London layover-hotel and dinner recommendations?
 

My husband and I are going to Greece in June. We are flying from LAX, arriving at LHR at 3pm. We don’t fly out to Athens until 9pm. We will have a total of 6 hours. I have never been to London so I’d like to hear from those familiar with the area if it is feasible to get into town and spend some time there, maybe just having a nice dinner and some place to walk around? If so, what area...and do you have any restaurant recommendations?

Also, when we leave Athens we arrive back in London at 9pm where we will spend the night because our flight back to LA doesn’t leave until 11:30am the next day. Any suggestions for a hotel that is conveniently located?

It's not as much time as you think.

You will need to go through immigration and customs - hard to predict but 1 hour from the time the doors open until you get spit out of customs area would be a good guess. If you have any "serious" carry on then perhaps you should leave it at the "left luggage". It costs and it will add extra time.

Walk to, and wait for, Heathrow Express(the only logical choice with your time frame) - another 30 minutes

Train ride - 15 minutes (expensive), make sure you buy r/t as I believe it will save few BPs. (28BPs for a R/T per person or ~$60US.

So, with arrival time at the Paddington station around 5pm it leaves you ~2 hours to find a place, have dinner and walk around.

Don't forget, the HX is expensive, and especially so if it gives you 2 hours in central London. You won't have a chance to see very much. Paddington station is little out of the way for most tourist stuff.

www.heathrowexpress.com

Get back to Heathrow ~7pm, and at Heathrow no later than 7:30pm. The security can be a PITA. You should be at the gate no later than ~45 minutes before the flight.

To be honest, I would not do it if I didn't have a specific place in mind and if I didn't know that part of London. It's a safe neighborhood but not very exciting. It is within walking distance to Hyde Park but again, everything takes time.

I meant "get back to Paddington station ~7pm" The trains run every 15 minutes, :10, :25, :40 and :55.

Like AAFF said, 6 hours is not that much time in LHR for connection. You probably will be tired too by the time you land in LHR at 3pm. I suggest you just hang out at the airport. Plenty of eateries to choose from and plenty of shops too.

On your return, even though your flight back to the US leaves at 11:30am, you need to check-in by 9 the latest. I'd suggest you just book a room at an airport hotel and spend the night there. There are plenty of hotels nearby LHR. I recently stayed at the Holiday Inn M4 Jct 4 which is quite nice. I got the room for $78 all-in via Priceline.

Just as an example, last week, it took 2 HOURS to go thru security at Gatwick. Granted that it was in the AM but I wouldn't chance it as LHR is even busier.

Thank you, that's just the kind of information I was looking for. Love the details! I had a feeling we'd be at just about 2 hours for dinner, which is doable. But while it seems to be a PITA getting to dinner, sitting in the airport for all that time is also. We haven't been to London "yet" and we were hoping to get even a little taste of it. We are pretty good about navigating ourselves around a foreign city as we always do independant travel so maybe if I have it all planned out ahead of time we can manage if this is what we decide to do. We will each have one small roller bag and me with a purse.

You say the train is the only logical choice. Is the traffic so sucky that a driver who can take us to a more interesting part of town is out of the question?

Another thing to consider. If you are flying BA, you will be using the new terminal 5 which none of us had any experience with as it won't be opening for another couple of weeks or so.

Locals may chime in here and explain the transportation system to central London from the new terminal but everything will only be a guess as I'm sure there will be some growing pains. It happens to every new terminal/airport.

If you're flying a combo of AA/BA then it makes it even more difficult as you will arrive in terminal 3 and depart from terminal 5. The connection time won't allow you to leave your carry ons in either terminal, so you will have to be resigned to take it with you on your short visit to London.

yk-I don't think we'll be tired, more likely antsy. We leave LA at 8:30 at night and will most likely sleep on the way over. I agree that an airport hotel is probably best for our return. But I have never had to check in 2.5 hours before a flight. Is it different in London than other airports? Even the 2 hours that most airlines recommend for international flights leave me sitting around for an hour.

AA-Thanks for the terminal info, I was actually wondering about that. Yes, I am flying AA/BA combo, using advantage miles actually.

I guess I could have stuck with the LAX/JFK/LHR that got into London 3.5 hours earlier....but figured a direct flight would be easier.

Taxi, private car service is possible, but you have to realize that it will be the heaviest traffic time. Just like any other big city the traffic in London between 4-7pm is not something you want to deal with. btw, taxi will cost you ~100BPs or ~$200US for a r/t. Private car will be less but again, the traffic will be the same for both.

The 2 terminals are miles apart....

