General Touring Questions for London: Airport Transport, Water Bottles, & Premier Inn

The Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to Liverpool St.Station (or Whitechapel) will get you closer to your Premier Inn than the Tube to Moorgate will.

https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/elizabeth-line

Liverpool St. is 0.8 miles away and Whitechapel is 0.7 miles, according to the Google maps walking directions. I don’t know which would be the better walk, though. Or maybe take a taxi from Liverpool St Station, but I don’t know it they can fit 5 people. Maybe one rides the taxi with all the luggage and the rest walk?

Friday morning will be busy as you get into central London.

I would take the Tube from Heathrow to Hammersmith, change to the District Line and take an eastbound Tube all the way to Aldgate East; quite straightforward and the cheapest.

question 1. Youi will be after the rush hour by the time you get in to London. What do you intend to do with your luggage? Premier Inns don't usually allow early check in. I'd use the Tube - Piccadilly Line from Heathrow, change at to District Line at Barons Court - an absolutely trivial change which involves walking from where you get off just to the other side of the platform to get on the District line train. Either get off at Tower Hill an walk with the Tower of London behind you for a short walk or hop off at an intermediate station, wait a couple of minutes for a yellow Circle Line train and get off at Aldgate for a bit shorter walk. But as I said they won't let you check in that early.

question 2. Have a look at the photos on the webpage for the branch you are using. https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/london-city-aldgate.html Look at all photos. Photo number 8 shows one push dispenser in the bath/shower and one push dispenser at the sink. So for your questions "toiletries for us like American hotels" I haven't been in an American hotel for over 30 years but: "Shampoo, Conditioner, Soap & Lotion" this is not a 4 star hotel. No (combined), No, Yes (combined), No, and at the sink, yes = soap. Then keep looking at the pictures, 14 and 15 show Yes, No, Yes, No on the Premier Plus category.

question 3. maybe. after all the activist vandalism in museums this year they may well not. Possibly churches. Which sites? If empty maybe. Get the Refill App. It will show you where the nearest free water is. Often coffee shops and counter culture shops. Also get the Flush app for the later consequences.

question 4. I never make reservations but I don't travel with 5 so maybe - 5 is a big table. But I don't eat posh. Depends on where you are going.

Thursday is the new Friday; Friday is now Friday lite.

From Heathrow: The train and tube will probably be quicker than a taxi as you’re on the other side of London. You can either walk the 15 minutes from Liverpool Street or continue to Whitechapel and change to the Hammersmith and city for 1 stop. Price wise there may not be much in it so it’s up to you really. No right or wrong answer here. Edit: just seen you’re 5 people so would actually need 2 standard taxis pushing the price up considerably.

Premier Inns have shower gel and hand soap only. No other toiletries. It’s a budget brand.

There are some places to refill bottles, usually in museums and places like that. No problem taking them anywhere.

Dinners: dining out and budget don’t go that well together in London. Best bets are chain places like Nandos, Wagamama, Pizza Express etc. Pubs can do some decent priced meals. Booking- Nandos and Wagamama don’t take bookings, you will need to book if you want to get into Pizza Express in central London in a lot of cases. I was pretty shocked they were full for Saturday lunch at the Leadenhall Market branch 2 weeks ahead recently. If you want to go to a ‘proper’ restaurant in central London then I would definitely recommend booking.

We too are budget minded, but there are some things for which pending extra makes a lot of sense. Private transportation for your group from the airport to the hotel is one. You will be tired, sleepy, jet lagged, and on unfamilar ground. Under those circumstances, nothing is better than having a driver meet you inside the terminal, wisk you to a vehical, and hand deliver you to the hotel. Trust me on that. Yes, traffic may be a heavy and slow, but if you are paying a fixed rate and can't check in early, then it's not really a problem. Just food for thought.

Aldgate East is certainly the closest station. Picc Line to Hammersmith or Barons Court, it matters not which, cross platform change to the district line to Barking or Upminster.
A normal Zone 6 to 1 tube fare of £5.50

Premier Inn advertises that early check in is £10. Barons Court is probably one of the easiest stations of them all for changing tube trains.

Premier Inns will probably store your luggage for you. They have for me. No charge.

PS- I'm in a PI tonight. I've got full size bottles of Baylis and Harding (a decent brand) hand wash and body wash/shampoo. A typically this one has a little shop for other toilerties, profits from which go to Charity. In London you'll have no lack of stores very close to get your own toiletries.

