Hotel recommendation in London for 24 hr layover

At Heathrow

• Sofitel at T5. More expensive but very nice.
• Premier Inn T4. Nice budget option
• Hilton T4. Nicer than HGI below.
• Hilton Garden Inn T2 and 3. Nothing special but convenient to those terminals.

I’ve stayed at all except the Premier Inn. The T4 hotels are a bit of a walk from T4 via a covered walkway. For me the nicest were the Sofitel and the Hilton. There are more and cheaper options along Bath road. These would require some form of transportation. Taxi/Uber or bus.

Take the tube or the Elizabeth line into London and back. Where you are going will determine which option to take. Both can be paid for using contactless credit cards, phones or an Oyster card. Tap in and out using the same method. Don’t mix and match.

Enjoy your trip

We did something like this in 2019. We stayed at the very inexpensive Premier Inn in terminal 4. After stowing our luggage in one of our 2 rooms which were available, we took the Tube into London for the day. We went back to the PI that evening, got a good night’s sleep and headed to our flight the following morning after breakfast. We were taking a flight to Italy so we only needed a 2 hour checkin/security time. One thing that I thought about when making this decision to stay at the airport hotel is that the 4 of us wouldn’t have to travel the morning of our departure with our luggage on the Tube during rush hour.

And the Sofitel offers very good dining options!

I'd also recommend the Hilton at Paddington. https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/lonpdhi-hilton-london-paddington/

We often stay here when making a one-night stop in London so that we can properly enjoy the evening in central London. In the morning, the Heathrow Express is quick and easy, depositing us back at the terminal. For me, it feels more like "we visited London" than when we've stayed at the airport.

I recommend the Paddington option (we do this a lot). The Heathrow Express will take you there in comfort in 20 minutes from T5. Buy your tickets 90+days in advance ( so in January for April travel) and it is only £5.50 —- cheaper than the Elizabeth Line ( £12.80);or the Piccadilly Line (£6.30 with contactless payment), faster, and much more comfortable, especially with luggage. I wouldn’t want to be using the Tube to get to the airport in the morning, during commuter rush hour. Even going that direction, you could have trouble boarding a train in central London (we did).

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/#

Although the Hilton is likely the closest to the station, there are numerous other options within a block or two. We like the upscale and modern Hotel Indigo when the price is right. I also like the look and philosophy of the newer Pilgrm hotel ( not a typo) but haven’t tried it yet.

https://thepilgrm.com/

For dinner there are numerous options—-a decent Indian restaurant, several Italian ones, and numerous pubs. We have enjoyed our dinners at The Mitre Lancaster Gate, a gastropub. The bar area is noisy but the dining rooms in the restaurant are nice and quiet.

It is a short walk from there to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, where we like to stroll. Both should be nice in April.

If you want to get into central London, you could walk south through Hyde Park to Knightsbridge and catch bus #9 to Trafalgar Square and be right in the heart of things. Or catch the 148 at Lancaster Gate on the north side of Hyde Park ( the Paddington side) and ride to Westminster Abbey, the Elizabeth Tower (aka Big Ben) and the Parliament buildings.

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/key-bus-routes-in-central-london.pdf

With luggage it'll be easiest if you book one of the airport hotels and dump your bags on arrival (or have them hold it for you) while you head into central London for an afternoon of sightseeing.
We used to stay at the Premier Inn at T4 until we tried the Sofitel, and now there's no going back for us. It's a much nicer hotel with terrific dining options, and located only a short walk from T5 - no need to worry about ground transportation to get between the terminal and the hotel, then back to the terminal for your flight out the next morning. It really couldn't be much more convenient. We were hooked after we tried it once.
Also, booking a place at the airport will likely be a lot cheaper than staying in the city, more than offsetting any costs incurred taking the Elizabeth line or one of the other transportation options into the city and back.

For a one night stay, drop your bag at on of the hotels at Heathrow. I'd choose the one closest to your departure terminal.

Then head into London. Enjoy yourself. Trains run until just after midnight to get back. If you stay at one of the terminal hotels its just a few minutes walk from the train to your room.

The next morning you'll need to check in sometime between 7:30 and 8:30 the next morning depending on your destination. Do you really want to start trying to find a train earlier than that?

Definitely stay at the airport hotel. As others, I've stayed at the Premier Inn T4 and it was sufficient. I wouldn't go all the way into town if you arrive at Heathrow to sleep.