Is the traffic bad on a Saturday evening? We will be arriving there June 7th.

&quot;<i> I had a feeling we'd be at just about 2 hours for dinner, which is doable</i>&quot; AA's info does not mean you will have 2 hrs for dinner. You would (if everything goes like clock work) have 2 hours to get to someplace nice - count at least 15 minutes to queue for a taxi at Paddington and get to somewhere near the river or in the west end. Then find a place to eat and another 15-20 mins to get back to Paddington.

So you will not have 2 hours for dinner - you will realistically have about 60-75 minutes - which is not much time for all the hassle.

And don't even think of a car service/taxi - LHR is 18+ miles outside of central London. Basically, any mode of transport will take about an hour each way. Walk to the HEX + Taxi from Paddington, or walk to the Underground station and taking the tube, or a car service/taxi.

You really do not have time to have a leisurely dinner - maybe a quick bite. Do not underestimate the effects of jet lag - are you flying coach? If so, don't count on sleeping much. Bur if in First or Business you do have some chance.

We are all different of course, personally with only 6 hours I would not risk the trip into London. I have had several bad experiences at Heathrow due to the strict security issues - one of which being that my plane was late arriving and since I actually did not arrive at Heathrow the full 2 hours before my connecting flight I was not allowed to board the Virgin flight to Newark - which did not leave for another 1 1/2 hours! Actually ended up spending the night in London.

Another time I missed a connection because the intermediate security line took over 2 hours.

Anyway, good luck with that!

What I can tell you is that there is a decent Holiday Inn close to Heathrow. Very easy with the hotel shuttle bus.

To summerize...

are you willing to spend all that cash for as <b>janisj</b> calls a &quot;quick bite&quot;? Chances are that unless you know of some fantastic place, that makes it worthwhile, and you know how to get there quickly, you will spend $200-$300 for pub food by the time you're done, regardless which mode of transportation you take.

The new terminal 5 plans on having some wonderful restaurants, great (expensive) shopping. Spend the money there.

If you or your husband have OW Sapphire or Emerald status you will be able to use the new BA business or first class clubs, a treat on it's own.

If the 2 of you are the energetic types, try London late at night on your return. Check into your hotel by 10-10:30, arrange a taxi, get to the city around 11-11:30pm. Get back to the hotel around 3-4am, have few hours of sleep and catch your morning flight to Los Angeles. For international flights with checked luggage you need to be checked in no later than 1 hour, but that means &quot;checked in&quot;, not standing in line. Unfortunately the security is always a hassle when flying to US as they do 1 or 2 personal interviews and of course the regular TSA type security. If flying coach I would get to LHR no later than 9:30am.

At least you won't have to worry about the taxi getting you back on time to your hotel the evening/morning before because even if something big happens on the road you will have hours before your flight home.

It might just be possible,but I certainly wouldn't try it.

There are several nice hotels with reasonable restaurants at/near the airport. What about trying one of them? At least you'd have plenty of time for drinks and dinner without the worry of making your flight.

I will take your advice and not try to venture out on our trip over. But I had wondered about going out at night on our way back. We ARE very active people and can handle a late night if it means its the only way for us to see a bit of London. Any suggestions of where to go? Any chance that we'd find some live music at that hour?

I'd second the above suggestion - maybe Henley's restaurant at the Radisson. Or even better - check in and get some room service ;)

Dear Loves2Sing - you need to keep in mind that London is 723 square miles of city, with historical sites and restaurants all over that footprint. Just to give you an idea of its size, NYC is only 23 square miles - a drop in London's bucket. As a frequent traveler both to and through London (averaging 6 times a year), I couldn't concur more with a previous poster: two hours, even only for dinner, isn't nearly enough time, and your stated desire was to &quot;see&quot; something of London, having not been there yet. The Heathrow Express is the fastest way to get in to Central London, but it leaves you at Paddington, after spending roughly %60 pp to get there, which is on the other side of Hyde Park, so you'll need an expensive taxi ride - probably $20 - to get to some place to eat. If it were me, and I were willing to spend not only the $140 to get in to London for a fairly quick dinner but the price of a dinner in London, which will be over $100 with a glass of wine each since our dollar is in the toilet, I'd look into paying a change fee on my tickets to London or on the way back from Greece and pop for an overnight stay and at least a prayer of seeing something. The fact that you are experienced in making your way around cities you've never seen before doesn't really apply in one as large as London. You'd be much better served, assuming you don't choose to change your outbound or inbound flights, by getting a &quot;day room&quot; at one of the on site hotels, grabbing a rest and a shower and light dinner, then boarding your onward flight.

