Heathrow to London

good luck with uber. Hope you find them.

I would venture to suggest that a Taxi of any sort from LHW to central London will be hugely expensive. I'd suggest splashing out on Heathrow Express tickets from the airport into central London as a cheaper and almost certainly quicker way in - you may be able to buy tickets cheaper online in advance and then tube or taxi to hotel. While I'm unsure where the Hub Premier is located if the address is Westminster, the Houses of Parliament should be in relatively easy walking distance from your hotel.

Have a great trip!

Ian

Thank you for your replies. Yes, the hotel is within walking distance to Parliament. So Uber is not to be found in London? I know a taxi would be expensive and I'm not crazy about spending the $$ (or pounds, rather) getting to the hotel. I was just looking for something quicker than the Tube all the way from Heathrow. The Heathrow Express may work for us.

Are there taxis readily available at Paddington Sta? I believe that is where the HE drops off.

I wouldn't bother with the Heathrow Express as any convenience you might have travelling quickly to Paddington will be wiped out by the inconvenience of the journey from Paddington to your hotel.

Ah, I must not have refreshed the screen before replying! Thank you, Emma. We've never used the Tube before as this is our first trip to London. Perhaps we should just jump right in and go for it! We should be fine with our luggage. I am very much looking forward to this trip!

So does 3 hours from airport to Parliament seem like too difficult of a task? Since Parliament tours are only on saturdays during our stay in October is it reasonable to expect tour tickets would be readily available if we don't pre-purchase them? If so we may be better off not locking ourselves in to a time frame.

You are probably right, Emma. No sense making myself crazy trying to get to an appointment that is easily postponed to a later time. I will rethink that part of our itinerary.

Thank you for everyone who chimed in!

The problem with Heathrow Express is that although the trains travel quite fast it all goes to waste because they dump everyone at Paddington, and then you have to find a way to finish the journey - causing a delay which negates their premium fares. There are many taxis at Paddington but the ride to the hotel will take around 20 minutes and cost around £15 on top of the train fare.

Check your hotel booking, this is the Hub in Dacre St, postcode SW1H 0DJ? It's about 1 minute walk from St James Park Underground station. Put the postcode into Google Maps, drop the Streeview icon half way along Dacre St . Turn it so that the building site is on the left, the hotel is on the right and you should see the green logo at the door. Now you know where that is, click to the end of the street, facing you is Starbucks, turn slightly to the right and there is the station. Adult cash fare from Heathrow is £6 each, journey time is only a few minutes slower than HX + taxi.

There is only one Underground line at Heathrow and all trains go the same way. You need to change trains, normally this is not a problem if you do it at Barons Court, cross to other side of platform for east bound District line. Wait for atrain via Tower Hill (probably to Upminster), definately NOT Edgware Road. Easy to do, just read the front of the train or the screens. Unfortunately if the day is 7th October you can't because there is engineering work on this section of District Line, in which case you change a few minutes later at South Kensington, which involves a change of platform to east bound Circle/District but all those trains will be heading your way.

At St James Park station you need the exit towards the front of the train (Broadway) and at street level the door on the south side (opposite side to the actual park).

The bad news is that even if the plane lands on time, you are unlikely to get through Immigration and Baggage reclaim and get out to the ground transport before 08:45-09:00. The journey to the hotel will take an hour (Heathrow is WAY out of town). You would need lottery winning luck to reach Parliament by 10:20.

My best recommendation is to take the Heathrow Express to Paddington (tickets are discounted if purchased online, in advance) and then a taxi to your hotel. There is a taxi rank at Paddington that moves very quickly and efficiently. Being jetlagged and unfamiliar with the tube system, coupled with handling luggage, might not be the best way to start out in London.

Why stress yourselves to make an early tour of Parliament? Your flight into Heathrow could be delayed. Why not book tickets for the 3:40 pm tour, then spend any available time after you are settled in the hotel to become familiar with your neighborhood or make a visit either to Westminster Abbey or the Churchill War Rooms, both in easy walking distance?

Have a wonderful trip! October is my favorite time of year to be in London!

I hope you enjoy your stay at hub Westminster; I've stayed there twice and liked it. It certainly is central--and around the corner from the St. James's Park tube station.

