Overnight London Layovers
 

We have two upcoming overnight layovers in London. On one we arrive at Gatwick at 10:30 P.M. and leave from Heathrow the next day. On the other we just go into Heathrow, and leave from Heathrow the next day.

What kind of suggestions do you have for easily accessible overnight lodging?

at heathrow they have the "hotel hoppa" which is a fee-based hotel shuttle--seems a bit strange. I recall the Hotel Ibis at LHR was the cheapest in the area. I stayed at a Sheraton at LHR for appx 70 GBP weekend rate/on sale for one night in the fall--perfectly adequate. (I think the Ibis was either 49 or 54 GBP anytime, but seemed quite a bit more rudimentary). Beware that LHR is a ghost town (at least the terminal where the Concorde arrives) at 1030pm.

You said "easily accessible," not "cheap."

For your first stay, a lot depends on how you plan to get from Gatwick to Heathrow. My personal preference, unless I expect to need a car at Heathrow, is the airport-to-airport bus. Most of the other options go via London with multiple changes. If your budget allows, of course, there are taxis.

Unless your Heathrow flight leaves very early, in which case you might want to get there the night before, I'd head for the Gatwick Hilton (walkway to the terminal) and catch a morning bus.

If you have plenty of time the next day and want something a bit different, take the Gatwick Express into London and stay at any hotel near Victoria Station. Next day, have a real English breakfast at a restaurant, walk around Buckingham Palace and other spots in the vicinity, take a cab to Paddington and the Heathrow Express to the airport.

For staying at Heathrow, if either of your flights is from Terminal 4, you can't beat the Heathrow Hilton for convenience. (I've never gotten a room there for less than GBP 110, which may be an issue.) T4 is a 5-minute (free) train ride from T1-2-3 (they leave every 15 minutes) so if you don't have to be there at one end or the other it's not worth going there for the hotel. In that case, the Hotel Hoppa to any of the hotels on the A4 road north of the airport is fine. True, it's not free (it's not a hotel service, it's a separate business) but at GPB 2 it won't bust your budget.

Whoops, forgot to tell you we are flying BA.

Had assumed it would make more sense just to spend the night near Gatwick and then go to Heathrow the next morning. Our plane leaves about noon I believe.

I also just learned that my daughter (22) will be overnighting at Heathrow as well ALONE, so now the issue of personal safety comes into play as well on a grander scale. Jamiel, the "ghost town" bit makes me nervous. Need I be concerned?

Thanks Efrem. My husband prefers taxis, but I always prefer to take a bus or shuttle of some kind, just because I enjoy talking to other folks on the bus and seeing a little bit more than I might see in a taxi.

Not to mention the gamble you take with taxi drivers. We recently had one who wasn't quite sure how to get to JFK from Manhattan..... That was interesting.

Punki: If you are flying BA, it is much easier to get BA to sort out your accom needs, they have obviously have some of the best deals with the airport hotels.

As Efrem said the Heathrow Hilton is a fine (although it is impossible to get a really cheap deal there). The new Marriott has also recently opened at Heathrow, it is a very pleasant hotel. In my view by far the best hotel at Heathrow is the Edwardian International, they will provide hotel-terminal transfer.

At Gatwick the Hilton is OK, but the Forte Crest (or whatever they are calling it this week is better).

If you plump for the Hilton at Gatwick, you should be able to get a Corporate rate of £90 per-night weekday. For the Heathrow Hilton, you are looking at a minimum £120. If either of these properties offer you "run of the hotel" rates , don't consider it of any benefit. Both Hilton's have Clubrooms.

But the best advice I can offer is get BA to arrange the accom, they usually recommend the Forte or Hilton at Heathrow or the Ramada or Hilton at Gatwick.

I was just really caught off guard arriving into LHR at 1030pm on a Saturday evening in September--I flew from JFK on the Concorde with only about 40 other people and we were literally echoing in the place. It was spooky--kind of like a US airport at 1 am.
I presume the European terminal is a bit more lively at that hour.

The Sheraton Skyline is a very nice hotel and the Smart rooms are great if you need to conduct business while there. It is more expensive than the regular Sheraton though.

The Hilton is walking distance to terminal 4 as I recall. It's a good choice if you will be leaving from terminal 4.

I usually take the Hopper bus to the hotel. But as I always like that extra hour of sleep in the morning, I wait til about an 45-50 minutes before the flight, then hire a car from the hotel for about 5-7 GBP to go to the terminal. It's much faster than the Hopper bus which can take over 20 minutes depending on what hotel you are in and what terminal you're going to.

Oh, I also forgot to say I always stay near the airport that I'm leaving from the next morning. Especially when the airport is Heathrow.

You never know what kind of horrible traffic mess is waiting for you in southern England. Better to find out the day before.

I sometimes think its faster to walk than take the Hoppa bus (I have had good and bad service even though it seems to be frequent). I almost missed my flight last time in LHR waiting for the Hoppa to pick me up from the car rental agency (and I couldn't find a cab anywhere).

I had just driven into London on a weekday from Cambridge to drop some people off downtown on the way out to Heathrow--big mistake! At least I knew some shortcuts near Regent's Park to get around some of the persistent jams. It was so nice driving in London the previous Sunday that I got fooled into believing that weekday traffic might not be so bad.

Punki,

1. I wouldn't worry about her safety. For one thing, won't she be in her hotel by then? In that case, deserted terminals don't matter. And they're not really deserted. The shops and ticket counters are closed, there are no passengers or airline staff around, but there are enough lights for visibility and plenty of cleaning people tidying up.

2. If you're planning to take a late bus from Gatwick (check when the last is - I don't know, mine have always been in the morning) you'll arrive about midnight. Don't expect to find much activity. I'm not even sure the Hotel Hoppa runs that late. You should be able to get a taxi, but Heathrow is served by London taxis while nearby hotels are outside London, so the meter does not operate and the cost will be astronomical for a very short trip. For a noon flight I'd stay at Gatwick. The bus avoids London (most of the trip is on the M-25 beltway) so you should be OK, especially since you can arrive well past rush hour without missing your flight.

3. Since your flight leaves at noon, forget the "stay in London overnight" option. It would work, but you wouldn't have enough time there to make it worthwhile.

4. BA uses two Heathrow terminals depending on flight destination, T4 & one of the others if I recall. Find out which your flight is from before deciding about the Hilton.

Somebody above (Merry, I think) mentioned the Ramada at Gatwick.

FYI, the Ramadas at Gatwick and Heathrow were recently reflagged to Renaissance Hotels, and participate in Marriott Rewards.