Travel from Heathrow to hotel near Buckingham Palace

If it were me, I'd take the tube from Heathrow (Piccadilly Line) to Green Park, and change there for Victoria (Victoria Line). Your hotel is a 10 minute walk from the station. But if I was feeling lazy (as I frequently am after a flight) I'd take a taxi from Green Park.

Tube is the cheapest way. Alternatively you could take the Elizabeth Line to Paddington and a taxi/Uber from there, but the overall time spent would be similar.

Only you know your limitations. You could always book a car service from Heathrow (most expensive option). This would be comfortable, but would probably take about the same time as the tube due to traffic.

Two similar options may work for you. Myself, I would take the Piccadilly line in, get off at Hammersmith, walk across the platform and get on the next District line train, and get off at St James Park station. The walk is several blocks to the hotel.

A second option would be the same, except get off one stop earlier at Victoria Station, then take a taxi to your hotel. While costing a bit more, it would ease the luggage situation.

You can examine other possibilities here: https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

Taxi for me. I am a "senior" and I would never fool with the tube, etc.

Just came here to say that I stayed at that hotel a couple of years back and just loved it. :)

I'm assuming comfort trumps cost to some extent for you guys. I think the best way to arrive at your hotel is either taking a black taxi off the rank or booking a car service ahead.

I would tend towards recommending Addison Lee for an airport transfer. I've been dealing with them for nearly 30 years, going back to the days before the internet when advertising materials needed to move across town on a motorcycle. They run a very high quality car service now, serving many corporates.

If you're looking to do something more on a budget, click through this Google search link. That's local firms around Heathrow. Most will have a way of communicating to make a pre-booking, or a form you can fill in.

Expect £100-/+ from a black cab or Addison Lee, less from the local guys.

" I would never fool with the tube, etc."

In that case a car service would be a cheaper option - taxi from Heathrow would be in the vicinity of £90-£100. I understand people may have mobility issues (particularly coming from the airport), but don't completely dismiss the tube - even if money is no object, it's often a faster option than driving. My parents are in their late 70s and regularly take the tube.

We are “older” senior citizens but very fit, and have been traveling to London regularly for 20+ years. The Tube is very uncomfortable for us; the one time we did it was because the other services were not running. It was so crowded, noisy, etc. we vowed we would not do that again.

Our preferred way , when the Heathrow Express had those cheap £5.50 tickets, was HEx to Paddington and black cab from there. Now that those “cheap” tickets are more, we only do that if we are staying near Paddington for some reason. Instead, we use the Elizabeth Line, but I choose our hotels to be close to that.

The one time we stayed anywhere Buckingham Palace, we use the National Express coach to Victoria Station. I must say that was an enjoyable and scenic journey, riding through the streets of London in the front seats upstairs in the double-decker bus. Does that option not exist any more? No one has mentioned it.

Is this your first trip to Europe? You may find you are not as tired as you imagine when you land, even if you cannot sleep on the plane. The excitement of arriving there is a real boost. We find we can easily manage getting to our hotel, and if it is too early to check in we drop our bags and go out for a walk. Once you can get to your room you freshen up, and maybe nap a bit, but not too long. The goal is to have dinner around the usually hour local time, and the head to bed around 9 pm, or earlier if you need to.

Everyone else's ideas are eminently more sensible than mine.

The idea of arriving in St James's in a black cab or a late model BMW or Merc from Addison Lee appeals to me. Much more elegant at a hotel with a doorman than clacky wheely case noise for 400 yards :)

Getting stuck in traffic on the way in wouldn't bother me too much. Hopefully the driver would be interesting or there's something good on the radio. I wouldn't be late for a meeting if I were on vacation. It's unlikely I'd ever be in a situation to do any of this, but if I had a hundred quid to spare I would do it that way.

Gerry M - agreed, I may not (yet) be a senior, but I am past the days of hauling a suitcase from station to hotel, particularly somewhere like St James' :), where it seems every second car is a Bentley. A cab from the nearest station is my usual approach. I have on occasion taken a taxi or car from/to Heathrow when there's been a public transport meltdown, and found the journey frustrating due to traffic.

Pre-booking a car service seems just the ticket for you. A taxi is the most expensive but when you pre-book you know the price. They meet you in the terminal as you exit customs, walk you to your car and drop you off in front of your hotel.

Two of the more popular car services menitoned on the forum are Blackberry Cars and Just Airports

I'm in my 70s. No problem taking the tube, but if I have luggage I'll limit myself to the stations with the wheelchair logo.

I have sadly too long a memory to recommend Addison Lee. I haven’t forgotten the founder John Griffin telling his drivers to use bus lanes even though they were not allowed to by law - judges agreed with TFL. Then he suggested that it wouldn’t be his drivers’ fault if they hit and killed or injured cyclists. I know he sold the business shortly after but his son has subsequently bought it back.

Hmmm... That is indeed bad. I remember you mentioning it before. It sounds terrible when I write it down, but I don't let too much stuff like that bother me. I'm of the attitude that the private hire taxi game all over the UK isn't exactly known for being run by stand up pillars of the community. When it comes down to choosing businesses based on factors like those, I'm no fan of black cabs and the LTDA either. They are some of the most entitled drivers on the road and the drivers are known for having politics slightly to the right of Mussolini.

Like I said above, I have a long memory of Addison Lee too, running bromides from Soho ad agencies to the Daily Mirror in Canary Wharf for me when I worked at the Daily Record. I used to drink at The Foundry (RIP) in Shoreditch and it was buzzing with the bike couriers on a Friday afternoon, many of whom I know worked for Addison Lee. I had an Addison Lee account at my last employer and I was always grateful for their services on someone else's dollar getting home in the middle of the night, with cars of a quality I wouldn't usually get to ride in. I get what you're saying, but those things make me mention Addison Lee on here.

“The one time we stayed anywhere Buckingham Palace, we use the National Express coach to Victoria Station. I must say that was an enjoyable and scenic journey, riding through the streets of London in the front seats upstairs in the double-decker bus. Does that option not exist any more? No one has mentioned it.”

Yes, the National Express Coach from Heathrow to Victoria Coach station does still exist. They are not double decker buses but are the long-distance kind of coach. I use them as the Coach station is near the hotel I like in Belgravia. OP can certainly use this option then step out the front door to the taxi rank to complete the journey to their hotel. It looks like it is about 8/10 of a mile if Elizabeth wants to walk it.

On our trip, we pre-booked with Blackberry Cars. They were waiting for us at the airport, and service was excellent. At that time, they were less expensive than one of London's black cab taxis. We would use them again.

Is there a bus service that would take you into the city? That might be easier if you have heavy luggage with you?

Yes the bus service is National Express to Victoria Bus Station. There are multiple departures every hour- all have originated from somewhere else-as far afield as West Wales, Penzance and Scotland. So there are many possible route numbers. As the buses are one or no stops they are as fast, if not faster than any of the train/tube options.

The driver will put your cases in the bus hold and get them back out again.

10 minutes walk from the Coach Station Arrivals Hall, or take a cab. By tube St James' Park on the Circle and District lines is the closest- 5 minutes walk