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Lower-cost Heathrow hotels, with easy connection to Terminal 2/3?

We have a flight departing Heathrow at 10:05am on a Friday morning, from Terminal 3. We are looking for a reasonably-priced hotel for the night before, with a convenient and easy way to get to Terminal 3 in the morning.

Since we are a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 teenagers), all the hotels are requiring 2 rooms. It appears that the Hilton at Terminal 2/3 would be the most convenient, but the cost is about $920 for the one night (ouch!). So we are looking at other options.

The Premier Inn at Terminal 4 is about $200 for the night (much better!), and the Atrium Hotel at Hatton Cross is similar.

My concern is getting to Terminal 3 from either of these locations on the morning of our flight. Everything I've read says "if you're leaving from Terminal 2/3 stay near the Terminal 2/3 hotels". But it looks like we should be able to take the Underground from either of these hotels to Terminal 3, pretty conveniently, for free, and with enough time for our 10:05am flight. Am I missing something?

If this approach makes sense, then any opinions on Premier Inn at Terminal 4 versus the Atrium Hotel at Hatton Cross, in terms of quality or convenience? (since both are similarly priced)

FYI - we would prefer to avoid taking a bus to Terminal 3 in the morning, since we've had problems on other trips where we couldn't get on a full bus, and nearly missed a connection. So taking the Underground to Terminal 3 feels more reliable and lower-stress to us.

Posted by
352 posts

Have you looked at Aerotel? Don't know your dates, but Booking.com seems to have a selection at less than you quote/

Posted by
35108 posts

if you plan on using the Underground between T2/3 and T4 you should know it is a one way system. You can take the tube from T4 to T2/3 but not the other way, to T4 from T2/3.

The easy Elizabeth Line connection goes both ways, terminating at T4 and returning from there. Also free.

For the free tube journey you need a contactless or Oyster to tap in and tap out at no charge.

For the free Elizabeth Line journey there is a machine which issues free tickets which you use at the gates.

Posted by
35108 posts

The Holiday Inn Express at T4 often has good rates and of course as an Express the breakfast is included, and it is somewhat closer to the terminal on the covered above ground tunnel. The tunnel goes Terminal 4 check in area (directly upstairs from the Elizabeth Line), the Hilton, the Holiday Inn Express / Crowne Plaza in the same building, then a bit of a hoik to the Premier Inn T4.

Posted by
12 posts

I will look into the Holiday Inn Express - it is about $350 for 2 rooms (seems reasonable), and free breakfast would be nice with 3 teenage boys :-).

But if the breakfast starts at 6:30am, and our flight departure is 10:05am, I'm not sure we'll have enough time to eat and still "arrive" at the airport by the recommended 3 hours before departure? For a 10:05am flight from Terminal 3, when should we be walking out of a Terminal 4 hotel?

Sorry if this seems like such a tedious question, but we've never flown out of Heathrow before and I don't want to risk missing our flight or causing undue stress in our family. We are each taking only one carry-on bag, so I know that will speed things up a little bit.

Posted by
348 posts

I believe the Aerotel is literally in the T3 terminal, outside of security. We stayed there two summers ago and it was reasonably priced, at least compared to some other airport lodging. It would alleviate any need to worry about ground transport the morning of your flight, but I’m not sure they offer breakfast. There was a M &S convenience store though in T 3 where we were able to buy some basics to eat.

Posted by
12 posts

Aerotel is $1,040 for our one-night stay. They require 3 rooms for our family of 5 (children are counted as 11 and under). My 16-year-old would be in a room by himself!
Probably a good option for couples, but not great for a family.

Posted by
12 posts

Update: thank you everyone for the feedback. We just booked 2 rooms at the Holiday Inn Express at Terminal 4. Total was ~$340 for both rooms, free breakfast included. They confirmed that breakfast starts at 5:00am, so no problem having time to eat before our 10:05am flight.

Thanks so much for the help - this looks like a great solution for our family!

Posted by
35108 posts

I think you will enjoy the HIE. When you go up in the lift and get out you are in a lift plaza with a skybridge over to the HIE side (green) and another over to the Crown Plaza side (purple). There are pretty decent views over to the atrium, I think the kids will like it.

My fav hotel in all of London is the Crowne Plaza T4 because they know me and I really enjoy it. The HIE is run by the same crowd and they do an excellent job.

Posted by
9405 posts

But if the breakfast starts at 6:30am, and our flight departure is 10:05am, I'm not sure we'll have enough time to eat and still "arrive" at the airport by the recommended 3 hours before departure?

JPtravels, I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express last year and breakfast begins at 5:00 am. I think the early time offers a continental breakfast, and the full cooked one begins at 6:30 am, but the continental breakfast was a good one. If you have to leave before 5 am, they will give you a bag of breakfast items to take with you.

Edit: Just saw your post—glad you got a room there. I was very happy staying there. They also offer dinner, in two different restaurants (one is run by Crowne Royal) and the food was very good. The rooms are clean and comfortable and it was a pleasant stay.

Posted by
1175 posts

I know you already booked a hotel, but just piping in to say that the Sheraton has amazing two room, two bathroom family rooms for very affordable rates. I think we paid 120 pounds for one two years ago and that rate included a phenomenal breakfast. It was on the Hotel Hoppa line, but we ended up using taxis and Uber to and from. Honestly, with four people, it was about the same price as it would’ve been to pay for four of us on public transportation.