Pros/cons of overnight at Heathrow or London

I always tend to stay at an airport hotel before flying home...much less stressful to just catch the airport hopper bus and not have to worry about getting up extremely early. Personally, I would (and have) leave my bags at Paddington or one of the other train stns (if you can swallow the crazy cost per bag - last time we did it, it was 7 GBP a bag! Gulp!), see the city, go back and get your bags in the evening and hit the airport hotel to be nice and rested and stress free for the flight home.

Patty, your flight definitely departs late enough to stay in London and take an early HEX to the airport. There are also hotels near the airport that provide shuttles. One interesting place to try is the Yotel (www.yotel.com) that is right in Terminal 4. We've stayed there. It's very new and modern but is quite small. Even the large bed unfolds (and is quite comfortable. They have Wi-Fi and a small place to work. Once the bed is down, you can store your luggage underneath part of it. We were just being a bit adventurous and it was a hoot. Several restaurants in the terminal where you can get dinner and breakfast. There is a microwave in the room and you can get several types of dinners and other food at the front counter.

You do have time to take the Tube if that's what you wish to do. There would be more to do if you stay in London, so if that interests you then I would stay in the center. The first tubes run to Heathrow before 6am, so you would have enough time to make your 10am flight. If you think you'll be tired and just want to relax and sleep in the next morning, staying closer to the airport could be a better option.

We hate to throw away our last night of vacation by staying at an airport hotel.

By the time you transfer to your airport hotel, check in and drop bags, then get back to the Tube and head into London, you've spent almost two hours. And you'll waste another hours or so getting back. ,and it won't save you that much time in the morning over the Heathrow Express.

So here is what I suggest: go online to the Heathrow Express website and buy a Duo Saver ticket. This is a RT ticket for two for £50, or £12.50 per person each way. Jump on the next HEx and you'll be at Paddington in 15 pleasant minutes. There are hotels within a block of the station. We like Hotel Indigo, a trendy modern place only half a block away. If you qualify for AAA, senior, or state or federal,government rates,,their prices are great. By 4:00 you'll be ready to head out to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and the evening in London.

We like to walk down to Hyde Park from Hotel,Indigo (less than ten minutes) and walk through the park to reach our goal. Last time we continued on thru Green Park and St. James Park to the Westminster Bridge area. We missed evensong at Westminster Abbey ( they weren't doing it on that Wednesday) but we still had the whole evening to stroll the south embankment and stop for dinner. We took the Tube back to Paddington.

I am going back in May with my sister and I've already booked the same hotel, so we can do that again, maybe this time crossing Hyde Park to take in the Victoria and Albert or the Natural History Museum before closing.

Just a thought...Monday morning...if you stay in London you are going to encounter rush hour at least in central London. I would not want to attempt that with luggage. It shouldn't be a problem once your out of the city but just getting on at a tube station in town on a workday with massive crowds and bags in tow, makes me break out in a cold sweat. I would stay near the airport, have a nice full English, and make my way in a leisurely way to the plane. I don't think that a couple of extra hours in London the night before are worth it.

The option I suggested, staying very near Paddington and taking the Heathrow Express with a discount ticket, will encounter NO rush hour traffic. No worries. Younwill have halfa block of walking, then hop on the train. Much more pleasant and less crowded than the Tube. And no traffic hassles.

Thank you all for your advice. I appreciate the time and thought that you gave to your answers. I will take a look at Hotel Indigo as well as Yotel. I hadn't considered either. I did think that the HEX would be the only option in the am as I know we'd fac ecrowds trying to navigate the tube.

If you decide to stay near Heathrow, the Jurys Inn would be a good choice. Hatton Cross Underground station is 400 yards from the hotel. You can ride free on local buses between Hatton Cross and Heathrow.

Another option, less expensive than staying in London but still way better than an airport hotel, would be Windsor. It is a pleasant little place worth the evening you could spend there ( walk along the river, see Eton, maybe the castle). We stayed at Frances Lodge, a very nice BandB, for £90. The bus from the airport stopped right across the street. I would want to take a taxi back to the Airport for your flight, and I don't know how much that costs because we had more time and took the bus. Maybe someone else knows.

Book at a Heathrow hotel.

Check in.

Take Tube into the city.

Spend an evening having fun.

Take Tube back to Heathrow. (Check schedule and target next-to-last train, just in case.)

Get more sleep than you would in staying in London.

Smile in morning when you hear about train/traffic delays in west London.

We prefer to stay our last night at airport hotels for the convenience. We are usually pretty worn out after 2-3 weeks in Europe and the UK and there are many choices near Heathrow. We've stayed at Jury's Inn previously and this spring will stay at the Travelodge for only 35GBP. We arrive 3 hours ahead for our departures for international flights and sometimes have time to kill. We usually purchase a 30 day membership in American's Admiral's Club for $100 and take advantage of the relaxing atmosphere, free snacks, and free drinks in Dallas, Chicago, and Heathrow both going and coming to get our money's worth. Did I mention you can take some chocolate chip cookies with you on your flight? :-)

I personally like the Hilton Paddington although it's expensive! One simply walks out the back door, goes down to track level and over to the Heathrow Express.

I personally like the Hilton Paddington although it's expensive! One simply walks out the back door, goes down to track level and over to the Heathrow Express.