I’ll be stopping at Heathrow next week en route to India. My Virgin Atlantic itinerary changed, leaving me with a full-day layover (8am until 6pm) - doesn’t line up with regular hotel hours. There’s an hourly hotel in Terminal 3, but it’s booked up that day. Are there other hotels in/near the airport that offer flexible hours? Or maybe lounges that are available to regular travelers (i.e., not business class or high medallion)? Other ideas? My husband, adult son, and I would like to be somewhere that we can hang out, change clothes and possibly shower since we’ll have another 9-hour flight to Delhi ahead of us!
Posted by
Freedonia
18119 posts
Virgin Atlantic uses Terminal 3.
Here's a page from Heathrow's website about lounges and hotels:
Posted by
Washington DC
29728 posts
Others have mentioned booking a "day room" at a hotel in this situation. I've never done it and don't know which hotels at Heathrow would be good ones to check. I can tell you that the Premier Inn at T4 is normally very reasonably priced, though rates do creep up for late bookings like yours.
Posted by
Salt Lake City
3182 posts
This Company offers day rooms at hotels in the immediate vicinity of Heathrow airport - typically in 6 to 9 hour blocks - that might be a cost-effective option for you.
Haven't used one there but we've used similar day room services at other international airports and they're great - nice to be able to shower, take a nap, or generally decompress when faced with a long layover.
Posted by
Chicago
1073 posts
Looks like there are numerous websites that can potentially book a day room for use.
Not sure how the pricing works.
While the cost of the room itself is on par (or less) than the cost of 3 people paying for
lounge access, you'd need to add in the cost of UKETA's for all of you. But the ability
to get away from the airport for a while might be worth it - a lounge is still going to
potentially be busy, queueing for showers, etc.