We're planning to return our Avis rental car to Heathrow the evening before we fly home to the U.S. We're flying home on Virgin Atlantic, which looks like it leaves from Terminal 3.
I'm looking for a hotel we could get to easily from the car rental return, and that has a shuttle to the airport for our flight the next morning.
Any recommendations?
There are many options near Heathrow, and I hope others can suggest locations convenient for your plans. However, I want to mention the Premier Inn T4 because it is reliable, is an enclosed 15-minute walk from T4, and is typically shockingly inexpensive.
Agree with the above. The last few trips I've taken from Heathrow, where I've had an early flight, I've booked the Premier Inn at T4. +Also booked for my next trip out, to Canada in September, have booked the PI at T4 - at a cost of £32 this time. I'm really baffled by why it continues to be so cheap - I do book it straightaway after I've booked my flights out, so well in advance, but still ...
Heathrow Sheraton
Not sure when you’re going, but there’s a Hilton Garden Inn opening in July that’s attached to T2.
If we book a hotel near one of the other terminals, is it easy to travel between them to get to T3?
From what I understand, and this is just from my own research, having not yet flown to Heathrow, but Terminal 5 seems to be the one that's hardest to get to/away from the main airport, and Terminals 2-4 seem to be fairly interconnected. Perhaps someone else can comment on this who has been recently.
If we book a hotel near one of the other terminals, is it easy to travel between them to get to T3?
Yes - see here: https://www.heathrow.com/airport-guide/getting-around-heathrow/travel-between-terminals
Terminal 5 seems to be the one that's hardest to get to/away from the main airport, and Terminals 2-4 seem to be fairly interconnected
It's best to think as Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 as different airports. Terminals 2 and 3 are adjacent to one another. Terminals 4 and 5 are quite separate but connected to the other termnals by various transport options.
Heathrow is big.
Terminal 5 is the big outlyer here. A taxi from T5 to T3 will cost in the region of £17 (and that's a minicab not a black cab). Which we discovered at our expense when flying from Heathrow recently (on Virgin) where we have flown almost exclusively from T5 (with BA) over the last few years that we simply assumed T5 and booked the Sofitel before realising our flight departed from T3.
I would consider the Premier Inn at T4, basic but perfectly adequate and very good beds. We have young children and don't like the thought of going to bed at 8pm so we often book a suite with interconnecting twin room. Obviously only the major chain hotels offer such options so we usually stay at one of the hotels on Bath Road and take the hoppa bus to the airport.
"Heathrow is big."
I always quote my sister after her recent plane change at LHR (which involved going from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 in a short time - she made it) - "Heathrow isn't an airport, it's a city!"
Heathrow is SO BIG ( how big is it?) that in T2 if you’re taking United they actually have a posted sign warning you that it’s about a 10 minute walk to get to the United gates 😉
The difficult transfer on the land side is T4-T5 as this is only by infrequent local bus(es).
T2 to T3 is walkable (either through the underground passages or if you know what you are doing on the surface)
T2/3 to T5 is a free ride on the Express or Underground, either way
T2/3 to T4 is a free ride on TfL Rail/shuttle. Reverse can also be done free on the Underground.
T4 is the most difficult to get to except from London directly by public transport as this tends to serve either T2/3, or T5 or both but rarely T4.
Last September we also flew from LHR on Virgin Atlantic. We stayed at the Sofitel Hotel which is attached to terminal 5. From there you can take the Heathrow Express directly to Terminal 3. The Heathrow Express between the terminals is free but you do have to get a ticket from the kiosk so you can get through the turnstile.
This was an easy, no hassle solution for us.
@ Kelly
If you fly Delta, they use Terminal 3.
Pretty much what you would need to leave the airport is relatively easy to access from there.
Also, as far as hotels, another option could be to stay in central London, using the Tube or Heathrow Express from Paddington Station. The hotel I stayed at was St. David's Hotels per listings in the England guidebook. My flight home was at 10 AM; I checked out a little after 7, took Heathrow Express to Terminal 3 (about a 15-minute trip), and had plenty of time to relax after security. This was during October 2018.
Just stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow/Hatton Cross (not to be mistaken with the new Hilton Garden Inn going in at Terminal 2 opening in July). The HGI was easily accessible from Terminal 3 as Hatton Cross is the first stop on the underground (Piccadilly Line) as you leave LHR for central London. Upon exiting the Hatton Cross station the HGI is about a 100-200 meter walk. The Hoppa Bus also serves the HGI on a regular basis and there is a ticket kiosk for the Hoppa in the lobby of the hotel. We took the underground both ways as it gave us more flexibility and it worked great. TAXI/UBER is also available as another option.
Nice hotel, friendly staff, good breakfast buffet and for one night and a need to be close to the airport it worked just fine. Like having the underground nearby...we used it to access central London for dinner and it was easy....a number of stops but we went at rush hour and I think it was faster than going via taxi.
Hope this helps!!
We stated at the Sheraton that was served by the hotel hoppa bus that took us to the airport. I think it goes to all terminals.
