12 hour layover in London

Arriving that late at night, a quick visit inside the city wouldn’t be very productive, as museums are closed, and pubs and restaurants will be shutting down. If you had 12 hours during the daytime, there might be reasons you could attempt a quick visit, but late night would require lots of effort for little return.

I’d want to be closer to Heathrow for the night, rather than staying closer to Gatwick, or someplace in-between, then trying to get to Heathrow that morning. That’s too bad, as Yotel closed their micro hotel inside Heathrow, although they still have their location inside the Gatwick airport.

From which terminal at Heathrow are you departing in the morning? That might help determine what lodging you’d want to consider. The National Express bus runs between the two airports, taking about an hour. Late at night, there’s a bus (“coach” to Brits) departing from Gatwick at 10:40 or 10:45 PM, then next at 11:05 PM, then at 11:45, but then not again until 1:00 in the morning. There are private transfer services, at a higher price.

Thanks for the info, Hopefully I will arrive in time to catch one of those buses. I leave from Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

I agree with Cyn. Stay as close to Terminal 5 as possible. Looks like Sofitel is the one. Even if you are dragging yourself to the hotel after midnight, you'll be a lot happier in the morning to only have to walk through security.

You could alternately stay in Central London. There are trains until 0040 then hourly all night to Bedford calling at St Pancras. So if you found a hotel at Kings Cross/St Pancras then early train/tube next day to Heathrow.

Another option

My goal would be to get as close to Heathrow as I could the night before. National Express Buses go between the two airports. It is a late night, but your traffic worries will be gone and less stress in the morning. Sofitel at terminal 5 is nice, but can be pricey. Also consider hotels at the other terminals and short transfer in am.

Thanks all for the quick and helpful responses. I've booked a hotel at Heathrow near Terminals 2/3 and it looks like I can use Hotel Hoppa to get from there to Terminal 5 in the morning.

If you don't mind us asking, which hotel did you book? Is it actually on the airport grounds or off?

I booked the Holiday Inn London Heathrow - Bath. I thought they had a hotel shuttle of their own, but I just got a message to use either Hoppa or public buses.

By public bus you would use bus U3 (which starts at 0352) to the Central Bus station, then free inter terminal train or tube.
The U3 is every 20 minutes to 0540 then every 15 minutes.
The last U3 on Sunday night from Heathrow is at 0020 Monday morning.