Terminal 5 Heathrow question

[LittleEsme]

I'm travelling to Heathrow Airport soon, by train, to catch a flight from Terminal 5 the next day. What's the best hotel to stay in? Can anyone advise me? Ideally, I'd like to get to the hotel and to Terminal 5 on foot after travelling on the train.

The cheaper option is the Thistle which you get to by taking the Pod parking shuttle to the B station in the pod parking then there is a gate through to the hotel. Very quick and easy to get to, but the hotel is a bit tired.
Or more expensive is the Sofitel which is attached to T5.

The Sofitel is attached (shares lifts with the car park) and smells lovely. I've never stayed there, but use their lift because it smells so nice.

I stayed at Hotel Sofitel - you can walk indoors from the hotel via a lift to the terminal. Lovely hotel and they gave me a free breakfast

They also provided an early morning call. I was able to drop my case for the hold the evening before - was very easy

Also just for info , it's cheaper to go via the Elizabeth Line than Heathrow express

Oooh that's handy to know. Thank you!

Thanks everyone.
I think Sofitel is beyond my price range!

I’ve stayed at the Sofitel and it was fine. Not brilliant but what I expected for a hotel with a lot of rooms and a high turnover. We stayed the night before we flew and had a room with parking. I’d stay again.

The Thistle however was so bad I refused to stay. We had a room booked for the day we came back as we were coming in late. The room was beyond grim. I went to the front desk and said I wasn’t staying and we drove home that night. It’s only a 2 hour drive so not so bad. That was a few years ago now so it might have improved.

Ahead of time it's not too ott and they offer upgrades think it was £185 which was cheaper than central London

Are you going to Heathrow via Paddington ? If so, have a look at hotels in Paddington, its only about 20 mins from Paddington to Heathrow on the Elizabeth line, so you could easily do it in the morning before your flight

Premier Inn T5, is good. Cheap rooms but to a good standard, busy but friendly bar/restaurant area.

There is a London bus across the road you hop on that goes to the terminal. Each time I've caught it I've not had to pay (I believe it's considered part of the shuttle service).

I am!
I have to check in the next morning at 5am though. Will trains definitely be running at that time?

I've stayed at the Thistle recently and it was fine. Easy to get the Pod into T5 as well.

Premier inn at T4. Bus stop right outside (and I mean right outside) takes you direct to terminal 5 departures. You can get a bus from Hatton cross tube (490) to the hotel.

Or Hilton at Hatton Cross tube. We use these as they are good value compared to Sofitel. Although the Sofitel is very nice!!!

The Heathrow express does not start that early OP that's why I stayed over, but not sure about the tube EL (though I think not)

Looks like there is one early one of EL at 4.35 am to T5 but only one so a bit risky

Another vote for the T4 Prem inn.

As a PP has said on arrival you can get a bus there from Hatton Cross Tube Station or stick with the tube through to T4 itself then walk across to the Prem Inn via a covered walkway...the walk takes about 5 minutes.

As has also been stated for Prem Inn to T5 there's a direct bus service from the bus stop outside.

Aaahhh you're all so helpful. Thanks so much!

Having mentioned the T4 prem I’ve just properly NB’d your timing..the 490 bus runs pretty through the night but frequency is a bit minimal until about 0445-0500, then it starts to pick up…

That's really kind of you to check @notimagain thank you x

The Thistle is a bit tired (although perfectly fine for one night) but the pod was fab!

The Thistle is tired, but other than Sofitel it's the closest to T5. Otherwise, the Premier Inn over the road, and there's the option of the local bus or Hoppa (I'm sure the local bus is free to T5). And I've also stayed at Premier Inn T4 and got the bus from there too - yes you can catch tube from Hatton Cross but early hours they are not all that frequent, and there's only steps down to the platform which isn't ideal if you've got a large case.

Yes - very appealing although the Thistle isn't really tempting me - still, may be ok just for a few hours sleep.

CMOT I don't know if you're around for this, but how would you get to the Thistle again? I'm arriving in Paddington from South Wales.

@LittleEsme take the Heathrow Express from Paddington (the Victoria line is cheaper, but the express is so easy if you are coming to Paddington on the mainline and is level access). Get off at T5 and go up to arrivals. You should come up by the M&S Simply Food in the terminal, go out to the lifts to the car parks and go up to where it says Pod Parking (I think its level 3).
Then press for Station B. When you come out of the pod, go to the fence on your right, you'll see a gate for the hotel. Press the intercom to get the code.
Does that make sense?