Everyone else has answered most of your questions beautifully, so I’ll just chime in about your last one. I went to London with two teens last month. Don’t underestimate the value of getting dinner from a grocery store a couple of nights. Some nights you are just tired, and the last thing you (or the kids) want to do is eat a sit down dinner. There are places like Marks & Spencer Simply Food where they have heat & eat gourmet entrées.

Will we generally be okay without reservations, or should I be booking dinners for every night?

I would make reservations for fancy or very popular places but you probably will be able to find a lot that do not need booking early. One thing - every Premier Inn I've stayed at (3) has had a restaurant as part of the facilities or next to the hotel. So you should usually be able to find something there if you don't feel like going out.

Also, FWIW, the Premier Inn does charge for breakfast, but the prices are reasonable and you can choose between the lower-priced continental breakfast or the higher-priced (€2 more) cooked breakfast. I was able to fill up quite well with the continental.

Okay, thanks everyone.

I was definitely counting on being able to drop our bags at Premier Inn the morning we arrive (I assumed we wouldn't be able to check in yet, although we do have an unreasonably high number of rooms (3) since my kids are all 16+ (literally just turned 16 also so that was a bit of a disappointment)). But normally if we arrive early in a city, we just leave our bags at the hotel, and they've been able to accommodate that, so I'll hope for that again. I don't really have a Plan B for our bags, so we'll just roll with it, I guess. I'm assuming our hotel could at least offer some suggestions if we're stuck.

For transportation from the airport, I priced out a private car/van that can hold five (not a taxi service) with all our luggage. Thank you for the Tube information, and I think I'll talk this one through with my husband since there are varying levels of advice on this.

Sounds like we may have a few toiletries, but not many. I'll just pack some travel-sized bottles and if we need to purchase anything we will, but I have loads of travel-sized toiletries already, so I'll just plan on using up those as we move through our different cities. I did pre-purchase breakfasts for all five of us (again, just missing the cutoff for free breakfasts for the kids - if anyone reading this is considering a trip to Europe with teens, go before they are 15 or for sure before age 16 if you can and you will save a ton) for the entirety of our stay, so we should be good there.

Based on your feedback, I think I'll avoid dinner reservations except for our theater night. We're fine with "fast casual" places - just hoping for a place to sit. If that doesn't go well for us, maybe I'll add a reservation or two. And I'll still think about the water bottle situation. I am concerned that it will be very hot, and we're going to be walking a lot, so hydration is important to me and I hate the idea of going through multiple plastic disposable bottles daily.

Thanks everyone!

Plan B for your bags would be leave them at a main line railway station. Victoria is on line of route and very central to return to. Liverpool Street is on the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow, and is one stop from Aldgate tube (not the same as Aldgate East, it's on the Metropolitan line) or indeed from Aldgate East. The hotel is barely further from Aldgate than from Aldgate East.

I've stayed in a bunch of Premier Inns--close to 10, I believe. I've never had a problem dropping off bags before check-in time and leaving bags after check-out time. One of the PIs (pre-pandemic) charged for storage; it was probably 1 or 2 GBP per bag, and the money went to charity. I haven't encountered that recently.

I'd be shocked if you had to look elsewhere for luggage storage, but it's always a good idea to figure out ahead of time what to do if a specific problem crops up, so I'd suggest checking on availability of storage options in the area around the hotel, just in case.

I am an absolute zombie when I land in Europe after an overnight flight, but I've never been tempted to take anything other than public transportation into the city. I have far better things to do with $50 or $100 than hand it to a taxi or limo company. Signage in Underground stations is very good, and you won't be dealing with a foreign language. You're a party of 5, all essentially grown-ups, so you really shouldn't have significant navigational difficulties. You're traveling light, so if you end up not taking the optimum exit from the station where you end up (I've done that often enough) and have to walk an extra block or two, it's not going to be a problem.

Water bottles: I think they may be more problematic in art museums than in historical museums, but it does vary from museum to museum. There are places where, if they see a water bottle, you'll be asked to stash it in a locker. These days lockers tend to be free (general comment--not specific to London), so it's just a matter of the few minutes it takes to visit the lockers twice. Don't forget to remove your phone/camera, external battery, charging cable and credit card from the bag if you think you might want them while in the museum. I also carry a pen around with me so I can track my progress on a map of the museum.

But normally if we arrive early in a city, we just leave our bags at the hotel, and they've been able to accommodate that.

I was able to do that at the PI in Edinburgh. I arrived there at 9 am, and did not see anyone at the check-in (there was a sign saying it was closed till 3 pm) but wandered into the restaurant area and found an employee there who helped me,

FWIW, the employee told me that most, if not all Premier Inns have locked storage rooms for travelers to leave their luggage.

