Hotel convenient to Heathrow

If it is possible to do so, you might try to edit the title of your thread, because my initial assumption was that you were looking for a hotel right at Heathrow. I was going to tell you about the good Premier Inn near T4, but after reading the full post I think you want to stay in the city in a place near good transportation to Heathrow. Correct?

I'm not really sure. I currently have a reservation at the premier Inn at Terminal 4 but it seems like getting in and out of London by public transportation from this location is difficult /time consuming. That's why I am asking if there is a better plan considering we will be flying in and out of Heathrow.

Terminal 4 but it seems like getting in and out of London by public transportation from this location is difficult /time consuming.

Not really. Getting from any of the Heathrow terminals to central London and back again is easy. What is difficult is the hotels outside the airport, there are many of these along the A4 on the north side of Heathrow. Access to these is by bus only, London bus or shuttle to the terminals.
BTW, T4 is not near any of the other terminals. It would require a train from T2/3 and another back again.

But, you land 9 pm (21:00). You would be lucky to get out of the terminal by 22:30. I would say that is too late for most restaurants, and too late to go into central London. You just have time to get to a hotel and sleep.

I'd stay in one of the hotels on Bath Road. A flight at 11.30, presumably a long haul one, necessitates being at the airport 3 hours before your flight which means 08:30. At that time I wouldn't want to be faffing about trying to get from London to the airport and as another poster has pointed out, you're going to be very late for dinner in central London, likely too late.

We've booked the Sofitel at Terminal 5 for our upcoming flight to the US as I wanted the easiest and most convenient location to the airport however we recently realised that we're flying from Terminal 3! This was after paying the non-refundable rate. We're so used to flying BA from Terminal 5 that it simply didn't occur to us to check the terminal.

I think some people have misunderstood the question. It sounds to me as though they have 2 nights in London, arriving late Thursday and not departing until Saturday. That suggests they are having dinner with their friend on Friday, in London.

And from what I have read it is indeed more convenient to get between Heathrow and London than to go from the Bath Road area or other so-called airport hotels into London, which they would do on Friday, both for sightseeing and to meet their friend.

So a London hotel with good access to Heathrow is called for. That suggests to me a hotel near Paddington and transport by the Heathrow Express, which is fast (15 minutes from LHR to Paddington) and not a problem either late Thursday; night (as long as it is not too late) or Saturday morning for the return to LHR. Note that the HEx trains run every 15 minutes, not quite as frequently as the tube, but I still think it is faster and more convenient in their situation.

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/timetable-schedule/heathrow-london

The Heathrow Express is avoided by many because of the expense. But there are ways to reduce that cost, namely by buying well in advance, or, for 2 traveling together, with a Duo Saver ticket which is a round trip ticket for two people.

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/tickets-deals/discounts-deals

As far as hotels near Paddington, we like the Indigo which is modern, close and reliable, and we can get a deal with our IHG points. But there are lots of hotels in the area, some better than others. Maybe someone can recommend others of those, which would be helpful to the OP.

Thank you so much Lola! Yes that is exactly the travel coordination I was trying to figure out. Thank you for your suggestions. I will look into buying the express tickets right away!

Depending on when (as in what month) this trip is occurring also take a look at the Heathrow Connect (check link below as the named changed in May). Slower than the Express but I believe some time in September you'll be able to use the Oyster Card for it. Cannot do this with the Express which is what I've always traveled on into London but after an overnight from LAX I don't wish to dawdle. So I buy my Express ticket at a minimum of 60 days out.

Can't be the Express for convenience, safety and cleanliness especially if your are staying near Paddington or in the Bayswater/NottingHill/Holland Park neighborhoods.

https://www.londontoolkit.com/travel/heathrow_connect_train.htm

Although I've not stayed there right outside Paddington is a Hilton and others give high marks to Hotel Indigo.

Lola got it right about the Heathrow Express, especially if this trip is far enough away for you to buy advance tickets online. There are very big discounts far in advance. Those tickets commit you to travel dates, but not to specific trains, so you have a lot of flexibility.

Paddington isn't the pleasantest or most convenient part of London (except for Express and Great Western trains), but it has good tube connections to all areas. I stayed at the Best Western Delmere Hotel on Sussex Gardens, down the street (and down the price scale) from the Indigo. It was adequate but the room was tiny and altogether lacked character (which I wasn't looking for).

An alternative would be a hotel near the Piccadilly Line, a slower but direct line to Heathrow. The line cuts right across central London so you'd have many choices, but it might be easier to pick one of the stations west of Piccadilly Circus, like Green Park or South Kensington. Booking.com lets you search for hotels using a map and filtering by different variables, but book directly with the hotel's website.

I wouldn't stay right at, or even near, the airport unless it's on that first night when you'll come in late. You don't want to do your sightseeing and friend-reuning with long daily rides to and from the city.

In late June I came by Ryan Air from Brno to Stansted, took a coach to Heathrow. My plane to Seattle was leaving early morning from terminal 3. I stayed overnight in Park Inn by Radisson. By bus first stop from the airport. Price reasonable. Good sound insulation. They have shuttles going to the airport.

We are a couple arriving in London Heathrow Terminal #3 on September 4, 2018 and returning to Heathrow on September 14, 2018. We would like to use the Heathrow Express. I am seeing a price of $146 total for two round trip tickets if we buy today. That is with the discount code entered. Does that sound correct or am I missing something??

PS.....we are staying at the Crowne Plaza our first night in the city so would Paddington Station be convenient to our home??

Emma.....this is the address of the Crown Plaza 19 New Bridge Street, London

I have played around with the website and it looks like DuoSaver for two adults would be 55.50 pounds. Does that sound more in line? We like the idea that it is direct and timely, with a minimum amount of logistics to figure out, after flying all night!

Thanks so much for your help!!

Replying to stmurray, not the OP.

PS.....we are staying at the Crowne Plaza our first night in the city
so would Paddington Station be convenient to our home??

The Crowne Plaza on New Bridge is nowhere near Paddington Station - it’s three or four miles away. The Paddington Express is really convenient if you happen to be staying in Paddington (which is not quite central London but slightly to the west). To get to your hotel you’d need an onward journey by taxi, bus or tube.

You might decide just to book a car service the whole way from Heathrow as that’s an awful lot of money to spend to arrive nowhere near your hotel!

Your other option would be to take the tube from Heathrow - Piccadilly line to Earl’s Court then District line to Blackfriars and a short walk. No more difficult than dealing with the change at Paddington and considerably cheaper.

Emma and Jane.....We have decided to go the tube route. It sounds much more economical and easy to navigate especially since all of the signage will be in English! We will just reload our Oyster card upon arrival. We have been lucky enough to travel extensively in Europe and getting from the airport to first night's lodging seems to require doing your homework regardless of your city of arrival! Thanks to you both!