Hi, what is the best way (by train) from London Heathrow to the Royal Horseguards Thistle Hotel?

Also, our flight out of London will be from Stansted (easyjet). We are planning to take the Stansted Express 2 hrs before our flight - is that enough time to reach the airport and checkin?

Thanks in advance!

If you plan to take the train there is only one from Heathrow into London - the Heathrow Express which takes you to Paddington Station, from there you can take a taxi to the RHT Hotel, or take the Tube - the Bakerloo (brown) line goes directly from Padddington to Charing Cross, the nearest Tube Station to the RHT.

Or if by "train" you mean the Tube all the way, take the Picadilly line (blue) from Heathrow to Picadilly Circus, then transfer to the Bakerloo line to Charing Cross which is ony one stop away. (Be sure and check out the London transport site at http://www.londontransport.co.uk/tube/ for maps & info.)

I haven't used Stansted airport myself but if you are traveling international I think you would be safer to plan more than 2 hours just in case, if you're traveling within the UK two hours may be enough time barring unforseen delays.

The stansted express takes 50 minutes. What's more, trains go either every 15 mins, or even every 30 mins, depending on when you go, so plane your train time in advance.
http://www.stanstedexpress.com/

The Stansted Express goes from Liverpool Street Station - a fair trek from your hotel by tube or taxi, so leave plenty of time to get there.

You will need to be at the airport 2 hours in advance, mainly because Stansted is an overcrowded airport that caters for scores of budget flights, and queues can be long.

Daisy54 - thanks for pointing out the 2 options we can take from Heathrow to the hotel. Hubby and I are arriving at 5:55am (a Monday), and will have 2 small rolling suitcases, so I'm thinking it will be easy enough for us to just take the Tube, instead of the Heathrow Express. Or is the Heathrow Express worth the cost (in terms of less crowds, less stress, etc, considering the time/day we are arriving?)

Kate, thanks for the Stansted tips. We will plan accordingly - looks like we need more than 2 hrs because of the queues. We're flying out on Amsterdam on easyjet.

Last December, I made the trip from Heathrow to Royal Horseguards Thistle by tube, it would be easier to take Piccadilly Line to Hammersmith, then walk few yards across the platform (no stairs), change to District Line, off at Embankment, walk few stairs up to street level, the hotel is less than 3 minutes walk from the tube station. Normally, the trip takes about 50 minutes.

Royal Horseguards Thistle is quite nice, enjoy the stay.

If you opt for the tube (it would be my choice because you will be travelling before the busiest part of the commute) - DEFINITELY follow JudyC's advice. Changing lines at Hammersmith is much easier than at Piccadilly Circus.

JudyC, Janis - thanks much for the tip on Hammersmith. It's good to know that it won't be too crowded yet at that time of day.

Any suggestions on the Tube route from Royal Horseguards to Liverpool Street?

jmoy, From Embankment, take an eastbound train on the District or Circle line to Monument. Change to the Central line and it's one stop to Liverpool St. Station.

That's quite a hike inside the station if you have luggage - basically you're going down several escalators, walking about a hundred yards, up two escalators and up and down two flights of about 20 stairs in all.

Assuming the Circle Line is not back in service when you're visiting (when it would go direct from Embankment to Liverpool St), then there could be a case for splurging on a taxi, or if don't have a lot of bulky luggage, you could take the 11 or 23 bus on the Strand all the way to Liverpool St.

Thanks obxgirl, PatrickLondon!

We won't have any bulky luggages so it'll be easy to take the bus or walk inside the station to make the Tube connection(s). 'Will be in London 9/5 to 9/10 - will keep an eye out for the Circle Line as well.