cardsqc

I know this is a variant of a topic that comes up a lot, but I'm still trying to work out my best options, and really haven't come up with a great soluton.

We're going to be coming in to Heathrow T3 for a 6:30am arrival on a weekday. Our plan at this point is to hit the arrivals lounge for a chance at a shower and some breakfast before working our way into town to drop our luggage off since it'll be too early to check in (Park Plaza Waterloo).

Last time we did this we were getting in later in the day and didn't hit the arrivals lounge, so we just arranged a minicab ahead of time to take us in and that worked out pretty well. With the lounge stop, and not knowing exactly how long we'll be there, I'm not as sure about arranging the minicab, plus of course we're looking at being right in the middle of rush hour traffic.

We're going to have enough luggage that I don't really think I want to deal with trying to take the tube - rush hour time period, and I think we'll likely each have a larger roller bag plus a carry-on roller, and I'm really hoping we can keep it to that. This route looks like it'd be Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus, and transfer to Bakerloo to Lambeth North, which at least as far as I know has a lift now. Not sure how that transfer would be.

Another option would be heather connect or express into paddington, and then take a cab from there to the hotel. I know that's not really the most convenient routing either, and during the morning rush, not sure how bad it would be to get from paddingto to the park plaza waterloo.

On the other end of the stay I'm leaning towards being more willing to try the tube even with luggage, since it'll be a sunday morning, and we'd be going from the lambeth north station to St. Pancras. I might just try to get a feel for how crowded that route is that morning before trying it.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks.

ppp909

I'd take the bus to Feltham and then take the train into Waterloo. The bus will be empty when you get on it and you should be able to get your luggage on, although that does depend on how big your cases are. I only ever travel with a rucksack so my judgement may be off.
The train will be busy at rush hour but not too bad from Feltham (a lot of people get on at Twickenham, the next stop). It will also pull in at platform 19 at Waterloo probably which is closest to your hotel.
If you don't fancy getting onto a bus, albeit an empty one, get the train to Paddington and get a cab. It'll cost far, far more if that's important.

Ldnn1

Deleted (realised York Road exit at Waterloo is currently closed).

lhrsfo

Or take the Tube (remember it starts at LHR) to pretty well any central station and grab an Uber at street level. The trick would be to exit at a station that is not too crowded - perhaps Hyde Park Corner.

:D!

Bakerloo will probably be empty on Sunday morning, just remember the first train from Lambeth North is at 0718 so if you need to get to St Pancras before 8am then the tube may not be the best choice.

To get to St Pancras, change at Oxford Circus where the Bakerloo has a cross-platform interchange with the Victoria line



If the OP spends some time in the arrivals lounge then they won't get to Feltham before 9.30am, after which time the train will not be that busy, and also cheaper.


But Hyde Park Corner involves climbing stairs to street level, and not sure it is the best place for an Uber to pick up 4+ pieces of luggage

Green Park should be fine and I think has lifts/elevators to street level

scottishpoet

Bus 285 from the central bus terminal to Feltham then the train

You will need an oyster card or contactless debit/credit card (some US cards do not work)

Silver Fox

You have a stack of luggage to mess about with on the tube, get a minicab or Uber it from LHR is what I would do to take the stress out of everything. I don't even like getting on the bus with a backpack these days.

rcspeirs

It depends on how you define stress. London traffic congestion has got quantifiable worse in the last year. Taking road transport from Heathrow in the weekday rush hour into central London would be my idea of purgatory. The tube starts its journey at the so you are guaranteed a seat, even though it will get crowded as you get into central London. There isn't a one size fits all answer - you'll need to assess where your stress tolerances are.
Oh, one more thing. Going to Paddington to get to Warerloo would be a really bad plan. Drop that idea.

cardsqc

Bus with the luggage we'll have I don't think sounds like all that great of an idea. The idea of taking the tube to something like Green Park sounds like it has some potential. I'm one of those that doesn't really do uber (besides, won't have cell service), but presumably I'd be able to hail a cab from that area.

One other route that looks possible is HC/HE to paddington, and then get on bakerloo there to lambeth north. From what I can tell, looks like that route should at least not rely on stairs, and would get us right where we need, but obviously the issue would be just how busy the bakerloo line would be by the time we got there. (FWIW, I'm far enough out that I can book the 90 day advanced tickets on HE, so at least the cost for that isn't too bad.)

How close to when you need it can you generally get away with booking a minicab? Is it something you could do with an hour or two notice? With wireless in the arrivals lounge if I could do it short notice I could see getting to the lounge and arranging to have it pick us up in an hour or so if that's something that's feasible.

Thanks, that sounds like it might be feasible. I think we'd be most likely looking at around a 930 train from St Pancras, so the first Bakerloo train wouldn't be an issue.

Thanks folks, this has at least given me some other things to consider. Luggage is the big factor of course, a lot of the options would work nicely if it wasn't for that. (Unfortunately, we're ultimately headed out on a cruise, and to make matters worse will need some colder weather gear on this particular cruise, so luggage is scaring me.)

Swiss Tony

The lack of a mobile phone is going to limit your options, so how about....

Take the tube from Heathrow to Barons Court, cross the platform and board a District Line train. Get off at St James Park, you have one flight of stairs up to street level then find a black cab to take you the last mile or so over to the hotel?

stanj

Certainly feasible, but it would depend on availability. There are a lot of airport transfer outfits, so you could probably find one to come out within the hour if you're willing to call around, but you say you won't have cell service, which might make it a bit more inconvenient.

What I've done the last few times when arriving early and planning to freshen up at the arrivals lounge is to book a car about 2 hours after schueduled arrival. If I get done earlier, I call and ask them if they can send a car earlier. Usually they've been able to accomodate an earlier pickup, but occaisionally not, in which case I just wait it out.

Ldnn1

No calling around is necessary. Just use Kabbee - you can easily get a reasonably priced car from LHR within an hour.

dmsmith70

I see others have suggested the Green Park option. I cant compare it with other stations but I can confirm there are elevators at Green Park. Also, if you exit for 'Green Park/Buckingham Palace' (south side of Piccadilly), then you literally come out into Green Park which is relatively calm, so you can catch you breath. You can hail taxis directly on Piccadilly but best to walk the 50m along the front of the Ritz hotel and turn right. There is a taxi rank, primarily for Ritz clientele but anyone can use them. BY London standards, this is pretty civilized arrival point and one I use on a regular basis.

cardsqc

That definitely sounds like it would be pretty easy to handle for us, thanks.

And once again, thanks everyone, this was a lot of help.