I hope you do take the guided tour of Parliament, if you can find a later slot. It was informative and enjoyable and if memory serves, we were able to go into some areas that were otherwise off limits to the public. And yes in my experience they did book up so follow Emma's advice and book something now but no earlier than mid day. ( I was just talking to some friends who said they waited about 45 minutes in the passport control line when they arrived on a Saturday at 7:30 AM from the states. )

Afternoon tea can be booked in conjunction with your Parliament visit and it's served Thameside so you'll have a great view if you're not too sleep deprived! https://www.parliament.uk/afternoon-tea

Enjoy London!

Since you are arriving on a Saturday morning, and if you don't have too much luggage, it pays for you to take the tube. You won't be fighting rush hour crowds into London.

You get on at Heathrow (Piccadilly line) and change at either Barons Court or Hammersmith. (This involves only a crossing of the platform. At other stations it means stairs or elevator.) Get on the District line toward either Tower Hill or Upminster. Get off at St. James Park and you will be around the corner from your hotel. From your hotel it is about a 10 minute walk to the Houses of Parliament.

I agree with others to take a later tour. Why stress yourself out if the plane is late And you really don't know how jet lag will affect you.

Get yourself an Oyster card for the journey and since it is off peak times the journey will only cost 3.10 GBP. (The Oyster Card itself is 5 GBP but it will save you money in the long run and you can get the money back when you return the card before you leave.) A combination of Heathrow Express and taxi for two will be around 40-50 GBP.

I would also double check with your hotel to make sure they will store you luggage in case your room is not ready which at that early in the morning may not be.

One other thing, while on the Picadilly line, there will be announcements about the next station. You may also hear "change here for the District Line." Ignore that. Change where we tell you to make it easier.

hub Westminster will store luggage (securely) so that's good.

There are many taxis at Paddington but the ride to the hotel will take around 20 minutes and cost around £15

That's a bit optimistic! More like £30!

You guys are great! Thank you all for your detailed replies! I think i may just have to put my big girl panties on and brave the Tube. Saturday morning shouldn't be nearly as bad as a weekday morning. This will definitely encourage me to pack lightly.

WE are only at this hotel for one night then will transfer to the Washington Mayfair for our RS Best of London tour. I think we'll walk to that one as the journey should take us through the park and past the Palace.

Since there is not a time problem for your tour (that's correct, right?), I'll throw something else in. Based on where your hotel is you could take the National Express coach to Victoria Coach Station ( a block or so away from Victoria Railway Station). There is a taxi rank just outside to the left (sort of down an alley) and it would be a short drive to your hotel.

I did this last time at the suggestion of someone here and it worked great altho my hotel is within walking distance of the coach station.

Your bags are stowed underneath the bus. There are no stops between the airport coach station and Victoria coach station and it takes about an hour. Saturday AM might be a little quicker.

We have always booked a pre-paid private driver and been very happy.

If there is a distance between the nearest tube or train station and it wold be inconvenient with luggage to go that final segment on foot it makes perfect sense to me to hire a driver for the trip - either taxi or minicab (the cheaper option) or the money gouging woman hating racist uber. Makes no diff to me.

But if you are right at St James' (a beautiful area with a very special park next door, and very convenient) and the tube takes you door to door I see no reason to throw money away for a trip that is not especially faster or better.

I have taken the guided Parliament tour and totally loved it.
I will recommend that you book in advance. I was traveling solo (Dec. 2016) and booked about 45 days in advance. Most of their tours were sold out when I was booking.

I'm arriving in the morning and am staying at the Hub Westminster, so this thread is very helpful. I will only have a small piece of luggage and if the day is nice, I was planning on walking through the parks and getting to the hotel around 1 or so, which I think is check-in time. Looks to be about 2 or 3 miles, so I an easily walk that and soak in the atmosphere.

If it's raining, then I'll take the tube. Thanks!

I will definitely prepurchase tickets for the Parliament tour. Waiting in line for security will be long enough without having to wait in line for tickets. I was leaning toward the guided tour anyway as I like to have people tell me things as opposed to listening to an audio guide our worse yet, reading placards!

I hope to hear about how you like the Hub Westminster! I think we will enjoy it's location to the things we plan to do or first day in London!