zoosh

Haven't posted in quite a while, but I am looking for an opinion or two from the Board regulars concerning where to inexpensively stay for a short overnight connection at LHR.

Mrs. Zoosh, well behaved 12 year old daughter Zoosh and I will be staying overnight, mid-week in August, at LHR connecting back to the USA from TLV. We get into LHR at about 8:30 PM, from TLV, and will take the BA177 back to JFK at 1:00 PM the next afternoon. We will have access to the Concord Room at T5 by virtue of the fact that we are traveling in First, on BA, throughout our entire trip.

Through BA's website I see availability at a LHR area Hotel called Premier Inn Heathrow, located on Bath Road, for the all-in price of US $70.00 (GBP 45.00) for the room and not per person. It is listed as a Three Star Hotel and offers the option of kids under 16 staying for free when sharing with two (2) adults. Anyone know if this Hotel is passable for a brief one night stay?

I know that we will need to take the Hotel Hoppa from LHR and back the next day and at GBP 4.00, each person - each way, that will add on another GBP 24.00 to our outlay.

Alternatively, I have enought HiltonHonors points to have a one night stay at the London Heathrow Hilton, which is connected to Terminal 4. The Hilton states that there is a complimentary shuttle bus from the Hotel to Terminal 5 that runs every 30 minutes. The only question here is that the Hilton Honors website states that the maximum room occupancy is two adults. Does anyone have any experience with getting the Hotel to provide an additional cot (for an additional fee would be fine)? We really cannot make do with just two (2) twin beds or one (1) queen size bed in the room.

We are also open to another suggestion for a moderately priced Hotel in the vicinity of LHR as we will only need it for about 10 hours or so on the overnight transit back to JFK thru LHR.

TIA

crystal_cad

Premier Inn's are fine. They are usually clean and spacious and generally quite modern. There's plenty of other hotels along the Bath Road so finding somewhere to eat would not be a problem (there's often a restaurant associated with a Premier Inn). £45 is an excellent price.

You could use priceline to see if you can "bid" for a hotel and you might get a higher-starred hotel at a good rate, but you'll then have the issue of needing an extra bed. Be careful with the word "cot", in the UK I think most people would think of a cot as a crib, i.e. for a baby!

The Hilton is connected to T4 and you can use the Heathrow Express train free of charge to connect between T5 and T4.

David-A

Indeed!

But tell me, what else does it mean in the US?

zoosh

Here in the USA we use the word to cot to describe a rollaway bed or a portable bed suitable for an adult.

ThatJohn

You could also consider the Yotel, which is in Terminal 4. That would involve two rooms, but it's quite good fun, doesn't require an off-site bus journey and you can book less than a full day (for example, arriving at 9.30pm and leaving at 9.30am to hang out in the CCR.

natkraft

I would use the Sofitel, but since you seem to be on a budget, the Inn might be a better choice as youve already found.

sajgidda

I don't know what dates you put in but Expedia UK and Hotels.com UK both give GBP70 for the Premier Inn on August 10th or 17th. If you're getting it for $70 then it's a good deal, not flash by any means but extremely consistent

Considering you're in First and will be enjoying the CCR and flight, if you did fancy upgrading this hotel portion of your stay I would suggest the Hilton Terminal 4, it's where I stay before every flight and love it. In no way is this necessary, just an opinion. I'm a sucker for getting a good full English breakfast in before I go off to the former colonies

libuser

dude
just priceline...
I stayed at Marriott LHR last month for $53 after taxes on Priceline, and also got lounge and got upgraded to suite, and lets not forget the wonderful buffet breakfast in the restaurant, well I have gold but that is besides the point. if the price does not work for you just try on the next day or different credit card. I got my sweet deal after 4 days of trying, but well worth it.

jason8612

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 9700: Opera/9.80 (BlackBerry; Opera Mini/5.1.22303/22.414; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

I would priceline or hotwire the hotel. I've gotten the sheraton and the marriott for about 40usd. Also check out priority club friends and family code (on the priority club / intercontinental forum) as you can save even more.
All the hotels except the in airport ones (like sofitel) will require you to bus it. You can do the hoppa (for a fee) or the public (for free but it stops near hotels). If you have a lot of bags I'd leave em at baggage storage in arrivals (I think £8-10/24hrs) then dragging them around.

But hotwire works just fine.

Non-NonRev

One option is to book one LHR Hilton room using HHonors points (for use by your wife and daughter), and also purchase a Yotel single room for yourself. I stayed in a single cabin last September - they are small but clean and confortable (and offer free wi-fi, to boot). The cost of the Yotel will be mitigated by the fact that you will not be purchasing 6 Hoppa tickets (or paying for minicab transport to and from an outlying hotel).

Book only the actual number of Yotel hours you will need for sleeping time. In the morning, everyone checks out, rides the Hilton bus to T5, then proceeds to the CCR for a sit-down breakfast. If desired, reserve a cabana to provide your family with a little private oasis inside the CCR (the cabana has a wall-mounted flat-panel TV and a non-private shower/toilet section).

SFOSpiff

I've stayed at that Premier Inn on Bath Road and it was a nice value for the money. Clean comfortable room. The only issue I had was the unreliability of their shuttle to get me to LHR for a 6 am flight, but a cab was about 10 pounds.

Dorset Flyer

Have stayed in the Hilton at T4 a number of times with my wife and 10yr old daughter. Ask at reception on arrival and a roll away bed will be delivered to your room by housekeeping. The bed comes complete with its own towels and toiletries and is more than big enough.

The shuttle is every 30mins, there is a seated waiting area nr reception.

For us it all works very well esp. the swimming pool.

jbcarioca

+1 for the Hilton. They are pretty good on point stays and have not yet charged my for a cot. They might, but you'll still have their free bus to T5 and you'll be using points, so this will almost certainly be the cheapest option for you.

nmenaker

For those who have stayed there, what are the closest hotels at LHR terminal 5. Of course the sofitel is IN THE TERMINAL basically, but it is some SERIOUS coin. Any tips on getting the price down?

henners

My advice is that if you can afford the Sofitel, get it (being in T5 makes live very simple). If you want cheaper, go right down to the cheapest reasonable place you can find - there is simply no advantage in my opinion to stay at (e.g.) the T4 Hilton: the inconvenience of getting back to T5 is equivalent to travelling from one of the hotels on Bath Road.

When I've got an early flight and can't get a cheapo room at the Sofitel, I sometimes stay at the Continental hotel which is a couple of minutes walk from Hounslow Central tube, or the Jury's Inn which is about 5 minutes from Hatton Cross.