We will have an overnight stay at Heathrow, arriving from Nice around 5 p.m. and flying out to the U.S. the following morning early. After reading about the difficulty in getting cab drivers to go to locations near the airport (and greatly desirous of not using the Hoppa bus), I wonder whether it would work to rent a small car for $69 instead to get us to our hotel and then out for dinner.

Ideas?

Where's your hotel. If it's in Windsor there is a local bus from the airport. You could spend the rest of the day in Windsor or take the train into London for some dinner and nightlife. Also no problemgetting a taxi to take you to Windsor, I've never been refused.

A taxi will take you to Hounslow from LHR, for example to the Continental Hotel and from there it is possible to take the tube to where ever for dinner. Taxi costs around £15

We will be staying at the airport Novotel and just want to go out for dinner and have an early night. We've had trouble before getting a taxi to take us to an airport hotel, hence my concern. We'll have too much luggage to take the bus (lots of Christmas gifts to bring ack).

All car rental lots at Heathrow are off-site and you have to take the rental companies' shuttle buses from the terminal and back to it the next day. I can't see how this would be any advantage over the Hoppa buses.

that would soooooo hugely be a hassle - not even worth considering.

Some cabbies may sniff about a 3 mile cab ride when they are expecting a £50 fare into central London - but they will take you.

By the time you got to a car depot desk and arranged for the car, you could have been to your hotel and back 3 or 4 times.

just take the Hoppa or a cab. You can easily get a taxi from your hotel if you want to go out later . . . . . .

With an arrival time of 5 p.m., and considering the amount of time involved in not only going through passport control but in getting to/from rental lots, not to mention the paper work to deal with, and having to repeat the process with an early departure seems like a hassel to me. A taxi would,IMO, be your quickest and cheapest option. I've never encountered a problem with getting a taxi and a pleasant driver to take me to any airport hotel and that includes the Novotel.

I suggest you opt for a taxi,drop your luggage off at your hotel, freshen up a bit and have the concierge call a taxi for you when you go out for dinner. If you're worried about getting a taxi back to the Novotel, just pre-book.

Thanks...excellent advice. I'm just nervous about having trouble with a cab to the hotel the first time around.

As far as taxi drivers being snippy about a short fare, it's always possible, but a taxi can get to almost any LHR hotel and back in the queue in less than 20 minutes, making about the same amount over a similar time period as they would from LHR to London centre. In addition people usually tip well feeling a bit quilty about their short trip. If you do run into a snippy driver, my suggestion would be to not even bother with a tip. However, I don't think you'll encounter any problems.

We went from Terminal 4 to Novotel. Took a taxi from the taxi line outside the terminal. No problem, no fuss. Would you consider having dinner at the hotel, which would simplify things? Or, you could have it at the airport before going to the hotel.