Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Airport {GBR}
Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow
Eastern Perimeter Rd Hounslow, GB TW6 2SQ
Location is the best, the rest below average (2 Photos)
Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow
Location
This is the one and only big plus of this property. About 5-10 mins walk from the Hatton Cross Underground station (either via the bridge or the crosswalk) - you need to walk pass this large Cargo Receiving center - therefore you walk either through the front or the back of this building. The expensive Hotel Hoppa bus does stop here too. There are not much of other shops around the area, so if you are looking for other dining options, not much luck here. There is a petrol station and a small shop in the station to get some snacks or pre-package sandwiches or simple hot snacks.
Check In
Arrived at a rather peak hour and there were 4-5 different parties before me. Initially it was only 1 person working, but within a couple of mins, two other associates joined this, helping the line to move. I did an online-check in (which I would after many tried, not recommend since I believe it reduces your chances of getting an upgrade as an Elite HH member). Given the normal elite member benefits and that's it, nothing more. Again compared to other HGI properties that I've stayed in outside or Europe/UK, they've always added some extra like welcome drinks, etc for their elite members. Even in the US properties they are more generous in this aspect.
Room
I chose my own room facing the airport, which was at the corner of the building. On the floor map, the room looked ok in size, but in reality it is a long narrow room which is very close to the size of a mouse hole. If you have 2 normal large suitcases, the room will be filled (actually I am not even sure if you can get those 2 open suitcases to fit without have obstructions to the bathroom/room door.
The rest of the room equipped with the normal furnitures found in a room. The TV was at most a 24" size (even my home computer screen is as big as that) and was placed on the writing table. The number of channels on the tv itself (though most are not working - no signal) is different to what is listed on the program list. Not sure why did they not delete these "no signal" channels.
Bathroom was small with one of the most basic washbasin (hardly any place to place your toiletries bag). The shower area was small with a rather stuborn glass door. Too bad even though for just a 2 year old hotel, they chose to go with a non-removal shower head. Water pressure and temperature was at least ok. Though the floor and the rest of the bathroom build was (surprisingly just less than 2 years) showing wear and tear - bad build quality/materials. Furthermore it was so small, that normally you have 2 sets of towels available, they could not even put both, but had to keep one in the wardrobe (which was not clearly stated and I only accidentally found it when I opened the wardrobe).
Wifi seems to be free for all guests, which is again a minus point here. If it was fast enough for all guests I am ok, but it was slow and even sending documents through whatsapp was slow or uploading photos was slow. Normally there should be an option for premium internet if the hotel still wants to offer complimentary internet but do not want to pay for better speeds/data.
Bed was comfortable - only complain here are the duvet and pillow covers. Upon checking them (which I always do just in case) found that they had some black stain (guess due to rubbing against rubber in the machine or grease stain?) and torned duvet covers (tried to hide it by using it underside). At least it was not dirty I guess.
As an international hotel (since it's an LHR airport hotel), could not believe that they just invested in one miserable EU type plug, which I again accidentally discovered since it was hidden behind the TV area.
Noise insulation within the hotel was a bit on the weaker side, you can hear guests talking in the hallway and closing their doors. As for outside noise, unless you are directly under the takeoff path of the planes, you will still hear some engine noise.
Service
Did not use much of the service, but at least check-in staff were OK.
Overall
In general, after staying at this property I do wonder besides the supporting facilities of an hotel, how this property could have been branded as a HGI hotel. Within the HH brands, based on the room quality, I would say the best this would be an Hampton Inn. (in reality I would say it's an in between of an Ibis Budget and Hampton Inn). Very weak value for money. For HH elite members, don't expect too much of recognition besides what's on paper. Only reason I will stay here is just because of the location especially for early morning or late arrival flights and nothing more due to it's close location to Hatton Cross where you can easily get the trains to all Heathrow terminals.
I was with 2 in the room and you had to make way for each other when walking between the bathroom and bed. (average size)
In my opinion Hilton HQ should really set a standard to include room size when they brand a certain hotel and not just because the hotel as additional facilities.
Cheers!
Last edited by nldogbert; Jan 9, 2018 at 12:29 am
Coming back to the room - I just checked my folio and indeed, I had the bad luck of having room 546 However the hotel should have upgraded me to a better room if they know that this room is tiny as an Elite member. However besides the room, just having a washbasin in the bathroom (which is also tiny) and reusing permanent stained towels and bedding sheets - how is this possible for a HGI? For me I can accept all these if the rate was < 50 GBP - but anything more than that to offer such service is really bad value for money in my opinion.
The only reason I will stay again here is the convenience of the Hatton Cross access where I can go to any of the terminal quickly.
Cheers!
Last edited by nldogbert; Jan 9, 2018 at 3:32 am
I think I have had a room like the one you were in maybe once over the years. They are right in the corners so if you can OLCI pick something else.
You do get free bottled water when you arrive, either they give you two bottles or tell you to help yourself from the fridge in the pantry area opposite reception. Also you get the choice of free breakfast or extra points. I am not sure what other elite benefits you are expecting? Having just stayed at a HGI in the US I didn't get anything more than that there.
On upgrades, there is not a lot to be upgraded to - all the rooms are fairly similar so I am not convinced I could tell the difference between a normal and upgraded room.
I have found the wifi fine over the years, not super speedy but it's fast enough for working and I have sometimes downloaded programs on iplayer using it.
In terms of plugs you should have one either side of the bed (many hotels annoyingly do not have any next to the bed) and a few more near the desk. They are mostly uk type but frankly if you travel a lot that shouldn't be an issue as you should have some adapters. When I go to the US or mainland Europe I rarely see UK plug sockets.
For getting there you don't need to walk through any cargo building, just walk along the road, see my map here https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27265665-post70.html
Overall I am not sure I agree with your assessment of this hotel, but of course if you are not happy there is plenty of other hotels around LHR to pick. The ones I mentioned above can be cheaper. I think if you don't like it you are best avoiding it in future and nothing anyone says would convince you otherwise. I have similar LHR hotel dislikes - I really don't like the Thistle yet other people I know seem to be quite happy with it!
Cheers!
Overall it’s not a hotel I would choose to stay in unless I had to be near to Heathrow. I think compared to other HGI properties it’s inferior.
Overall it’s not a hotel I would choose to stay in unless I had to be near to Heathrow. I think compared to other HGI properties it’s inferior.