Arriving Heathrow on 1/26/02 at 4:35. Never been to London. On advice from here, am considering the Radisson Covent Garden and a jaunt to Les Mis. Any thought on quickest way to get to this hotel? Is a taxi quicker (work would pay for it?). I would like a bit of time to prep for the show.<BR><BR>Also, what is typical theatre attire?

Hi Barry,<BR>From Heathrow the quickest way into town is the Heathrow Express. It goes from the terminals at Heathrow (123 & 4) direct to Paddington station in 15 minutes. From Paddington you can take a taxi or the underground to your hotel. Even though London is exceptionally easy to get around on the underground I would probably take the cab from Paddington. Do you have your tickets already for Les Mis? If not Les Mis is one of the plays on the list of discounted plays available on the web site of the London Theater Guide which is www.officiallondontheater.com The prices are either 10, 15 or 20 GBP. I also recommend Porters for dinner. You can do post theater dinner. They are located at 17 Henrietta St. (Covent Garden area)<BR>Theater attire should be elegant casual. A sports jacket and turtle neck is fine, or a business suit. You will see jeans though.<BR>Have a great time<BR>Cheers,<BR>Pat

At 4:35 PM , I think you best bet would be heathrow express..then you won't be contending with road traffic, then a taxi to Hotel or the tube if not loaded down with luggage..The tube will be jammed about then and I would do the taxi. <BR><BR>Theater attire goes from jeans to dress up, whatever you feel comfortable doing is right !

I wonder why those who promote the Heathrow Express fail to mention the 15 minute hike (from T3, at least) from the customs hall to the train station? Barry, on a Saturday afternoon, a taxi all the way would be pretty quick. And with the boss paying for it....

By the way, does anyone else miss the Airbus that used to run from Heathrow to the hotels in the South Kensington area for about 9lbs round trip? I believe they still go to Victoria Station, don't they?

Take a car driver pick pick up service )(we always do, you cannot beat the convenience). We've used several but the best of them is Ray Skinner's service. www.london-transfers.com It's a flat fee (as opposed to taxi) plus tip and it's door to door. No dinking around with the Heathrow Express and then a taxi, and no dragging luggage up and down stairs/escalators either.<BR><BR>We go to the theater a lot when we visit London and typical seems to be "anything" nowadays! People get all dressed up and others wear jeans. My husband usually wears dark pants, shirt & either sport jacket or sweater. A tie is not necessary at all.<BR><BR>Go with a pick up service, even if the company was not paying it's the best way to go in my opinion.

Barry: You may have a hard time making the show not matter which mode you use. It is a Saturday so that will help a little since there is less traffic. But assuming you land a 4:35, add 10 to 30 minutes taxi time, retrieving luggage and immigration another possible 45 minutes or more after a loooong walk from the gate and a similar walk to the Paddington Express. So you are much closer to 6:30 than 4:30. I'm not sure if curtain is 7:00 or 7:30 on Saturday night. But as you can see you will likely have little more than an hour at best to get to the hotel, check in, freshen up and walk to the theatre. <BR><BR>Mel: Yes, the southern Airbus service is sorely missed. It no longer goes to Victoria. The only AirBus route left is the northern one ending at Kings Cross.

Thanks for all the advice. I think I will try the Heathrow express, then a cab. I have only carry-on luggage and my hotel is only 1 block from the Palace. Curtain is at 7:30PM, so I am going to attempt to get there.

Barry, <BR><BR>definitely don't attempt the tube. You would be so jammed at that time. <BR><BR>Heathrow Exp, and then take a cab (as you have decided anyway). It may yet be a tight squeeze on time; sometimes you will get through customs v. quickly, other times - not. <BR><BR>best guess is that a 435 landing will put you out of the airport at 6, and on the Heathrow Express. <BR><BR>It could very well take at least 30 minutes or more to get to Covent Garden from there via taxi. (rush hour) (which, if you truly have little to carry, then that may actually be a small plug for the tube - crowded yes, but you could get there in 25 mins, assuming no disturbance of service). so, six of one...<BR><BR>BUT, never having been to London - splash out, take the taxi. Once you are ensconced in the hotel it's maybe a 15 min walk (if that) to Les Miz.<BR><BR>just curious - where are you coming in, from? 435 is an odd time to land, from the US?<BR><BR>Beth

Well, thanks to all with advice. I landed 15min early at Heathrow and sailed through customs. I was on the 4:45 Express and at the Mounbatten Radisson before 5:30! (via a black cab who knew all the back roads and alleys)<BR><BR>I showered, changed, called my wife, watched some tele, then walked the two blocks to the Palace for Les Mis.<BR><BR>FYI, Beth, I was actually coming in from Tokyo on BA flight 8. I have been in Switzerland and France since London. Germany this week-end, then home. Round the world in 16 days!!