Heathrow neighborhood?

The area around Heathrow in my opnion is sterile- big airport with some gigantic hotels just off site and lots of motorway on and off ramps. "about a day" you could go into Central London, or stay in Windsor or Richmond. Richmond is a nice quiet little sleepy town on the Thames. Has a great big village green and also is next to Richmond Park- a huge area of greenery with deer and some other sporting activities. The kind of village it would be nice to go back to for the weekend after a busy week in London

windsor is very nice for walking, and very relaxing. You can get there by local bus if you don't like the cab fare.

I would stay at a hotel or B&B near Paddington Station in London. From there it is possible to travel to Heathrow in less than an hour via Heathrow Express or Heathrow Connect. The Tube and buses from that area can zip you around London for sight-seeing. Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are about a 10-min walk from Paddington Station. If you only want a place to walk around and don't want the city experience, I like the plan to spend a night in Windsor. Taxis or buses from Windsor can get you to the airport in less than an hour. I rode a bus when I stayed in Windsor and needed to get to Heathrow. The nearby small town of Datchet has lodging and a train station. Trains from there connect Eton and London so you can take a train over to Eton and back quickly and cheaply. Windsor/Eton has a hop-on/hop-off bus service (at least they did a couple of years ago). It stops in Datchet, a couple of places in Eton, and several places in Windsor and around the castle.

Thank you all for your advice. We will definitely not stay near the airport and are planning to stay in Windsor. Regards,
Vivian

Vivian, we stayed in Windsor at Frances Lodge, a nice B&B, and it was perfect. Very nice rooms ( although we were walking around and not there much) and a great breakfast. The bus from Heathrow ( T5) stops practically across the street in Frances Road. It was a pleasant walk through the neighborhood to the castle and the Thames. Nice path along the river.

Vivian, you did not reveal the most important piece of information, what time is your flight out of Heathrow? If you have an afternoon flight, I agree with all the above advise. If you have a midmorning flight or earlier, I would totally disagree with the above advise. What is to stop you from staying in a Heathrow hotel and taking bus, train, or taxi to the destination of your choice for the day? That would be my choice.

David, Good question to ask. We arrive in Heathrow at 1:45 PM and our flight out the next day is 10 AM. So, we do have to clear customs first and pick up our checked bag. I think your solution may be the best. Thank you for responding.
Vivian

We like to stay at Jury's Inn near Heathrow when we overnight at LHR before catching a flight home the next day. You can easily bus to neighboring towns like Windsor or take the tube into London proper or take the Heathrow Express into Paddington station. From Paddington you can easily take the tube just about anywhere in London proper. In fact, I would stay overnight near Paddington with your flight times and get back to LHR the next day to fly home. There is a Hilton practically attached to Paddington station if you want a nice hotel, plus there are more modest hotels within a block or two of Paddington.