V-Flyer

Which one do you recommend?
Family of 4, for one night getting the train to London and thro to gatwick so needs to be at the airport I think!

To include breakfast? Or not to include breakfast? Where should we eat? We won't have lounge access.

We always do the Hilton, though I think there's a Hampton now. Sale on at the moment for those.

Having been seduced by the sofitel in Heathrow, I think when VS moves to the North terminal, and I decide I miss it enough, I might do that one. But frankly if back to VS, it will be the clubhouse in heathrow I'd have missed the most...

We used the bloc hotel last year. Inside the terminal, couldn't have been easier. You also get a discount at giraffe as no onsite restaurant. Not the biggest of rooms but laid out well.

Bloc or Hilton. I've got one of the VIP rooms booked for next weekend which are bigger with window view over the runway

I don't think I'd recommend the Bloc for a family as the rooms are so small. For a solo traveller it's perfect though.

The Hilton's probably your best bet, for the convenience more than anything.

I've used the Premier Inn opposite the North Terminal for the last 2 years, and it's been fantastic for us!

We use the Hilton simply because it's a relatively short walk to the terminal.
I have considered the Bloc but the rooms do look quite small and so I have already booked Hilton for next Feb.
I have always had breakfast at the Hilton, but it isn't very good. Even going down at 6.30 the food looks like it has already been there a few hours so my intention is to skip it next year, but we will have the clubhouse to go to.
Keep an eye on terminal moves. When Virgin migrates to the North terminal, the Hilton won't be such a good option and the Sofitel may be better.

Dick D

Hilton, they do a range of family rooms and are a short walk to the terminal. If you you don't have Hilton status look at the prices from the 3 booking sites that earn you miles and start saving for your next trip. Rocket miles, points hound and kaligo. Make sure you compare with booking.com and booking direct with Hilton though.

polb74 wrote:Hilton, they do a range of family rooms and are a short walk to the terminal. If you you don't have Hilton status look at the prices from the 3 booking sites that earn you miles and start saving for your next trip. Rocket miles, points hound and kaligo. Make sure you compare with booking.com and booking direct with Hilton though.

Good point. Rocket miles give you a 3000 mile bonus on your first stay.
Dick D

dickydotcom wrote:I have already booked Hilton for next Feb.
I have always had breakfast at the Hilton, but it isn't very good. Even going down at 6.30 the food looks like it has already been there a few hours so my intention is to skip it next year

As a dedicated Hilton user (writing this from the Exec Lounge of the Hilton in Warsaw) my theory is that all Hilton breakfasts were first cooked and then somehow preserved in a bacon and egg glut in the 1950s and then brought back to life sometime during the night in a process possibly involving lightning, Marty Feldman and shouts of "It's aliiiiiive".

We've used the Premier Inn at North Terminal the last few times & find it fantastic. Rooms can often be grabbed for £39 and you can get linked adjoining ones for families. £22.99 meal deal gets you two course dinner and full cooked buffet breakfast. 5 mins on the shuttle to South Terminal

Another thumbs up for the Hilton, booked in there in 4 weeks before my next trip

Salsasam wrote:I've used the Premier Inn opposite the North Terminal for the last 2 years, and it's been fantastic for us!

X 2. Does the job, has a bar....perfect

If you want to wait until you are in the aiport for breakfast, I can recommend Frankie & Benny's upstairs in south terminal (air-side). They do a great breakfast in calm surroundings with a view. We always go there (when not in the CH) for breakfast.

Each hotel has their own pro's and con's I guess.

While VS still fly from South terminal its always between the Hilton and the Bloc.

Hilton - for us is the nicer of the two, but then I have a Hilton card so points are always good. A nice easy walk to the terminal and decent sized rooms.

The Bloc - for me it works best if you have done Twilight check in so at least you don't have your bags in the room. Yes, the rooms are small, and bathroom is tad odd, but I do love the shower On the down side, because pretty much everything is controlled by the samsung tablet it can be subject to glitches. For example, when we stayed there 2 years ago - during the night there was a power cut. So the system running the tablet, which controls the lights, air-con, entertainment etc has to reboot. This is done floor by floor so takes time. We were up on the 7th floor, as a result we ended up checking out at 0600 as it was the height of summer and with no air-con the room was rapidly becoming like a sauna. As others have said - good for the solo traveller.