Thanks sandra, I appreciate your input.

loves2sing,

No, 2-1/2 hours is not unusual for checking in at a major European airport. Most of us advise 3 hours in advance for Paris's Charles de Gaulle. LHR suffers from overcrowding, and CDG from poor design. So don't take a chance and cut the check-in-time; you can check your airline's web site for advice nearer to the time.

About the 6 hour trip into London

1.This is not the time to make any assumptions about what teething problems the (then 3 month old T5) will be having. In fact, now is not the time to make any decisions about all this

2. But the most likely T5 problems will be delayed flights (which means you might have more time than you think) or baggage handling (which mean that you migght want to try to do all this with carry-on, so if there ARE T5 baggage probs, it's probably impossible to go into London.) The Heathrow Express is the LEAST likely thing to go wrong: it's hardly ever done so in all its years of service

3. On a Saturday afternoon, the walk from T3 Customs exit to the HEX station, plus an average 7.5 min wait, plus thge trip into town, plus the time to walk to the cab rank and get a cab to Parliament Square, will take 52 minutes. In reverse, to T5, about 55. Virtually certain. No other way of getting there is as fast or as reliable. Saturday early evening traffic can be awful.

4. If you had bags to check in at T5 on BA, you'd probably need to do so 45 mins before takeoff if you'd checked in online beforehand. Check what it says on your booking record, since they may have longer cutoff times during the teething period at T5 - but this nonsense about 2 hours is total crap. It may be necessary on steam-age airlines that don't do online checkin outside their own country. But BA's not one of those.

So it's perfectly possible to go into town, get a cab to the stuff, walk around and get back to catch your flight. I'd forget eating: there's hardly anywhere decent open as early as you're planning, since you're going to need to start making your way back not much later than 1900. And why would anyone eat dinner at 1800?

All this is possible, though, only if your incoming flight's on time and you get through immigration promptly: presumably you'll check your bags through, so you won't need to wait for the bags to arrive (a problem at T3), and Customs is a non-issue here anyway. If the flight's late, stay at the airport, getting the airside bus to T5 and eating at Mr Ramsay's new place. If the immigration queue's too long, ditto. If, after going through immigration the timing looks too tight, just walk to the railway station and get the free train to T5.

There are other options - like prebooking a car to take you to Windsor. But most of them don't let you abort if you're delayed.

Me? In your shoes, I'd get the Heathrow Connect to Southall, look at the amazing Sikh temple, have a nice Punjabi meal ((about as close to our national food as you'll find) then come back to T5. But that might not reflect your ideas about London.

What I certainly wouldn't do in a million years is assume now I have to spend those six hours cooped up in a bloody airport.

Because, unless you're unlucky, you won't have to - and you won't know whether you're unlucky till you're off the AA plane and have got to the immigration desk.

flanneruk - You make total sense! I will keep my plans open and play it by ear. If all else fails, I will check out Ramsay's place, love him!

I live near LA and while I realize not all airports are the same, it's hard for me to imagine telling someone with six hours that they wouldn't have time to fit in a short trip out to Manhatten Beach for a nice dinner if it were the only time they had to see a bit of the coast in California. But I recognize that it might not be the same thing in other areas.

Could I expect to check my luggage from LAX on American, then all the way through to Athens on BA?

You are comparing LAX w/ LHR? And London w/ a tiny slice of west Los Angeles? :D

(Manhattan Beach is less than 5 miles straight down the road from LAX)

Yes, I know Manhattan Beach is only 5 miles from the airport, my best friend lives there and she is not only the one who drops us off at LAX but she also babysits my precious 3 lb puppy...sweet Isabella. (sorry, she is sitting here staring at me wanted me to mention her...the dog that is). I know that LA is about half the size of London but that's exactly why I asked on here about getting to London because admittedly I don't know squat about London.

I re-read the whole thread and I don't think anybody said that it can't be done. All we said was that it will cost you $200-300 for what will be around 2 hours in London and without knowledge of the city and good places to eat and how to get there, you'll end up in some pub.

1. The Heathrow Express = ~$120 R/T for both

2. If you decide to take a taxi to some specific place from Paddington station = ~$20-30

3. If it's a nice place = ~$100 for both

If that's what you want then by all means go, but I guarantee you won't be seeing much of London in the 2 hours.

I believe that's what most here are saying.

btw, your luggage will be checked all the way through, but as I already said, you will need to drag your carry ons with you as it will be impossible to leave it at the airport since you will arrive in term 3 and depart from terminal 5.

Good luck and have a great trip!

