LHR help
 

Hi,

I'm on a layover in LHR from 8/9-9/9. Arriving from CDG on BD T1, connecting the next evening to JFK on UA from T3. I haven't been able to successfully bid on a hotel for the night using priceline - being a student means I can't really splurge that much - and was wondering which terminal is preferable to sleep in? Do any of them have shower facilities?

Thanks alot
goodo

I did just this last week - I work near Heathrow and live in London and I missed my last train home. Being a girl on her own and too poor for a hotel (I was just about ready to get a US trip, which I've now bought) I opted for the safety of the airport. I arrived at 1am and plumped for Terminal 2 only because it was the closest to the Bus Station.
All I can say is that I wouldn't recommend this one - please discount it as an option. Not much room, and you'll be kept up all night by the sounds of the floor cleaning machines. People start arriving here at 4am for their morning flights and it gets pretty noisy then.

I'm sure someone will be able to give soundadvice about where is a good place to stay the night. But from my own experience - avoid Terminal 2. It's rubbish! (I was just too tired - and vulnerable - to wander around and find somewhere better, besides most of the good seats - i.e. the ones without arm rests you can lie on - were taken by then, so there didn't seem much point).

Best of luck!

What's your budget?

There are loads of B&B's in the area. You won't get points, but it'll be cheap.

www.sleepinginairports.net should provide you with all the information you need to know.

I guess my budget is as low as possible. How cheap is cheap, LHR Tim? Can you recommend anything? I'd like to pbe as close as possible to LHR so I can check-in in the morning, then go in to london city.

thanks
goodo

When I was a student I used to stay at youth hostels - and there are plenty of those in London, see www.yha.org.uk for further details. You need to join the Youth Hostels Association in your country in order to stay at YHA hostels in other countries.

I appreciate that none of these hostels are close to LHR, but if you wanted to check in in the morning there is always the option of getting a Travel Card, taking the tube to LHR and then going back and spending the rest of the day sightseeing. (BTW, are you sure you CAN check in in the morning? I've been in many places where check-in desks were not open until a few hours before departure - typically four hours for long-haul, two hours for short-haul)

Since your onward flight doesn't leave until the evening...

try http://www.ryanairhotels.com/live/sp...ers/london.htm

I saw a room listed for one person on the 08 Sep listed for £25.

I'd say Highgate (the place mentioned) was a little over 2 hours from Heathrow using the Tube (it's on the Northern line).
There was also a room for £45 at Finsbury Park which is about 1.5 hours direct on the Piccaddily line.

The YHA's in London now are about the most expensive in the world for a dorm bed...about $US45 a night now.

I might suggest a B&B in Windsor. You can get up there by local bus out of T1, and the tourist office could book you something if you arrive early enough in the day. They should have a web site that you might be able to follow up on.

Have a look at http://www.bookhostels.com/ - has a bunch of hostels and guesthouses with review.

Well we used to have folks stay at this place:

http://www.houseweb.co.uk/ht/bridge.html

However, with ROE, 25 quid is approching $50.

You can take the tube to Hounslow and then a 235 or 237 bus to Isleworth.

That said, have you tried looking at your priceline bidding strategy? Did you check out betterbidding.com? I see some bids have been won in theh $43 price range at LHR hotels. Don't forget there are ways around the losing bids on priceline ;)