Looking for recommendations for hotel close to Lhr T3 before early morning flight

Hilton Garden Inn is right there

The Hilton Garden Inn T2/T3 is technically next to T2 but that's less than a 10 minute walk underground. Part of it with moveable walkways.

The hotel entrance is in the T2 car park on the arrivals level. (Very little signage.)

I've stayed numerous times and have two separate reservations within the next two weeks.

There is also an Aerotel in T3 but I've never stayed there. It's much more budget oriented.

We’ve stayed at the Aerotel. You can’t get closer as it’s literally in the terminal. Small rooms but very quiet. Good for sleeping.

Thank you so much!

Adding a vote for the Radisson RED. It has sleek, comfy rooms, is right by T3, and has a bar. ;-)

It’s also a short walk to a real pub, in case you don’t wanted to get soaked for a glass of Malbec.

We like it enough that it is our go-to hotel for when we’re flying back to the States on an early flight.

The Radisson RED might be a great hotel and it is close to Heathrow and you can walk to a pub, it's on Bath Road and not actually at T2/3 like the Hilton Garden Inn and the Aerotel. You will need transport to get to the terminal.

Thank you all. There use to be a free bus that went from the terminal out to Bath Road. Does anyone know if it still exists?

No it doesn't Becky.

There is a HotelHoppa bus service that has routes round all the hotels but it's typically only a half hour service and is expensive. For more than one a taxi won't be much more and there will be ordinary bus services as well at £1.75pp.

London Bus routes 105 (to Greenford, every 10 minutes), 111 (to Kingston on Thames, every 8 minutes), 278 (to Ruislip, every 15 minutes) and 285 (to Kingston on Thames, every 10 minutes)- all from Heathrow Central Bus Station- will take you to just up the street from the Radisson Red.
The stop is called Harlington Boltons Lane.
All except the 278 are 24/7 services, every half hour overnight. The 278 starts for the day at 0330, initially on a 30 minute frequency before ramping up as dawn breaks.
There is also the N140 to Harrow Weald every 30 minutes all night and the N9 to Holborn in Central London every 30 minutes all night.

All for £1.75 each per journey.

do those local buses have lots of room for luggage?

Becky, keep in mind that if your flight leaves at 9, you probably do not have to be there at 6 am, especially if you're catching a flight to somewhere else in Europe. Most agents don't get there till 6:30 or later.

do those local buses have lots of room for luggage?

Put it like this. I've been using every conceivable route into Heathrow (except the routes that run deep into Surrey) for something like 40 years (often for journeys across Heathrow) and it is an inconvenient fact that the locals use the buses to get to Heathrow with luggage all the time.
In fact there is a lot of evidence that one of the reasons the Elizabeth Line empties out at Hayes and Harlington westbound is because those in the know transfer to bus there for the last leg into Heathrow, to avoid the airport premium charge on the train. The locals just manage their luggage.
The two bus routes out to Feltham (for trains to Waterloo) in particular are very well used by those with luggage. For a predecessor route to the tube existing that route to London is still very well used by locals.

You are only on the bus for about 7 to 8 minutes. That is one of the reasons (apart from staff use) why many of the routes to Heathrow are either 24 hours or start astoundingly early (buses from Windsor, even, start at 0315). With a bus every minute or two it is so easy to use the Bath Road hotels.

The Hotel Hoppa H2C runs hourly at 11 minutes past the hour from T3 (not the Central Bus Station), the H2B at 6 and 36 past each hour goes to 5 other hotels on the way, so takes 38 minutes to get to the Radisson Red, but both drop you at the front door. The 1st H2B back to the airport (in 9 minutes) is at 0514, 0544, 0608 then half hourly. They are now £12 return and £6.80 single.

Thanks so much for the bus information. Our flight was moved to noon, so we can definitely take a bus from our hotel. My husband was a bus driver way back when so he loves taking local buses.

Just got back from LHR. Stayed at the Radisson Red Hotel, had a fun dinner at the Three Magpies and used the local buses for transportation to/from the airport.. Thanks again for the great suggestions.