Originally Posted by
corporate-wage-slave
J) Connectivity to other terminals
See post 55 for access details to the hotel. Note that the hotel and terminal / carpark have different floor numbers to each other, so level 1 in Terminal 2 is for arrivals, and access to the hotel, this turns into level 2 once in the hotel.
For Terminal 2, you just go out of Reception on hotel level 2 through the walkway to the carpark, this turns into Terminal 2 arrivals level 1, and for departures you need to take a lift to level 5. This will take under 5 minutes, walking all the way.
For Terminal 3, there is a passageway through to the terminal. There are several ways to do it, but to keep it simple, go to hotel level 2, walkway through the car park, then take a lift down to the tube level. Now some lifts only go to level 0, but that's OK, there is a tube access, but the signage is bad in this scenario. Just walk a short distance alongside the lifts with the main Terminal 2 building on your right side and you will then see the escalator down to the tube, and with it the passageway to T3. At this point it is all well signed. 10 minutes, walking all the way.
For Terminal 4, best to use the rail service. Again there are several ways to do it but the best is to follow the instructions above for Terminal 3, but before you get there you will see signs for "Trains", and that's for the free Heathrow Express and TfL Rail services. Due to a potential 15 minute service interval, you best allow 30 minutes, but it may only take 15 minutes. Go to the special machines that will issue free tickets for the inter-terminal services.
For Terminal 5, best use the tube. Follow the directions for T3, however you are only going on one travelator to get to the tube (Underground) station, then a tube to T5. Today it took me 16 minutes from the hotel reception to the First Wing in T5, but that was with only a 4 minute wait for a tube. So you best allow 20 minutes or so. You need an Oyster card, contactless payment card or Google Pay, Apple Pay (etc) on your smartphone. It's a free service but these operate the gates for you.