Is the hotel actually in T5, or called 'T5'? My understanding is that some hotels with that name are actually off the airport, so it may be easier to access them by bus in the first place.
1.As Fawkes cat states, the actual location of the "t5" hotel is key.
2. Liverpool - Manchester airport - (fly to) Heathrow is probably easiest. Might be worth seeing if friend can amend ticket for nominal fee.
3. Or take the coach. Several options, all with one change in Birmingham.
4. But don't take the hotel hoppa in Heathrow, use the free transport on normal buses
Hotels which call themselves 'T5' are mostly not on a free bus route.
I haven't tried the Greenline bus from Watford Junction; I think that's maybe the easiest route, but it looks like it will add on £30 in bus fares (£10 p.p. each way).
An LNR ticket to Euston, then Piccadilly line is likely to be the lowest cost - although the Piccadilly line is pretty tedious.
Going via rail from Paddington doesn't save much, if anything, in terms of hassle or time.
If going via Reading (which will be hard to do cheaply on Cross Country), it probably makes more sense to look into buses / taxis from the Slough / Langley area instead of changing at Hayes & Harlington then getting a bus from Heathrow anyway.
Given a focus on price was stipulated, what times / dates / general booking conditions have you found these to offer value for money? I've never seen one personally that wasn't ludicrously overpriced but then your experience may be different?
With regard to the latter, I would agree with those who suggested not to go by train at all, but instead to use either National Express or book a BA flight from Manchester.
We have lots but not all the information... Its reasonable to assume one of the two is flying long haul, and may be able to exchange their Heathrow-wherever ticket for a Manchester-wherever ticket. They may have a cancellable hotel booking and flying may obviate the need for an overnight. The other person may be able to buy a ticket to Heathrow from £46 or there may be no need for them to travel to Heathrow at all.
The hotel is in Terminal 5 and not called T5. I am not sure where the T5 name came from but quite a few people have mentioned it. It does seem that most of the hotel are a little distance away by bus. Thanks for the warning.
The flight from Manchester to Heathrow was a fantastic suggestion and would make the journey a lot simpler. Unfortunately the ideas was not to be. My friend asked if they could change their ticket to include the BA flight from Manchester and was told no. The flight was paid for them so I suppose it is fair enough. As Starmill said, none of the flights were at all cheap with the lowest price found being a day return in 3 weeks time for £80. Most were £200 - £300. The hassle of getting to Manchester Airport and going through security and long waits to save two hours was not worth it for the extra cost.
The hotel was non-refundable and although my friend travelling alone was a possible option, he has never been to Heathrow or flown long haul before so his Mum wanted to join him on the journey and see him off. My Mum would never do the same long journey with me by train. Going to the airport is stressful enough even if not flying. She would have driven me instead.
If time isn't of the essence then cheapest option with one change of train and then one change of train to bus may be a LNR ticket from Liverpool to Watford Junction singles from £12 each way and then from the bus station just outside Watford Junction station "greenline" 724 to Heathrow
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https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/globala...rwebdownloads/harlow-724-11.03.18_nomarks.pdf
The best way (for T5) is the bus from West Drayton station
The bus from Watford Junction looked promising although seeing as so few trains from the North stop there apart from the peak, changing to get there was dismissed. Apparently the prices were also too high. The bus from West Drayton was considered though.
I mentioned National Express as it is the simplest although slowest journey of all and it was considered for a while. My friend preferred to go by train though and his Mum not wanting to be on a crowded coach for hours.
Spending an hour on the Picadilly line was rejected instantly. Traveling to Euston without using Virgin was considered though because of the attractive prices.
If you go via Reading, there's also a direct coach to Heathrow. Look for "rail air". You would need a Liverpool to Heathrow ticket even if travelling via Hayes.
We did look into this but my friend and his Mum reiterated they didn't want to get on any crowded couches and that it was too much hassle. Mind you, prices did look very reasonable to be fair
Nope, you'll need to buy a separate Hayes - Heathroe ticket.
I thought you would, I am glad I checked.
This is an important question.
The one and only hotel actually attached to Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 is the Sofitel. Any other hotel bearing the name is a bus ride away. Heathrow does not permit hotels to run courtesy vans to or from the airport so that it can extort absurd fares for using the Hoppa service. And black taxis will not take at all kindly to the short journey.
I am not surprised to hear this, I bet this annoys a lot of people who are not aware of the rule and get charged a fortune. Thank you for sharing though, I will make a note for next time I need to get to Heathrow!
Most service buses are free within the Heathrow area. Here is a link to a diagram showing the free area and the services that can be used within it:
https://www.heathrow.com/file_source/Company/Static/PDF/Heathrowcommuter/travel_around_Heathrow.pdf
Thanks for this interesting map. I emailed it across incase it came in handy on the day.
There is The Thistle which is accessible via The Pod from T5 & a gate close to Station B, which at least negates having to waiting around for your transfer & is £5pp one way.
I've never heard of this before. Don't you need to be a customer of the business carpark in order to use the pods?
So many fantastic options! In the end my friend and his Mum decided to opt for the slower and cheaper North Western trains to Euston, pop across to Paddington on the circle line and then get the TfL Rail train to Heathrow which although saved them little time, they wanted the much more comfortable journey.
Thank you very much to everyone for sharing their words of wisdom and offering their suggestions, opinions and advice. I've learnt a few things myself that I didn't know which will come in handy in the future. Hopefully this thread will help a few people out too who stumble across it.