There are a couple LHR to central London distinctions to be aware of that may make decision making easier. (forgive me if you are already aware)

A. Heathrow Express from Heathrow to Paddington - express train, very comfortable, more expensive than the Tube, tickets can be purchased in advance for cost savings. https://www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/by-rail-or-train/heathrow-express
Personally, I take this when I'm staying near Paddington, but I'm not always looking to budget. It is a more expensive option - and I'm not traveling with 5. From Paddington, you would need a taxi or Tube(s) to get to your hotel.

B. Tube(s) from Heathrow - these are regular commuter lines. No problem with seating at Heathrow since the start is here. As you journey, it will probably get fairly full. My last couple trips (within the last 6 months) I've used Tubes to my hotel, but there were no changes involved for me. If you want to save money, I think you and your teens would be fine with this and it's a good intro to the Tube system. My planes arrive about the same time as yours, and there's nothing much open at that hour of the morning, so I've felt no need to rush in from LHR on my last several journeys.

C. Limo such as Blackberry Cars or regular black taxi. I haven't done regular cab for years since my flights arrive during rush hour (like yours) and I didn't want to sit in traffic. I think with 5, I would seriously consider pre-booked limo transport in, but I haven't looked at size of vans or policies on late flights, etc.

When my "kids" were teens/young adults, I tended to take public transport so they would learn the independence and could get themselves around next trip. Now that we are past that stage, I sometimes indulge myself with a more expensive option!

I carried a water bottle into the British Museum last fall, but it was not obvious - outside pocket of my purse tucked under my arm. If the websites don't give policies, you might try emailing some of the places you wanted to visit. I have asked for specific info on various policies for a number of tourist sites in and near London and have always received a very polite, welcoming reply to my inquiries.

Premier Inn Aldgate is also a location for the Stasher left luggage service, so they definitely store luggage.

Have you considered splitting up at LHR, with 2 in a hired car with as much luggage as it will hold, and the rest on the Tube?

As others have suggested, the teens need to learn how to ride the tube and schlep their luggage, so no need to pamper them. Have them watch a YouTube video or two on riding the Underground and set them loose - they'll be fine.

We're just back from London & stayed in a Premier Inn. 2 things - thanks goodness for the AC - we had a hot week. And FYI, there is NO dresser in your room. I took command hooks (which are removable) to hang up our clothes & get them out of the suitcase. We stashed the suitcases under the bed & in a corner of the room. The bed was delicious as was the breakfast. The bathroom is generous but know the shower door is 1/2 of what we are used to. Enjoy your trip!

All of the above information is incredibly helpful. I really appreciated the information about Premier Inns and about the specific LHR-Aldgate routes we have as options.

It does sound like public transportation is quite doable from the airport with limited walking (we love walking, but not so much with luggage), so I'll look closely at the detailed routes/information some of you provided. I am probably less worried about my 16-yr-olds and more worried about me/husband functioning at full capacity after a (likely) sleepless flight, but sounds like things are pretty straightforward. I'm also always concerned about being a target for theft if I look like easy prey (exhausted, full of luggage and distracted), but since no one mentioned that, I assume these routes are not of primary interest for those who like to take advantage of tired travelers. (We will still take care to secure important valuables while traveling, but may be operating at half-speed.)

I did spend a month in London in 1997 as a student and remember the Tube being very easy to navigate, but the helpful replies above will at least help us get started on Day One.

I'm not saying it never happens but you never hear of such crime happening on the tube, not least because there is CCTV everywhere. Anywhere in Central London you (or any criminal) can be tracked on camera every step of your journey on and off the transit system. It simply isn't worth it for a petty criminal.

There are five of you to look after each other. It is not for me to be pejorative about any North American system, which I don't know well enough. But you are at least as safe, likely safer, than on any north American transit system. This is the middle of the day.

You may see signs various places indicating something like "Cell phone thieves in the area". Definitely keep track of phones and wallets. Pick pocket sort of crime is around, especially in crowded areas. The teens may not think about that.

I had a friend, chaperoning a group of middle schoolers, get so distracted with the kiddies that she left her purse unattended on a tour bus. It disappeared along with her credit cards. She was an experienced traveler and was mortified at her momentary lapse.

We stayed at the Premier Inn County Hall earlier this month and they stored our luggage, but didn't allow early check in.

We've always used the Tube to get from Heathrow into the city. It's not difficult.