My frequent flyer flight arrives at Heathrow at 11 pm. I have reservations at a hotel in Coventry for the next night. Is it safe/permissible to hang out at the airport till the next morning? Or should I take a cab to a nearby ($$$$!!!) hotel for the night? I am an adventurous 58 y.o. woman travelling alone. Thanks.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you choose to spend the night at Heathrow, you'll have lots of company! See www.sleepinginairports.net. If you decide to stay in a hotel, the Heathrow Ibis has modest-for-London rates.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I spent the night at Heathrow last May. You wouldn't believe the number of people who sleep there, and it was perfectly safe. I'm over 50 and I was traveling alone, too. One thing you should know is that the shops all close around 9:00, so make sure you have something to eat and drink with you or you might be out of luck until morning. I can also tell you that night is when they do their remodeling and maintenance work -- it's not all that quiet (at least in the area I was sleeping in).
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2723 posts
Too bad you're not flying into Gatwick. Although I've never personally stayed there, the Gatwick airport has a new hotel inside the airport called Yotel. You can rent little sleeping capsules by the hour. You can rent little sleeping capsules by the hour. Supposedly a new one is scheduled to open inside the Heathrow sometime this year (see http://www.yotel.com/ to see what the one at Gatwick is like). Also EasyHotel http://www.easyhotel.com/ has cheap spaces in central London (no windows or frills, but who cares if you're sleeping off jet lag?)
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
389 posts
Here is a site that might give you the inside scoop:
www.sleepinginairports.net/europe.htm