London Heathrow Airport info for long layover

[Deleted member 221]

OMG, the condescending tone of this post. It’s positively Tinamiesque.

Sorry, I didn't mean for it to be condescending. I've flown Air Serbia and Bulgaria Air, and the service is usually better than British Airways . But T4 is, factually, a smaller and lower-budget terminal that is the least convenient to get to. Many of the airlines flying out of T4, because they're lower budget, have less preferential time slots, especially in the very early morning. For flights departing before 7:15-7:30 a.m., it's tight to impossible to get to Heathrow T4 in enough time to check a bag and clear security, except by taxi / uber. The hotel at T4 is likely to cater to these passengers, and the price point probably needs to be equivalent to a taxi ride from central London (< 80 GBP) to make it worthwhile.

For me, this is the likely market for a hotel at T4. Connecting from T5 to T3 overnight, I'd never stay at T4. It's just not convenient, and the price reflects that.

 

[acraven]

Sounds as if I'm going to continue to get those great last-night deals. Works for me.

 

[allezfred]

Sorry, I didn't mean for it to be condescending. I've flown Air Serbia and Bulgaria Air, and the service is usually better than British Airways .

But have you ever “stayed” at a Premier Inn?

 

[Deleted member 221]

But have you ever “stayed” at a Premier Inn?

I've stayed at far worse! I have no problem with two-star hotels or discount airlines, if they're convenient.

 

[Vash01]

I got back yesterday. I decided on the Holiday Inn Express at T4 because it was not worth paying for a 4 or 5 star hotel for an 8 pm to 6 am stay. I found the HI Ex easy to get to, and cost me only $101 for the night, including the buffet breakfast. I took the free bus from T5 to T4 (a nine minutes ride) followed by the enclosed walkway from T4 to HIEx (a 5 minute walk). On the way back I took the walkway to T4 and rode the free train to T3..

The room and bathroom were small but the bed was very comfortable, and the buffet breakfast really helped, given my tight schedule. The hotel is new and it felt good.

I had dinner at the adjoining Crowne Plaza (same building) which had a nicer restaurant. Overall I was happy with my decision. My only gripe was that the HI Ex is listed as a 3.5 hotel. In reality it is at the most a 3.0 hotel, but it was a very comfortable hotel that was easy to get to (no transportation cost) and it was perfect for my situation.

Now I feel more comfortable about LHR. I found many helpful people who worked there and gave me directions. There is plenty of free transportation available, the immigration was done electronically (meaning faster), and going through security was easy. I was happy that I didn’t have to take off my shoes.

 

[Vash01]

Thanks to everyone who contributed to my question. It helped to get different perspectives and valuable information.