teemuflyer

Yes it is a very nice spot. The walk up the hill to the observatory on a sunny day is beautiful. I must get better acquainted the next time I'm in London and nice to know it is so close to the Hilton CW now!

Dax1956

Hi would you all be kind enough to help me choose? I have a flight from terminal 5, but the Hilton at terminal 5 seems a long way away. And the hopper bus seems unreliable.. So should I go with the Hilton at terminal 4 instead? I'm interested in the lounge and convenience of getting to the terminal. Thank you all very much.

MP001

If you must have a lounge your alternatives to Hilton T5 are Hilton T4 or Hilton Paddington.
Both reachable via the Heathrow express train. To reach T4 you need approx 5/10 min via a free transfer, the Hilton is connected to the terminal via a covered passage. For Paddington you need about 20 minutes on the express. The Hilton Paddington is right in the station, in front of your arrival platform..

layz

I like the Hilton T5 despite the location. Don't use the Hoppa if possible. Assuming you're happy to pay for a taxi the hotel can organise a local minicab firm to meet you in arrivals and quote a fixed price, or you can do your own research or try Uber when you arrive. The cost of this is likely to be significantly cheaper than the Heathrow Express to Paddington.

Don't use the licensed taxis (Black Cabs) at the airport as they're London registered and the Hilton T5 is outside of their boundary (Heathrow is at the edge of London and the Hilton is just outside) this means the taxi fare is not regulated and because they don't want to lose their place in the queue for such a short job they'll quote a high fare.

If you decide to stay in the Hilton T4 again I suggest ditching the Hoppa, if you walk along the covered walkway from the hotel to the terminal there's a bus (regular London buses are free if you're staying within the airport boundary) that takes you to T5. For me that's preferable to using the free shuttle trains as the bus requires no changes but the train requires a change at T2/3.

craigthemif

HGI Hatton Cross is more convenient for T5 than the Hilton at T4 IMO. No lounge obviously, but much lower cost if that is a consideration...

The new one at T2 will be even more convenient...

Dax1956

That's interesting i didn't know T2 was closer. How would I get to terminal 5? I am leaving from terminal five not arriving into it.
Thanks everyone, I would of done Paddington but it's too many points, and the cost is too high.

layz

From T2 you can take the free transfer train (you either need to get a free transfer ticket from a machine or use a contactless credit/debit card) one stop. Unlike T4-T5 there's no need to change.

From Hatton Cross you take the tube two stops.

layz

I've never had to park my bike at a hotel before but as I no longer live in London and I'm doing the London to Brighton bike ride next month I need somewhere safe to store my bike overnight and ideally I'd rather it be a Hilton group hotel so I can book on points.

I think somewhere with an indoor car park and CCTV with some cycle racks inside would be fine. I don't want to leave it outside unless it's a locked cycle cage. I have insurance but that's not much use if the bike gets stolen the night before the event!

The start point is Clapham Common.

RoxyMountain

I take my bike with me all over the world and I bring it right into my hotel room. London, Germany, Netherlands, France. Never had an issue. I wait for an empty elevator an go right up to the room.

I have heard London to Brighton is a lot of fun.

layz

I never thought that'd be allowed, but then again as long as the bike is clean it should be fine.
London to Brighton is fun, I've done it before but used to live in London so never had to think about hotels before. What's good about the event is it attracts people of all abilities. The only criticism is that although there's a timing chip in your number they don't tell you your time. That might be deliberate as they try to get people to not consider it a race.

wizla

Hilton Canary Wharf has a clean, secure car park underneath the hotel, I’m 99% sure there is is also a cycle rack down there too

RoxyMountain

I need to do it sometime, looks like a lot of fun.

I think there are something like 15,000 riders so expect your hotel to have a lot of people with bikes, you will not be out of place. I have done a lot of events and sometimes hotels near the start dedicate a meeting room for bike storage when they have an event nearby. I have not done any in the UK but in France and Italy this was common

Have fun and good luck.

shmom

We just stayed at the HGI at Heathrow and took the Hoppa bus - it was super easy and maybe 8 GPB? Kids were free. It dropped us off right at the terminal. There are different buses for different terminals and it comes every 30 minutes. You also can charge the Hoppa bus pass to your room for extra points.

layz

The tube is a lot cheaper and runs every few minutes. The hotel is very close to the tube so the only reason I'd suggest getting the Hoppa is you have so much luggage that this would be a hassle.

Dax1956

I have never used Heathrow, so please excuse my trivial questions. Does the train from paddington drop you close to the Hgi? How long does it take for the free transfer train to get to terminal five? How often do the trains from terminal two to to terminal five?
Sorry for all the questions. Thank you so much for all your help everyone.