Chels

Hi,

I will be in London for 2 nights, arriving at 8:00 a.m., and departing at 8 a.m. 2 days later. With the limited time, and early international departure, I was thinking of staying either at a Heathrow airport hotel or at the Paddington Hilton for convenience (Heathrow Express train).

Any suggestions? Am I placing too much importance on our early departure? Should I stay closer to the city center? Any ideas are appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Chels

janis

I usually don't like staying in Paddington because other areas are more "homey". But in your situation it makes a lot of sense. It is certainly more practical than staying out at LHR and commuting in to/out of the city 1 or more times each day.

The Paddington Express only takes 15 mins. and you can catch early enough to make your flight.

Paddington is not in the center of things, but 4 tube lines cross there and you can always catch a cab. You can be almost everywhere in the city in 15 - 30 minutes.

kcw214

I just spent a night at the London Hilton Paddington, and while it was not as well located as our first hotel in London which was in South Kensington(we bookended a Scottish vacation with a few days in London) it was very convenient for the planes. It's a very nice hotel, and very comfortable. You can also check in for your flight at Paddington Station for many airlines, adding to the convenience.

Chels

Thank you - I have decided to stay at the Paddington hotel.

AR

Hi Chels
I think that you are quite right to have chosen the Paddington hotel. As has been pointed out before, this area is not exactly the best and can seem downright seedy. That said, the Heathrow airport hotels are functional for the airport but little else. They are not convenient for travel into the city and even the shuttle bus to the airport is charged (they used to be free).
As you have chosen to stay in London itself, does it really have to be Paddington? I know that you will have an early start to get back to Heathrow, but at that time in the morning a taxi wouldn't take long from a hotel in a better area.

Chels

AR,

I am not limited to the Paddington area. I was concerned with the early morning departure, and the idea that a cab could take about an hour to the airport in the morning. Since our visit is short, I believe we will not be in the hotel the majority of the time.

However, I welcome any suggestion you may have regarding other hotels.

Thanks.
Chels

kcw214

Honestly, the area around the hotel is really not that seedy at all, it's just not quite as charming as some other areas, and it's literally right at the tube, so access to other areas is very easy. The hotel itself is very nice.

bettyk

Chels, for an 8 AM flight out of Heathrow, you should be at the airport no later than 6 AM if it's an international flight. If you want to stay in a more centrally located hotel, Ray Skinner's London Transfers charges 34 pounds for up to 3 people to go to Heathrow. He will pick you up at your hotel and, at that time of morning, you shouldn't have much problem at all with traffic. Ray got us to Gatwick in the pouring rain in under 45 minutes. I imagine the trip to Heathrow is quicker.

flanneruk

This is close to a no-brainer.

The Pad Hilton is fine. And it's 15.5 mins from the airport. So that means no hauling of bags from train to tube/cab to hotel and vv. 30 secs after the train arrives, you're in the hotel. Possibly checking in: at least dumping your bags and getting on with the reasons you've come here.

You're a 3 minute walk from Hyde Park etc. 3 mins (if you follow the difficult to find signs), through the station, to the Regent's Canal.

The area in front of the hotel could do with a coat of paint, and a bit less litter. So can all of London.

Confirm your booking at the Pad Hilton, and use your mental energy to decide what you want to do with your 2 days.

Personally I'd pay tens of pounds extra a night for the convenience of not having to lug bags around. But don't let the hotel hear that, or they'll stsart getting above their station.

AR

Sorry Chels, I meant that you could get a taxi to Paddington station in a few minutes, not Heathrow.
It's just that my opinion of the area may have been blighted by memories of leaving the Paddington campus of the University of Westminster (or Polytechnic of Central London as it was) in the dark winter evenings! Mind you, that was in the days when our then Chancellor of the Exchechor (Norman Lamont) was a regular at a local "masseur" in Paddington. Nice.

flanneruk

Incidentally, today is the 75th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin.

Relevant? Couldn't be more so.

Penicillin - the precursor of all antibiotics - was discovered by chance when Alexander Fleming examined a mould growth that had wafted in from outside.

His lab was - and is - next door to the Pad Hilton.

Had the Paddington area been just a tad more like a Swiss pharmacy, many of us wouldn't be here today.

Paddington's seediness saved more lives than any other invention of the 20th century.

Worth remembering next time you curse the Big Mac wrapping paper.

AR

Did you know, flanneruk, that Fleming took the glory for other people's work as the petri dishes were not his and neither was the project? Typical Phd graduate - the bane of my life!
To the area's credit, Princess Diana saw fit to have Princes William and Harry at St Mary's Hospital.