Help with underground

[caperboo]

I don't travel to London very often but am.going soon we booked into a premier inn at Heathrow Terminal 5 ( as advised to by a friend) .
But some just told me they don't take cash on the buses ( apparently I will need to bus to the tube and ride the tube in )
I am country folk biggest city I ever been to is Manchester and now I am beginning to panic, there's 3 adults and 3 children neither ever been before. My friend said something about using travel cards .???! Confused anyone know what I have to do and can I buy them now or what ?

You can get the one in Hammersmith on saver for 44.50 a night, some nights in jan.

m.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/greater-london/london/london-hammersmith.html?ARRdd=14&ARRmm=01&ARRyyyy=2017&NIGHTS=1&ROOMS=1&ADULT1=1&CHILD1=0&COT1=0&INTTYP1=DB&SID=8

Disclaimer I have never stayed in a premier inn

If the airport one is cheap it's still a waste of money because you'll spend the whole holiday travelling between there and town

Can I park at the Hammersmith one though , I shall check it out plenty of time to change thanks

our friend told us it's easier staying at Heathrow then going into London

Your friend is wrong, Heathrow is a right mission.

I work for the Tube. Advice given above is correct. It takes an hour to get to London with the Piccadilly line, its old, and slow and packed. Avoid.

If you don't mind staying a bit out of town I would recommend Hammersmith. There are two tube stations, three lines and a thousand buses to get around. Driving down the Hammersmith Broadway is a nightmare though. London, generally, is god awful for driving around. I am not a driver and I know you are coming from Somerset but is there any way you can get a train in?

Sorry, four tube lines!

This will sound like a random suggestion, but on the off chance it'll help:
There is no parking control around my suburb (Brockley in Lewisham, London Zone 2 in the south-east of the city), and we have the overground and when they run Southern trains. It's a lot closer into town than Heathrow. You're welcome to PM me, and I'll give you details of where to park down to the street and house number.

I am not sure , the ppl
That we are going with are very low income so I am trying to keep Cost as low possible for them other then me having to subsidise the cost( already will be too some extent, fuel , parking , ) I need to sit with the couple. And talk budget before I make any random decisions .

Essential
Thank you , if I need the information I will contact you , thanks again