cash option and reliability w/justairports makes it a no brainer. Did this include tip? Probably not I'm thinking.
JoeG

Thanks for tip on just airports. I tried to book them earlier, but the transaction would not go through. I will try later. They charge, to get to Bloomsbury, 33#s. Not bad at all. Judy

Hi Paige- I was the child on this trip (at 26 years old). I went with my mother and my aunt- we travel a lot together and always have a great time. My dad, uncle, and husband all travel for work and don't enjoy traveling for pleasure, so we leave them at home and go ourselves! The rate at the Rubens was 125 GBP- not dollars, unfortunately! We booked it through londontown.com. We booked the flight seperately during a fare sale American had last September. Our next trip is tenatively scheduled for 2005- Germany, Belgium and Paris. I will probably fly Northwest then, as I live in Detroit and they have a hub here.

JoeG- The price did not include tip- that is totally up to you. From this site, I've learned that 10% is pretty standard- we did 1 GBP a bag. Its also worth mentioning that you will pay twice- at the end of each leg of the trip. We didn't have to prepay our return trip to Heathrow, which was nice.

Judyrem- The same thing happened to me the first time I tried to book. I waited a little bit and it went through no problem. Good luck!

Erin,
I just emailed a booking request to Just Airports. My wife was thrilled. This definately seems like the way to go. Thanks so much for your recommendation.
JoeG