etch5895

What's the R/T cost on the HEX, though? Isn't it 34 pounds? I would look at that as well. One of the best features of the Hilton LHR is the ease of getting to T4 via the walkway. I like that because you're not waiting for a bus, train or anything else. You walk at your own pace through the tunnel and right into the departures hall. Or T1-3 via the free portion of the HEX.

Flying Lawyer

Return is 26 Pounds. But as the original poster already is in downtown London he has to get to the airport anyway. An I personally prefer an evening in Edware Road or anywhere in downtown London to any airport hotel. I understand that many of you US folks think different and you love to stay at a hotel because it is a hotel, but for me a hotel is nothing but a hopefully comfortable room with a hopefully comfortable bed and nothing I feel any deep desire to stay in for longer as neccessary.

etch5895

Last time I stayed at the Hilton Heathrow, I arrived on a flight from the US at about 8:30 PM, and departed for Germany the next morning at about 8:15 AM. In that instance, just having a place closeby without having to wait for a train or wait for a hotel bus made it all the more worthwhile for me. Coming back, I had about 24 hours in London, so I stayed at the Hilton London Kensington on that end, and had a comfortable stay. So, timing has a lot to do with it in my book. Would I have wanted to deal with the hassle with only about 10 hours to play around with, while trying to maximize sleep time to reset my internal clock? Probably not. I understand that most of my money going to the Hilton LHR is paying for outright convenience. But, if I have the time, I also like to be 'closer to the action'. The hour tube ride or half hour HEX ride from LHR does take a little fun out of sightseeing.

obs

Just had a one day stay at the Hilton London Metropole on 16/12/06. The family were with me, so booked an advanced purchase rate of £129 plus tax for 2 adults and 2 Children. Checked in at Hhonours desk, as I heard Golds no longer get lounge access, and was unsure if I was still able to check in at the lounge. The lady at check in was very pleasant and recognised my gold status. She offered us all free breakfasts for the next morning and handed me a receipt for this.
We were given a room on the west wing. These rooms were renovated fairly recently and it was in excellent order. In the room we were given bottled water and cookies as an amenity. For the first time I actually drove to the hotel. The car park rate is £15 for 24 hours over the weekend, on weekdays it is £30. The staff were very helpful and we all enjoyed the stay. I know this hotel is large and can often seem impersonal, but I have always had very good treatment here and will continue to use it over the Hilton Paddington. ^

ned

Next May I/we will be traveling from LAX to LHR and continuing to Munich two days later. We have two nights and one day in London leaving for Munich at 9:00am all from Terminal 1. We have never been to London and planned the one day stay to get a brief look at the city; nice dinner, city tour, etc. In the past while transiting LHR I have stayed at the Sheraton Skyline and found it a very good choice. My wife and I do not do well in small beds and prefer twin beds if king size is not available. I am Gold in both the Starwood and Hilton programs. Now the question is what Hilton or Starwood property in London would be good for us. We would like to get a feel for the city, have a comfortable room, and have reasonable airport access for our morning departure. Thanks for any advise.

SkiAdcock

If you want to maximize your time in the city, you'll need to stay in London vs out near the airport. I've never stayed at the Paddington Hilton, but I think it gets decent reviews & you can take the Heathrow Express (15 minutes from LHR to Pad) both ways. Plus the tube is there for you to go to all the tourist spots within London very easily.

Have a good time! Cheers.

stanj

Given your relatively early departure, the Paddington Hilton may be your best choice. The Heathrow Express is by far the quickest way to get to the airport and is very convenient from the hotel. Otherwise, you're looking at about an hour's journey by limo or cab, or the inconvenience of getting to Paddington to catch the Heatrow Express.

The rooms at the Paddington are quite nice and large for London standards, but I've found the service at the hotel to be awful. It's not in the best of locations as far as seeing the city, but as the previous poster pointed out, several tube lines run through the station making it easy to get around.

If you want to be closer to the tourist areas, both the Trafalgar and Waldorf Hiltons are in great locations, as well as the Hilton on Park Lane. As for Starwood properties--the Park Lane Hotel is also in a great location, but is a bit old and tired. The Sheraton Belgravia and Sheraton Park Tower (both in Knightsbridge area) are other options. Unfortunately, rooms can vary greatly at all of these hotels (with the possible exception of Park Tower--I'm not sure how much the rooms vary in size there).

There are many threads on the hotels in London with more detailed info.

LLM

Are you doing awards or paying? I always use awards and prefer either Hilton Park Lane or Waldorf as they are so close to the Piccadilly line from Heathrow. Upgrade situation has been much better at Park Lane. Trafalgar is a little further from a Piccadilly stop but is a boffo location, right across from National Gallery and Portrait Gallery which you must see.

Take a car service back to the airport from any of these;; much cheaper and faster than HEX or wrestling with rush hour on the sweaty tube.

NorthOrSouth

You should also look at the Hilton Metropole which is only a 5 minute walk from Paddington station. The Paddington hotel is nicer unless you get an upgraded room at the Metropole but the Metropole is usually quite a bit cheaper.

Depending on how many of you there are the HEX may still be cheaper than a car service.

LLM

Only if you're staying at Paddington or Metropole. After the London do, Shirl and I paid GBP 27 from the Waldorf via a car service SanDiego1K recommended. When my husband and I took a taxi to Paddington and then the HEX the year before, it ended up costing more than a taxi straight to LHR and we still had to tramp through the tunnel to Virgin.

stanj

I agree. I would not consider taking the HEX unless staying at the Paddington or a hotel very near to Paddington. Depending on how many people are travelling, HEX may not be cheaper than a car, but if you do a google search you can generally find discount codes for HEX tickets (as much as 50% off).

If you stay anywhere else, you're much better off taking a car service directly to LHR. Only downside is that you have to allow for ample time to get to LHR by car. I've cut it much too close on a few occasions due to traffic delays. To me, the main (only?) advantage of staying at the Paddington is the convenience of taking the Heathrow Express to catch an early flight out and not having to worry about traffic.

GoodTimes

If you want to spend time in central London then I'd suggest staying in Paddington (using the Heathrow Express to get there and vice versa). You would need to purchase a daily Travelcard which allows you unlimited access on the underground and buses in central London. You can travel on the the tube from LHR to Paddington which would be more economical but would take you over an hour, be more crowded, plus you would need to go up and down the escalators with your luggage (On your return, if purchasing a Travelcard for use before 9:30am, the Travelcard will cost more as you would be travelling during peak hours).

Whilst in Paddington, you can opt to go on the tube or the bus to get into the touristy parts. I would suggest the bus.

If you do not want the hassle, then the Hilton at Heathrow would be good for a 9:00am flight. Tip to get to T1 from this Hilton, is to go on the walkway to T4 and then take the Heathrow Express (free) to T1.

Enjoy your trip!

Agent 86

If you are travelling on a weekend look for the "UK Latest Offer" rate at the Paddington Hilton. Usually 104.50L and includes buffet breakfast and dinner first night (two night minimum).

You can't beat it for LHR transit via HEx.

pjrice

Which hotel would you recommend if a person flies into Gatwick? I too just want to visit for a few days to see the major sites.

Thanks

SanDiego1K

That's a really good tip. There's an AP DINNER 1ST NIGHT, which appears to be the same thing as the UK LATEST OFFER, yet is 5 pounds cheaper per night. Do you have any idea if there is a different advance booking requirement for the two? I just checked on a different Hilton, and was told it is a 21 day advance purchase.