I realize no one said it can't be done and I really do appreciate all the detailed information. And I totally see your point of not wanting to spend a fortune and hassle just to have dinner outside of the airport. I also realize we wouldn't see much of London which is what I meant by my mentioning Manhattan Beach, not so much for comparison as if the two were similar. Manhatten Beach isn't seeing much of LA either, but it does give you a taste of California if you've never been, and its something to do to get out of the airport for awhile. I suppose if someone wanted to see the Hollywood sign in the middle of rush hour I might suggest otherwise. My point was only to show where my head was at...thinking there must be something I can do in that timeframe. So while I don't expect to see much of the London sights, I was hoping to get out and stroll around and at this point hopping into a pub sounds pretty good :)

I really think you need to get Manhattan Beach out of your mind. You can get from LAX to MB and back in no time (except during rush hour and even then it doesn't take long). It is just no comparison.

Go ahead - London is calling you :) But be prepared for some headaches. Like lugging your carry-ons in to town and to whichever pub/restaurant you find. Are you going to be dressed for the weather London may throw at you? And finally - if you miss your flight they will not put you in the next one. Since it is just a connection you will have no rights if you leave the airport and are late getting back.

Again as I said, I wasn't comparing MB to London or even LA to London. I was just wondering if there was some place like that, as in as easy to get to, that we could do during our layover. Many cities have someplace nearby with easy access and was hoping to find that also to be the case in London. However, I already conceded that if its going to eat up 2 hours both ways, and cost $300 then obviously it's not worth it so please don't feel like I'm not appreciative of all the wonderful advice. But as flanneruk mentioned, I will just cross that bridge depending on how things go once we're there. But I won't have any carry-ons unless you count my purse.

Curious, what would one need to be wearing in London, in June, in the evening to be prepared for whatever the weather throws at us?

The part I'm suspicious about is the alleged landing at 3 PM. I'd take that to mean you'd be lucky to get out of Heathrow by 4:30 or 5, although I'm sure other people have different experiences.

Flanneruk's idea of going to Southall sounds as good as any, if you are lucky enough to get an expeditious exit from the airport.

&quot;<i>what would one need to be wearing in London, in June, in the evening to be prepared for whatever the weather throws at us?</i>&quot; That is just it - you cannot have any idea. It could be pouring down, blustery, warm/muggy, clear and beautiful - or downright miserable.

Curious - you do not use a carry on?? And you are relying in BA to get your luggage to Athens on the same day as you?

No joke - a few months ago BA actually sent thousands of pieces of luggage from LHR to Milan to have it sorted and returned to the UK to be reunited w/ the owners.

Suspicious? Alleged? Wow, you're good. How'd you find me out? I confess, it's actually a 2:50pm landing.

I only carry on if I am going direct. If I have to spend any time in an airport for transfers I usually check because I don't like schleping it around. I don't carry on anything more than my purse that holds my makeup and a few basic essentials in case I'm stuck somewhere.

So does this mean the short shorts, flip flops and halter top are out? :-&gt; I'm sure if the weather is bad my plans (or no plan) can be adjusted.

I'm sure there are lots of horror stories about lost luggage but in all the years I've traveled, its never happened to me. I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones....or blessed. ((A))

Loves2sing: I'm laughing a bit because you sound just as head strong as me! Many of us would suggest that you not try to do the dinner thing with only 6 hours - you did ask after all.

I can tell however that you will most likely give it a try - please do come back to this posting and let us know if you did and how you managed. I too hate the long waits and like to take chances, so am very interested in if it will be a satisfying outing for you.

Either way, have fun in Greece - we actually just returned from Athens on Tuesday.

Lily, if I DO venture out in shorts and tank top, I will certainly let you know how it went....but only if I'm wearing white athletic shoes ;)

Sorry, just been reading too many posts, lol.

Lily - I meant to ask, where did you go in Greece? How long were you there?

&quot;Alleged landing&quot; was not meant to indicate that you were not telling the truth. It means that any stated landing time at Heathrow must be taken with huge grains of salt.

I know WillTravel, I was just playing on your words. ;)

Why not visit Windsor, of one of the towns along the Thames. It's June, it will be light till late, you can find a nice pub or other place to have dinner outside. Perhaps Marlow, or Bray. It would probably be more relaxed than dashing into London, and you will still get a taste of England, if not London. It's a long time since I was there, but there is the Compleat Angler in Marlow, the French Horn in Sonning. It's probably too early to eat at the Waterside Inn, but I would book an early dinner somewhere along the Thames. If the weather cooperates, that would be very pleasant if you have just flown in from LA.

Tulips, you give some great suggestions! I will certainly look into those places.