Once VS move to North - it'll be the Sofitel every time, just love that hotel

Another Hilton vote here. Our son is 16 so we don't have a family room, but Hilton will do you a second room at half the tariff of the first room. There is a flash sale on at the moment.

pjh wrote:As a dedicated Hilton user (writing this from the Exec Lounge of the Hilton in Warsaw) my theory is that all Hilton breakfasts were first cooked and then somehow preserved in a bacon and egg glut in the 1950s and then brought back to life sometime during the night in a process possibly involving lightning, Marty Feldman and shouts of "It's aliiiiiive".

is the warsaw lounge still on the ground floor? or has it moved back to the top? this was always one of my favourite hiltons, so i was disappointed at the change last time i was there, no view and it felt a bit stark/sad in comparison to the old one

for LGW it's hilton for me, and if no CH then F&B is best for breakfast (now that the cafe rouge is no more, grrrr)

We use the Hilton every time we fly, but that's because we fly with VS from the South Terminal. We have opted for breakfast once before, however since we fly UC we always just have the lovely food in the CH.

When the terminal changes take place, we will be using the Sofitel in the North Terminal as we genuinely believe that it is a nicer hotel and if course, VS will be flying out the North too.

In summary, there is nothing wrong with the Hilton at all and is good value for money.

Dan

I have just realised that I have lounge club access attatched to my amex gold card, so I have access to the no 1 lounge

sungod wrote:

pjh wrote:is the warsaw lounge still on the ground floor? or has it moved back to the top? this was always one of my favourite hiltons, so i was disappointed at the change last time i was there, no view and it felt a bit stark/sad in comparison to the old one

On the ground floor and always destined to be so I think. I ventured on to 26 to look at what they call the Panorama, only to find it's a room with a view that is dedicated to corporate events, so I guess that was the lounge to which you refer and they have monetised the view. It was heaving with corporate events this week....

pjh wrote:On the ground floor and always destined to be so I think. I ventured on to 26 to look at what they call the Panorama, only to find it's a room with a view that is dedicated to corporate events, so I guess that was the lounge to which you refer and they have monetised the view. It was heaving with corporate events this week....

ah, that's a shame, i use that hilton 2-3 times a year, a few months ago the old lounge was stripped back to bare concrete, so i had hopes it was a refit rather than permanent banishment to the ground floor

if you've not tried it, the club sandwich they do in the bar is good

is this do able?
If we get off the train from london, walk over to twilight check in and drop the bags off, then catch the shuttle up to the north side and stay at either the hampton or premier inn. shuttle back in the morning to the south side.

its much cheaper at the north, the bloc is quiet reasonable but I thought at least we would get some air if we stayed outside the airport

Definitely doable - we had a great deal at the Premier Inn, shuttle over and shuttle back in the morning. Food great, reasonable price for the location and a great atmosphere. If you do the Premier Inn I would recommend booking the restaurant as it gets really busy. By the time we finished our meal in May there was a 30-45 minute wait for a table as it was very busy.

I've stayed in most of the onsite hotels barring the Hampton.

Stayed at the Hilton I didn't particularly like it, tried a couple of times it wasn't for me seemed a bit overpriced.

Sofitel definitely overpriced for what you get at LGW.

Bloc can be reasonable but room is small and for a family probably not so suitable.

Premier I have stayed in this premier inn a number of times and do bag drop for twilight check in when I arrive then catch the train up to the hotel. Always easy, clean, spacious, and friendly. It is also a steal sometimes at £39. I just booked a room for 45 days time (few days ago) and it came in at £49 for 2 people.

Restaurant on site is really nice and everything is available most of the time, you have a 24 hour costa too.

Check out in the morning is easy and jumping on a tram to south terminal is like the beginning of the trip now on that day and is no hassle at all.

My personal preference Premier Inn all the way.

We rarely use LGW but when we have stay at the Sofitel as I can often get a discount and get upgraded with Accor Platinum. We have always found it excellent.