Best hotel near T5 for a quick o'nite
 

I have never needed to do this before but I am going to need a hotel for a late arrival/early departure at T5. I'm ideally looking for something that either has a free, fast & regular shuttle or access to a quick means of transport that doesn't cost the earth.

All suggestions welcome!

How about the Sofitel which just requires your feet for transportation.

If that's too pricey my other regular options are the Hilton Garden Inn Hatton Cross (2 stops from T5 on the underground), the Hilton T2 (1 stop on the underground) or the Doubletree Bath Road (a 10 min bus ride from Heathrow Central).

if convenience is the overriding factor here, then surely Sofitel is the way to go?

There are a substantial number of threads on that topic, but I accept you may not know where to start. So this is one such thread that name checks most of the usual suspects, and a further search of specifics will give you more details - down to ideal room numbers.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...p-bath-rd.html
The usual suspects being: Sofitel, Thistle, Premier Inn at T5 and T4, HGI T2, HGI Hatton Cross, the Bath Road hotels (over 20), Hiltons T4 and T5. Plenty of other options.

As a wildcard, I had a very nice and inexpensive stay in the Ibis Budget in Hounslow, with a bus leaving from just outside direct to T5 for an early departure.

You’ll find a lot of crew stay at the premier inn- getting the local bus (not the expensive hotel hoppa). It represents good value for money and a comfortable stay, but obviously not as easy as the Sofitel- depends on how much you value an extra 20 minutes sleep I guess.

No free shuttles at lhr

any hotel on the bath road will be close to a bus stop so they are all the price of a single bus ticket each way

Actually just seen the Thistle has the pods to T5 straight outside?

What is the Heathrow Pod?

The Heathrow Pods are a fleet of automatic driverless electronic vehicles which transport customers between London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 and the Thistle Hotel in just 5 minutes.

How much does it cost?

The hotel collects £6.00 per person per journey, which is passed onto the Heathrow Pods operator. We do not profit directly from the journey sales.

the thistle is not a great hotel, and the pods cost £6 per person each way - but yes it's convenient.

The over priced hoppa is cheaper

The 423 Service bus goes from the hotel for i think £1.65 now

The public buses within a 1 mile radius used to be free thanks to a subsidy to TFL by Heathrow Mega Corporation but they eliminated those subsidies during the great Covid Depression era. They now cost one pound, not a bank breaker. My mantra is to never ever ever use the extortion company referred to as Hotel Hoppa.

Looks like I can book it for around £75. With another £12 for pods and a five minute trip, is the Thistle any worse than say HEX or PI?

What am I missing here? You're comparing a hotel (Thistle) to a train line (HEX)? And what's PI?

Holiday inn express
premier inn