Hotel in Heathrow, London

Once a tiny hamlet tacked onto the far west of Middlesex 17 miles west of central London, Heathrow the village was demolished in 1945 to make way for Heathrow airport (www.heathrowairport.com), now the world’s busiest international departure lounge.

As such Heathrow has many hotels to offer ranging from 3 to 5 star in quality and price. If you are staying at Heathrow then there are several large hotels within the Heathrow complex. 

The Ibis Heathrow Hotel is situated right on the boundary of the airport close to Terminals 1,2 and 3. The Hoppa shuttle service travels to the Ibis Hotel from terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4. They run from approx 0400 to 2300, out of these hours you can use a taxi for the short trip.

The St Giles Heathrow is a good medium priced hotel with an airport shuttle service. For something more grand try the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Airport, very close to the terminals.

With no less than five terminals and serving 67.3 million passengers each year – more than the entire population of the UK – this sprawling, frantic airport is the size and scale of a minor town in itself, and unless you’re travelling by air, there’s no other reason to find yourself at Heathrow.

Though the vast majority of passengers have no problems here, the airport has a reputation for huge security queues, terminal confusion and the occasional meltdown – as seen at the shambolic opening of the all-new Terminal 5 – and it’s certainly true that the security presence here is very noticeable, as the main hub for entering the UK.

It’s always best to err on the safe side as far as check-in times are concerned, and double-check your terminal – the whole airport’s in a state of flux as Terminal 5’s second phase opens and Terminals 2 and 1 are to be replaced, and many airlines are moving regularly around.

For all its initial faults, Terminal 5 is quality with its own Gordon Ramsay restaurant, and there’s a great deal of eating and drinking options around the airport – it’s worth noting that many of the better choices are located after security, though everything’s a touch overpriced.

The tube serves Heathrow very well: there’s separate Piccadilly Line stations at Terminals 1-3, 4 and 5 (Underground Zone 6), but it’s around an hour back into central London.

To speed things up, take the Heathrow Express (Terminals 1-3 to Paddington in 15 minutes), but there’s a mark-up in price and you can’t use your Travelcard – the Heathrow Connect is a cheaper, slower overground, and there’s a budget option coach direct to Victoria, or extremely expensive taxis.

Alternatively, the Dot2Dot (www.dot2.com) is a door-to-door shuttle bus connection service serving Heathrow, Gatwick, central London and Canary Wharf, making around three stops per journey and a cheap, convenient alternative to taxis.

Heathrow: Tube (underground)

Heathrow: Rail (overground)