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London Heathrow Hotels Guide For The Leisure Traveller

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Heathrow Airport London is the busiest international airport inthe world. Around 35% of its passengers are transit passengers,i.e. passengers that are just using London to make connections.Just one reason why there are nearly 40 airport hotels atHeathrow serving the local demand for overnight stopovers. For many of these hotels the businessman with an expense accountis their bread and butter. This article seeks to address theleisure traveller, providing a guide to getting value for moneylocating a bed at Heathrow. We'll start off by dividing the hotels into three categories.There are the large 4 and 5 star chain hotels like Hilton,Radisson and Sheraton aimed at the businessmen, typicallycharging $US200 during the week, half that at weekends. Thenthere are the 2 and 3 star hotels, again mostly chains, likeComfort Inn, Ibis and Premier Travel Inn, aimed at the leisuretraveller and the businessmen on a budget. These will typicallycharge just over $US100 during the week, about $US75 atweekends. Lastly, there are the small independent local hotels,mostly family owned who offer cheap 'bed and breakfast' stylerooms. These have the cheapest accommodation. Room rates can seem good value, especially at weekends when thebusinessmen are away and everyone deep discounts to fill beds.However, beware, what the hotel doesn't get in room ratesthey'll try and get out of you in other ways. There are no hotels in the central passenger area whereTerminals 1, 2 and 3 are located, though there is a hotel linkedto Terminal 4 on the south side of the airport - the expensiveHilton Hotel, not for most leisure travellers. This means a bustransfer, and unlike most international airports there are nocomplimentary hotel transfer buses. The airport authorityprovides 'Hoppa Buses', mid-size buses that run every 10-20minutes on fixed routes to Heathrow Hotels. At 3 GBP per personper journey, thats an extra $US20 for a couple staying at aHeathrow Hotel. Most hotels will charge anything from


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$US10-$US30 for breakfast,and at most hotels there isn't viable competition outside thefront door. Dinner is similarly expensive and entertainment islargely limited to an expensive bar. So, tips for the leisure traveller trying to economise. Look fora hotel on the Bath Road, this is the northern perimeter road ofHeathrow Airport and the main hotel strip. Public buses run morefrequently than the Hoppa Buses along the Bath Road intoHeathrow Terminals, and they're free. (The fees from the HoppaBuses are part used to subsidise the free local buses). The BathRoad is the only location where you can escape your hotel. Thereis a pub serving meals, 2 McDonalds, a bowling alley, a smallsupermarket and an Italian Restaurant that can providebreakfasts, snacks and meals on the Bath Road. There are also 24hour public buses running to local towns Kingston and Hounslowfor entertainment. Taking the above together, the benchmark forthe leisure traveller is the Ibis and Premier Travel Inn hotels. The other local option is to consider local Bed & Breakfasthotels. These do not provide an airport transfer but many are onthe periphery of the airport on a bus or underground route.Their room rates are similar to the budget hotels but thisincludes a hearty breakfast and the transfer is still cheaperthan the Hoppa Bus. One other option is to forget Heathrow altogether and overnightin Central London. The Heathrow Express takes just 15 minutes toLondon's Paddington Station and there is lots of cheapaccommodation around the station. You'll certainly have a moreentertaining evening in London than at an airport hotel, and ata similar overall price. To find out more detail about the topic of this article: Heathrow Hotels Hotels Near Paddington Station London About the author: Bob Handford is an expert about his city, London and is theowner of the website London Hotels Toolkit that aims to provide practical information for independentvisitors to London. You can contact Bob direct at the web site.

Written by: Bob Handford

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