Stay at airport hotel or in London?

Option 1 - Your London hotel will most likely hold your luggage after check out until time to move on to the airport hotel. You could double check that this service is available, but I have never encountered a hotel in London or elsewhere that will not "hold" luggage upon either checkout or early arrival before room is ready.

With regards to luggage, if you did decide to go with the first night in a London hotel and the second at Heathrow, most hotels will hold your luggage for you for a period of time after you check out. So you probably could leave your bags at your first hotel, continue sightseeing throughout the day, then head over to your second night at the Heathrow hotel.

And if you let us know which terminal you are flying out of, we can give you some specific recommendations for airport hotels.

If it were me, I would probably just stick with the airport hotel for both nights. But I hate changing hotels so that is a personal preference. :-) That said, staying at Heathrow doesn't have to be cumbersome. Just pack up a day bag, take the tube into London and spend the day sightseeing. You could even hang around in the evening, as the trains continue well into the night.

Assuming that you are flying into Heathrow I would say that option 2 makes more sense, especially if you book a hotel either right by one of the terminals or walking distance to Hatton Cross tube station, the first one out from LHR. That would mean easy access to the tube to get in and out of the city. You can easily stay in the city until late each night, especially if they are Friday and Saturday nights when the Piccadilly line runs 24 hours. Just check that there is no weekend engineering work on the line on your dates - quite a bit is scheduled over the Summer.

Don’t book a hotel on Bath Road as you then would have to get a bus or taxi to and from the tube.

When do you arrive in London? AM, PM, evening?

Regardless, I would settle into a Heathrow hotel for the 2 nights. It will really pay off for you on getaway day...

Option 3: Stay two nights in the city and get up early (or in the middle of the night) for your flight?

If you book at Heathrow, make sure your hotel is in your departure terminal. Otherwise, you haven't saved yourself any time by staying there.

How are you arriving in London? Train station, airport?

How early is your early departure? Is it an international flight?

I'd be tempted to spend the 2 nights in London at a hotel close to an Elizabeth Line or Piccadilly Line station, especially if you are arriving in London by train.

There are several ways to get in and out of London, one being the Heathrow Express, which comes in at Paddington Station. There's a nice Hilton there connected to Paddington Station, in case you choose 2 nights in London then a quick getaway on your day of departure.
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/lonpdhi-hilton-london-paddington/?SEO_id=GMB-EMEA-HI-LONPDHI
https://www.heathrowexpress.com/timetable

Thanks for the replies so far!

We are doing a walking tour of the Cotswolds which begins and ends in Moreton-In-Marsh. We finish walking on Tuesday, spend the night in MIM, then leave for London on Wednesday. We'll take the train/bus back to London, probably arriving early to late afternoon, depending on whether we spend time exploring MIM before departing. We'll have Thursday to explore London. Our flight back to the US leaves Friday at 10:00a.m. Not sure which gate but it's American Airlines. I plan on booking a hotel right at the airport, at least for that Thursday night, to relieve the stress of getting there on time.

I just checked Heathrow's website and it says we depart from T3. Hotel suggestions are welcome!

Rebecca, the company we booked the tour through suggested for London to Moreton-in-Marsh to take the bus to Reading then the train to MIM. So I was planning on reversing that on the return trip. It does say the bus leaves from T5 or central bus station(?), so I guess we'll have to get from T3 to T5 and vice versa. Where is the central bus station?

I am an early person so for a 10A flight I would stay in London that night before. I would stay near Paddington Station and take the Heathrow Express (15 minutes) to Heathrow.

BTW, if it were a 6A (or 7 or 8, lol) flight I'd stay at the airport.

Our flight back to the US leaves Friday at 10:00a.m.

I am not a morning person, but even I would stay in London the night before to avoid having to change hotels for the last night. While the Paddington area is not my preferred location, it would be a perfect choice for your trip. The train from Moreton-in-Marsh (via Oxford) to London will arrive at Paddington. You could also take the Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line to Heathrow from Paddington and be there in 20 to 30 minutes.

It is one morning where you have to get up early. You will save only about 30 minutes by staying at the airport. I think getting up 30 minutes early beats the hassle of changing hotels.

p.s., you can have a leisurely breakfast and coffee after you get through security at Heathrow. I always have plenty of time to kill at the airport.

Hotel suggestion - Hilton Garden Inn
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/lhrhegi-hilton-garden-inn-london-heathrow-terminals-2-and-3/?WT.mc_id=zINDA0EMEA1MB2PSH3Paid_ggl4ACBI_Brand_Destination5mob6MULTIBR7EN8i81487387_121126570_71700000119478218&&&&&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADnjLGMXkSBsZyEodhMFti6SSYorn&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt7GhjJf5jAMVpnR_AB3aZAx9EAAYAiAAEgL9lPD_BwE

Rebecca, the company we booked the tour through suggested for London to Moreton-in-Marsh to take the bus to Reading then the train to MIM. So I was planning on reversing that on the return trip.

If you are traveling from Heathrow to Moreton-in-Marsh, it makes sense to take the RailAir coach from Heathrow to Reading and then the train from Reading to Moreton-in-Marsh. However, if you were traveling from London to Moreton-in-Marsh, you would take the train from Paddington.

There are.a few hotels at Heathrow T4. The Premier Inn seems to be a forum favorite for a budget option. Not quite as convenient as the HGI at T2 but easy to change terminals via Elizabeth Line or the tube. For the Elizabeth line get a free transfer ticket from the machine.

Sorry, I should have said Heathrow to Moreton-in-Marsh via Reading, not London to MIM. We will go straight to MIM from the airport on arrival.

For Terminal 3, your best bet, and easiest to get to, is the Hilton Garden Inn at T2 & T3.

It is actually connected to T2 but less than a 10 minute walk from T3 via underground walkway. You will pass both the entrance to the Heathrow Express/Elizabeth Line and the one for the Underground. (Which is closer to T2.)

I have stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn many times including 10 days ago. They have a very nice buffet breakfast.

I should mention there is an Aerotel hotel in T3. This is a discount hotel where the rooms don't have windows. Reviews are mixed.

If you decide to stay at Heathrow, be aware of rush hour times on the tube and try to stay off at those times. The trains will be packed.

The Rail Air Bus leaves from outside each of the Terminals 3, 2 and 5 in that order . The Central Bus Station is not served.
Inbound it is 5, 2 then 3.