Hotels close to Heathrow but not directly under flight patterns

The Heathrow Windsor Marriott is half way between the airport and Windsor Castle (about 4 or 5 miles from each) and has reasonable prices for the area. We couldn't hear the planes from inside. It's a stop for the Heathrow 'Hoppa Bus' which costs about £4 each way (much cheaper than a taxi). Of course, if you're interested in seeing the castle, it's just a few minutes away.
One way to have a ride on the Thames is to take a river boat from Westminster Pier (next to Parliament) to the Tower of London. After touring the Tower, you can walk over to Tower Bridge for a tour & then take a boat back.

It sounds like you're planning to stay at a hotel near the airport for your entire time in London. Do you realize that it takes nearly an hour to get from Heathrow to central London on the Tube? I strongly encourage you to stay in London. You'll save time, you'll pay less for transportation, and the ambience certainly will be better. You'll be in London! See this page for a list of all Heathrow hotels with links to detailed information about each one. The Jurys Inn would be a good choice. It's close by the Hatton Cross Tube station and you can ride free on city buses between Hatton Cross and the airport.

I think you should consider staying close to St. Pancras train station. The Eruostar for Paris leaves from there. And you can get there without too much difficulty from Heathrow. Heathrow airport is not the best base for London. Windsor is not far from Heathrow, but is still a 25-30 min. train (not tube) ride from London and you usually have to change trains once at Slough.
Alternatively, you could stay in the Paddington area. You can easily get there from Heathrow via tube (about 30-45 min.) or the Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect (15-20 min. train rides). And you can get from Paddinton to St. Pancras via tube very easily.

The Heathrow runways run east-west. Get north. The approach and departure paths are essentially straight-in, so any planes north or south of the airport would be so high that you couldn't hear them.

You do not want to stay near Heathrow. Get thee to central London. The hoppa bus is an expensive pain. £4 per person to and from is outrageous. £16 round trip is more than $25! There are free local buses available, but you don't want to stay near the airport. You don't stay near O'Hare to visit Chicago, you don't stay near Heathrow to visit London. If you are traveling with carry on bags only, take the tube and stay somewhere along the Piccadilly line. Anywhere between Earl's Court and King's Cross/St. Pancras will be fine. Plenty of other choices if these don't suit you, but get away from Heathrow.

I don't have any input on staying close to the airport but I want to pass along something you might be interested in. I see you want to visit Abbey Road, very doable on your own but London Walks have guided tours that take you to a lot of the places the Beatles performed, lived and recorded, the tours are inexpensive and very informal, just show up at the location, pay the fee and you're on the way. http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Home/Beatles_Walks/default.aspx http://www.walks.com/

Curiosity has gotten the better of me. Why do you wish to stay at a hotel close to Heathrow? There is no need unless you are airplane buffs. London can easily be accessed via the Tube, by bus, express trains (Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express), car for hire or cab. Simply depends on how much you want to spend, the amount of luggage you are carrying and how much time you wish to spend getting to your hotel. You've mentioned you wish to tour on the Thames, visit Abbey Road (don't let anyone tell you it isn't the first crosswalk, IT IS...some locals try to convince you it's the 2nd crosswalk a block down the road) and "as many spots as we can." Public transportation in London is prevalent and easy to use. I'm not going to get into the Travelcard vs the Oyster card scenario. Been talked to death about on this forum. Simply going to say if you like walking that you'll find many of THE sites very close to one another or only blocks from tube or bus stops. Lastly, there is a nice boat tour from Westminster pier (think Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abby) to the Tower of London. I also LOVE any of the London walks. Have taken many over the years. Never disappointed.
Have a great visit.

We agree with the posts that suggest that you stay near St. Pancreas. We caught a river taxi near Westminster / the London Eye. Instead of departing at Tower Bridge, we recommend taking it further downstream to Greenwich. There you can visit the naval museum, the Royal Observatory, and The Prime Meridian. At Greenwich, you can walk UNDER the Thames via a Victorian-era pedestrian tunnel and catch a Docklands Light Rail ("DLR") train back to London. The DLR should be covered by a Tube passcard and they share stations. About 50 feet south of the Abbey Road crossing is a monument in the street. There is usually some other tourist at the monument who will be happy to take your picture while you walk across Abbey Road in the crosswalk. Don't forget, you should be photographed walking AWAY from the studio! As you may have already learned, the Eurostar train ends a Gard du Nord. The Paris Metro also has a station at Gard du Nord, which is well-marked, so it is easy to switch from one to the other. Hope you have a great trip.

Thank you all for your advise/comments. I booked a hotel @ Think Earls Court / Kensington
Address 181-183 Warwick Road, Kensington. It's about 10 miles from the airport & still close to the tube/attractions/etc. Has anyone here ever been to this part of London? Thanks again.

Patricia, I'm quite familiar with the Earls Court area although not the "Think Earls Court" that you mention. I find this area both convenient to LHR and convenient for sightseeing. I generally take the tube which takes about 40 minutes.