Need advice about a 10AM flight from Heathrow

Even if there is no hotel in the terminal your flight departs from, staying in a hotel in one of the other terminals would make getting to your terminal much easier than coming from London proper. See no reason not to use your 'fallback plan'

We always stay at a hotel adjacent to LHR serviced by the Hoppa bus, which starts running at 0400 or 0430. It stops at various terminals or maybe just terminal 3, don't remember since we always fly out of terminal 3. We like to get to LHR at least 3 hours before our flight and it's only 15-20 minutes from most hotels along Bath road. We usually stay at Travelodge Heathrow Central, which isn't central by any means, but in a neighborhood with pubs, pizza joints, and best of all, a Polish deli. Many hotels are not near any services so you're stuck eating at the hotel. There are lots of choices. Google LHR hotels. If you are an early bird and want to beat the long security lines, the airline ticket desks open at 0500.

I've always just stayed in London and got an early taxi to the airport and never had any trouble making my flight. I usually arrive 3 hours before the flight and get through security with plenty of time to have a breakfast before even worrying about heading to my gate.

What terminal are you flying from? There are plenty of hotels along Bath Road which are all serviced by hoppa bus direct to the terminal with most journeys being around 20 minutes. This would definitely be my preferred option rather than travelling from London itself.

I have done that exact itinerary: Goodge St to Heathrow for a 9:30 flight. I agonized over it too.

First, I would never, under any circumstances, waste one of my precious vacation evenings at a cookie-cutter airport chain hotel.

I considered Heathrow Express, but found the time saving inconsequential once you add the time to get from Goodge Street to Paddington.

So I took the Tube: Goodge Street to Leicester Square, change for the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow. It takes about an hour and for Heathrow I like to be there three hours early, so if you leave at 6:00 am, you'll be well in time, and the Tube will be practically empty.

On a Sunday morning, you should have no problem getting to the airport by tube or taxi. It is much quieter. I usually allow an hour by taxi and 1 1/2 hours by tube.

Be mindful that there is currently work going on at Goodge St station so keep an eye on this website: https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZLUGDG/goodge-street-underground-station.

At the moment it says that there is no station access on weekdays so you should be fine at the weekend. Also, if you flying this Sunday, it is the London Marathon so travelling by taxi could be tricky.

We usually stay in London proper and then make our way to the airport on departure day. I would advise not only checking the link provided by Sarah, but check your station the day before just to make sure their are no closures on your line. Usually, there is a white sign board that will list any closures.

My flight last September was much later than yours, but I still opted to spend my last night at the relataively new Premier Inn near Terminal 4. It's at least a 10-minutes walk from the terminal, through a covered walkway, but I liked not having to depend on a shuttle to get me to the hotel. The rate was very good, and I checked just a few days ago for this coming September and found a single rate under 50 GBP, with a non-refundable option below 40 GBP. Sweet deal.

We stayed in London last September, our flight was at 10:00am and we didn’t have any travel getting there by 7am. We took the Heathrow Express, you can buy tickets in advice at a great price. Another option would be to stay in Windsor your last night, you could go out to Windsor early afternoon and enjoy Windsor, it’s a 15 minute taxi ride to Heathrow from Windsor.

Thanks for the information. I appreciate the kind responses! I am unsure what I will do but feel more informed now.

I will be attending a dinner near the Goodge Street Station (my hotel is nearby) and will probably get up early, check the Tube for any disruptions, and then either take the public transport or a taxi/cab service.

Once again, thanks to everyone.

Does the Northern Line run 24/7 over the weekend so that the OP can take the tube at 6am Sunday to Leicester Sq to take the Piccadilly line to Heathrow?

I ask because the online info seems confusing. At first, you see the Night Tube map showing that there is 24/7 service Friday night into Sunday. Then on another TFL website, it shows the 1st Sunday morning train leaving Goodge heading to Leicester Sq is at 07:24. (Scroll down to the 2nd to last page). It even says in an asterisk that there is overnight weekend service so if there is, why do they mention a 07:24 first train on a Sunday morning? Which is correct?

It will be to show the first 'regular' tube service if just the night tube is suspended for engineering work, plus the point at which the frequency would be ramping up.

Also it is only the Charing Cross branch of the Northern that has night tube services.

The frequency on the core of the Northern Line night tube is 7.5 mins, Piccadilly 10 minutes.

Thanks for the additional information! I honestly had not thought about it being a "night train" issue. This is why I ask questions.

I went to the TFL page and put in my information into the Journey tab. I entered 5:00 for Goodge Street to Heathrow, Terminals 1-3 and it gave me a route with a change at Leicester with a time of just over one hour. Unless I am making an error in how to use the "Plan a Journey" section, I think it could be accomplished.

I will certainly get the app TFL indicated is available.

Thanks again