Originally Posted by Cambo

LHR is certainly not the most WCHR-friendly airport, to put it mildly (though, there are more airports earning that qualification, in UK/EU it's a mixed bag, some very good, some appalling).

At LHR, consider yourself "a package", which is delivered in a way optimized for the shipper, not for the package. The WCHR handler will take care, you will make your (connecting) flight, though wasting the in-between time is not their worry. Take care to have a huge amount of transfer time, the regular 3 hours between terminals is very tight when doing WCHR.

When changing terminals, you will be "dropped" off at a bus transfer gate, and from there, you will have to find your own way to the next terminal AND find there the next report desk, ehhh, holding pen, where you will be picked up for the next WCHR leg. If that is to the lounge, they'll bring you there. And will pick you up at a time suitable for them, bring you to the gate, and, when they think, you might not be able to make it to the airplane on your own dime, bring you all the way to the airplane with the wheelchair. The waiting time until boarding is a favorite time for the wheelchair pusher (relax time, do nothing, and still earn money), so, they will quite likely "decide" to bring you all the way to the airplane with the wheelchair, even when it implies 30 minutes wait en 50m "walk".

So, depending on the legs needed, it could be, you end up in 2-3 holding pens. Take care to be on top of your "next leg" yourself. Continuously ask, where to go, what distance, where to find the next report desk, and whatever you think, might be relevant, otherwise, you may end up walking long stretches, due to missing something. Sometimes, they do assume, you can walk some stretches, which may turn out beyond your capabilities, so, ASK, when they want you to walk and ask again when getting vague answers.

At the lounge, you will (probably) be "registered", and "marked" and (probably) get a buzzer (at least with BA), with some remarks, to not sneak out and take care, they can find you back. With SQ, they may mark your carry-on with a tag, noting your next flight/gate/time, used to locate you, even when you left your seat.

The above is for WCHR. WCHS (can not ascent/descent stairs), I don't know, though this might be better guided. The same for people, who have inherent difficulty orienting at an airport, etc.

On the positive side, when with a wheelchair pusher, you are injected at the front of queues, so when it's busy, this can save a lot of time, as well as prevent exhaustion due to having to stand up for a longer time.

Regarding security at LHR: They are called Nazis. I won't repeat that, though they are extremely strict and when they find a violation, the secondary scanning takes ages to start and complete.

The best WCHR airports tend to be in Asia, with the remark, you need to "pay" for WCHR support (ehhhh, rent for the wheelchair itself, the pusher is free) on LCC's (even with a transfer from a major airline). Forget the payment, or get it waved, and you will have a very bad day.

Some of the above items may not be relevant for you, though, given there are more readers, a write-up, might be useful for others too.

Regarding your Hilton: You will be dropped off at the airport landside at the curb. From there, it's on your own dime (the same for the return).