Layover in London--Hotel suggestion?

How much do you want to spend on the room?

Actually, looking at the times, I'm not sure you have time to do much more than stay local to Heathrow.

Landing at 7pm, I'd guess you wouldn't be into Central London and ready to go out again much before 10pm, and if leaving Heathrow at 3pm, I'd be thinking to get there around 12pm, meaning you basically have no time for much more than sleeping.

You could stay around Heathrow and get a cab to pub somewhere closeish, like Ealing Broadway, a magical bar there called 'The Castle Bar', great food and cocktails, a hangout for the locals, and a very safe place you can relax in.

I wouldn't personally be going into local pubs close to Heathrow, but it's not my specialist area.

Sanctuary House Hotel is right over a Fuller Pub, a 2 minute walk from the St James Park tube station , a 6 minute walk to Big Ben/Westminster Abbey and a 12 minute walk to Buckingham Palace. There you go, bed, pub, scenic walk.

No specific guidance on your question, Christine, other than to advise that you be sure to give yourself enough time at Heathrow before your flight. I think they require 2 hours before flight time. I flew back from Heathrow just a few days ago on a 10:35 am flight. I had checked in online, arrived at the airport 2 hours before flight time, and needed every minute. While the immigration process itself was quick, the line there was long. Then, I have never had to walk so far in an airport. There were signs posted like "30 minutes more walking", "20 minutes more walking", etc., and this was with plenty of "people-movers". As I remember, when I eventually arrived at my gate, they were already boarding the flight.

Mike J, thanks for your helpful suggestions. Is there a hotel you'd recommend near Heathrow? Don't want to land somewhere "not safe." And from others comments on the board it seems staying close to airport may be the best suggestion in order to make sure we have lots of extra time to make flight.

Kate,

Your suggestion sounds like my fantasy come true, but with the caution from others about time constraints it might not be possible. I'm certainly going to check it out though. I suppose some of it will depend on flights being on time too, but don't want to call it too close. Thanks.

That was a great suggestion of a hotel right over a pub. Do consider whether or not it would be too noisy for you, though. Some pubs have patrons that step out onto the sidewalk right out front late at night to smoke and/or carry on a lively conversation. All good fun unless your windows are directly overhead and you are trying to get to sleep at a decent hour.

My suggestion would be to stay at the Hilton at Heathrow, and take a taxi to the pub that Mike J suggested. The next morning, you may not have time for much more than breakfast at your hotel. It is risky to plan too much for the morning before your flight leaves.

As far as getting to Heathrow early and having time to kill, there are a ton of shops and restaurants there. Also bookstores. It would be easy to spend several hours shopping there.

You didn't say which terminal you're using, but any one of the large chain hotels will be very safe, as is the whole area in general, if applying common sense.

In central London, the central west tourist bit, you could wander into any pub and be absolutely fine, and in general, that applies anywhere. You might get a rowdy local crowd, but you will generally be very safe.

In some areas, which us locals consider outer London, there may be local pubs that have a bad reputation for one reason or another, and most locals would avoid them... but as a tourist, you would have no clue which ones they were.

A general rule, for me, is I avoid ones showing live sport, or advertising 'Sky Sports available', and if they look pretty outside, and have nicely dressed people inside, they are generally fine... avoid ones with bouncers (door men), there is usually a reason why they need them.

You can't really just wander around the Heathrow area, it's too big, and you'll find very little.

It's also relevant which day you'll be here... if Friday, or Saturday, you may struggle to get in 'The Castle Bar' as it's super popular. They stop serving food around 10pm, so you might be cutting it close. There would be loads of great pubs around, but as I have used TCB almost exclusively for the last 10 years, I have no idea about any others :o) Abel, the owner, is a real star.

TCB is great, but it's not what most would consider a 'traditional pub' as such, it's around 9 miles from LHR. Another one I've been to that is much more traditional, would be the Swan and Bottle near Uxbridge, around 7 miles from LHR.

http://www.chefandbrewer.com/pub/swan-and-bottle-uxbridge/c4628/

A local 'mini cab' would be around £20 each way I guess, always ask the price when you book it. Your hotel would be able to give you a number for the local cab office.

I think you feel like your in London and you should make the most of your time... but your location, and timings are going to make it tough. Heathrow is really quite a long way from central London.

Maybe let common sense overrule the heart on this occasion, and stay in your hotel. The Terminal 5 Hilton has a nice spa you could relax in, which will leave you ready to fully enjoy the next stage of your trip, rather than being tired.

Good luck whatever you decide.

What a wonderful resource you all are! I think I have enough information to make a plan AND to abandon the plan if we don't have the energy, i.e. the spa at the terminal. Thank you all for sharing here. Great forum! Happy travels~~

Here is the website for Hilton at T5. Note under "Dining" that the hotel has four restaurants and one bar. You may find it more convenient and just as much fun to eat at one of these restaurants or the coffee shop, and not leave your hotel. Mr. Todiwala's Kitchen is an Indian restaurant, run by a chef who also owns the popular Cafe Spice Namaste in downtown London. Coffee Shop has sandwiches and paninis. Restaurants and bars stay open some until 10:30, some until 11:00.
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-london-heathrow-airport-terminal-5-LHRATHI/index.html