London Airport Hotels

London Heathrow Airport

Heathrow Terminal 5

Getting to and from Heathrow

Heathrow (LHR) is one of the world’s busiest airports, handling more international passengers than any other. The airport is located 15 miles (24km) to the west of central London. Upon arrival, the Heathrow Express offers the quickest – but also most expensive – method of getting into central London. Trains leave Heathrow airport from approximately 0500 until 2330. Standard fares are £16.50 single and £32 return. The Heathrow Express calls at all stations serving the airport including T5. Journey time is 15-20 minutes and the service is non-stop to Paddington station from where you can change trains or join the underground.

Much cheaper and simpler, but also longer, the Piccadilly tube line connects Heathrow airport directly to the city centre. There are trains every few minutes from approximately 0500 (0550 Sundays) to 2345 (2250 Sundays). A single ticket into central London (Zone 1) costs £4. Journey time to the centre is about 50 minutes.

Getting between the airport and your hotel

BAA, who own Heathrow Airport do not allow the hotels in the vicinity to operate shuttle bus services, which is quite unusual for any airport, and instead have an agreement with National Express who operate the "Hotel Hoppa" bus service. The buses run from approximately 5am to 11pm and have set routes dropping off and picking up from a number of hotels. At present each journey is £4 per adult each way. There are two services, one leaves from Terminal 5 and the other calls at Terminals 1,2 & 3. No service stops are Terminal 4 but you can take the Heathrow Express from T4 to either T1,2 or 3 and catch the bus from there.

There are a number of free or cheaper bus services which leave from Heathrow and stop in the local villages, some of these stops are walking distance to a hotel but it is a little complicated and you'd be best to ask on site or call your hotel for the specific information.

Taxis are plentiful but can be fairly expensive.

London Gatwick Airport

Heathrow Terminal 5

Getting to and from Gatwick

Gatwick (LGW) is the busiest single runway airport in the world and is located 28 miles south of London city centre. The quickest way to get between the airport and the city is a 30 minute trip on the non-stop train service, Gatwick Express, which runs from the south terminal to London Victoria. Travellers at north terminal can use the transit train to get to south terminal. A one way trip on Gatwick Express will cost about £17. and you can buy your ticket on board the train.

easyBus operate a low-cost minibus service from Gatwick to London Fulham Broadway Underground Station, this can be booked via their website and prices start from £14 return. National Express operate a coach service from Gatwick to London Victoria Coach Station and tickets start from about £7 each way. The journey time is approximately 90 minutes.

Taxis are available although would be fairly expensive at about £80 one way to central London.

Getting between the airport and your hotel

Most of the hotels in the Gatwick region will offer a shuttle service, this should be arranged with the hotel directly and any charges for this service should be paid at the hotel.