London Heathrow hotel vs Paddington Station Hotel

You don't have to stay on Perimeter Road. There are hotels connected to each terminal.

Which terminal are you using?

We are flying out of Terminal 3

We stayed one night in Paddington after returning from Paris via Eurostar; with plans to take Heathrow Express the next morning. Wasn't a fan of the neighborhood.

For a 9:30 a.m. flight departure, the safe time to arrive at Terminal 3 is 6:30 a.m. I fly out of Terminal 3 and always stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. It's connected to the Terminal 2 parking garage BUT there is a short, direct underground walkway from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3.

Aerotel appears to be the other option.

When I stay at 63 Bayswater ( and have for decades) I’ll use either the Elizabeth Line or Heathrow Express to return to Heathrow for my flight to LAX.

Unsure why KD didn’t like the neighborhood.

Pluses in the Paddington neighborhood: Tudkin Flavors of Malaysia, both the Mitre Paddington and Victoria Paddington pubs, the Lancaster Gate entrance to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens ( opens at 5am ), Shelia’s Cafe, Foreign Exhange News cafe, and the fact that one could be in Covent Garden for theatre in 25 minutes by taking a Central underground train from Lancaster Gate Station.

Each to their own.

As for transportation Bath to Heathrow, there's a coach (bus) that is very convenient. The coach leaves from the coach station in Bath (right by the train station). There are many coaches per day doing this route--some go directly from Bath to Heathrow's coach stations, others make a couple of quick stops in small towns to pick up passengers.
The bus is cheaper than the train and the route is more scenic.
On the train, you are sometimes down in a cut or ditch....can't see anything but the dirt side of the ditch. The coach travels on the roads (obviously) so you see villages, gardens, countryside, rivers, canals......a good time to relax.
We take this instead of bothering with the train into Paddington and then back out of London again to Heathrow.
Just OUR personal preference...you decide what's best for you.

In London, Paddington is definitely convenient for leaving quickly the next morning for Heathrow.
Claudia is right....there are many interesting restaurants in that area, as well as it being convenient for any sightseeing you may want to do for a couple of hours.

At Heathrow, we stay at the Sofitel, Terminal 5. Just love it. It's easy to go from one terminal to another when it's the morning of your departure. But it's also good to stay at a T3 hotel if that's your terminal of departure.

I'm also a fan of the National Express Heathrow bus. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en
I've stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn twice in the last 3 months - two different occasions prior to departure from Terminal 2. This combination would be my personal pick over a Paddington area hotel.

However, as noted above, personal preference whether to stay at LHR or central London. Claudia's solution also looks great.

I would also recommend the Hilton Garden Inn at Terminal 2/3. I've stayed many times and will be back again on Wednesday night.

Less than a 10 minute walk through underground walkway to Terminal 3.

Do you plan to do anything in London the evening before (e.g., dinner, show) or do you just plan to check into the hotel and sleep. If the former, I’d choose Paddington. If the latter, head to the airport.

Re: Paddington area
I’ve stayed at No. 63 several times, including two months ago, and have taken the Heathrow Express morning of my flight (granted for a 12 noon flight not the early flight) and have also stayed at the Hilton Paddington one trip. All good.

Some of the hotels in the area are very small “tourist” hotels, and you may not want that, but a few blocks off of Praed, you’ll have quieter options. As said, a variety of restaurants in the area—for example on Craven Terrace.

However, I would not recommend staying along Sussex Gardens—a lot of noisy Uber Eats delivery type mopeds there last year, unless that’s changed.

Thanks to everyone for your informative replies including the extra credit advice for transiting from bath via the bus vs train. Much appreciated!

It is that 9:30 flight I think that makes the difference.

So with a check in at 6:30, do you leave your hotel at T2/3 at 6:15 and gently walk over and check in,

or do you walk for some time from your Paddington area hotel to Paddington and probably catch the 5:55 Heathrow Express (for a decent fare buy well ahead) which gets to T2/3 at 6:13 (the next at 6:10 doesn't arrive until 6:27 which would be far too close for my liking - things happen and how fast can you walk??) ?

If you do the train you will probably miss breakfast. The Hilton Garden Inn T2/3 starts breakfast at 6:00 every day so you should be able to grab a quick brekkie there with no hassle.

You pays your money and takes your chances, I guess.

Thanks Nigel for the additional contrast/perspective and kudos on 35322 posts! That's an amazing amount of experience you have shared as well as the others on this thread. I think we are going to extend our day in Bath and arrive later in the day to LHR staying at the Hilton. Cheers.

^^^^ That was our thinking in late June this year. We had a full relaxing day in Portsmouth, then comfortable bus to LHR and Hilton Garden Inn. Relaxed evening there and all set for AM flight home. Works very well if getting into London for an evening activity isn't in the plans.

Enjoy Bath! (and I agree that Nigel's posts are frequently quite useful to me as well!)