London Heathrow Premier Inn

Not sure if there's a simpler way to do it, but when we rented a car at Heathrow they had a shuttle that made the rounds of all the car rental places. So when we returned the car we just hopped on the shuttle to get back to the airport, and took the Tube from there to our hotel. I'm assuming you could do the same thing only get on the shuttle bus for the Premier Inn once you get back to the terminal. We've never stayed at the Premier Inn, so I have no idea whether their shuttle runs "continuously" or whether you'd have to make arrangements, but since you're taking it the next day to the airport I'll bet you already have that part figured out. :-)

If you rent from Enterprise, their location backs up to the Premier Inn parking lot and there is a gate that is generally open. We dropped luggage at Inn, returned car, asked and was granted opportunity for Enterprise shuttle to the airport in the morning. Walked through gate to hotel and back again in the morning.

Thank you both. We have already rented from Hertz (Enterprise sounds as if it would be easier), but I think we can make this work. Worst case we will take a taxi for part of the way. Thanks!

A taxi will have waited in the queue a good while in anticipation of a reasonable fare. You might not find one that wants to give a two-bit ride. I'd anticipate using the two shuttles via the terminal.

Yes, I thought of that Ed - it's too close for a taxi driver to want this run.

It sort of depends which Premier Inn you are staying at - there are two on opposite ends of the same road. If you stay at Premier Inn Terminal 5, you can take the free train to T5 from wherever the car rental return is, then take public bus 423 to the hotel. It's a four minute ride, it runs more often than the Hoppa Bus (which makes the rounds of the hotels), and it's free (Hoppa is 4.50 GBP). The bus stop is right in front of the hotel. Individual hotels are no longer permitted to run shuttles, so Hoppa or the public bus are your options. Premier Inn Terminal 5 is very nice, and has a McDonald's right next door.

I tried to get a reservation at the Premier Inn by terminal 5, but they had no vacancies - so we are staying at the one on Bath Road.

We were collecting someone from Heathrow on Friday, and stopped at the Bath Road Premier Inn for a coffee and to wait time until they could phone to say they had collected their bags. That saved parking charges and gave us time for refreshments.

Although we didn't see the rooms, we were impressed by the hotel, which had a large atrium containing the reception desks, a family-style restaurant, a bar and a Costa coffee shop. It was all very spacious, clean and well-designed, with friendly staff. Premier Inn bedrooms are usually spacious and contain all you need. We identified it as a good place to stay before an early flight. It is just by the main runway, so the car park is noisy, but the hotel itself seemed well sound-insulated.