Review: Sofitel London Heathrow Terminal 5

"Terminal 5 is connected to Terminal 2 by the Heathrow Express, so I headed to the arrivals area of Terminal 5, then followed the signage towards the Heathrow Express, and then took the five minute ride to Terminal 5."

It doesn't take a five minute ride to get from Terminal 5 to Terminal 5. I'm pretty sure you meant Terminal 2.

Was choosing between this and the Hilton for a stay last week, went with the Hilton and probably chose well! (Although they also have beefeater gin in their lounge, eurgh!)

You can also use the train to connect between the terminals albeit you have to change if going to and from terminal 4. Might be slightly quicker / less unpleasant than a bus.

Benjamin: I empathize with you on the lack of bottled water. My husband and I ONLY drink the Fiji Water. So this is clearly not a classy, luxury hotel. I recall us having stayed at a Sofitel once. It was right after my honeymoon and we went on a WILD excursion in Arizona. It might have been Phoenix, or Yuba City. I don't exactly remember which. Our travel agent, Colleen Kristen Brewster booked the hotel for us and she threw in a free breakfast for two with unlimited refill for coffee or tea at the Norm's next door. Is that what you said a Virtuoso agent would offer in a similar capacity? Really love your blog and HUGE fans as always.

@ Alvin -- Fixed, thanks!

I recommend the Hilton Garden Inn. It is sometimes half the price of the Hilton T4 and equally convenient (assuming you're not actually going to T4) as it is an easy 5 minute walk to the Hatton Cross tube station, which is 1 stop away from T1/2/3 on the Piccadilly line. The only problem I've had is with early flights on Sundays because the first train isn't until about 6am on Sundays (it's 5am on other days).

Very cool trick regarding Priority Pass. Usually my go-to for Heathrow. While not officially part of Virtuoso, the Manager will sometimes extend VIP amenities.

I was a regular at this hotel. Then, a couple of years ago, I tried to check in a few hours early. They clearly had rooms ready but wanted to charge me extra. First, they asked for X. I said no. Then, as if I was in a bazaar, they offered 1/2X. I still said no. I said I had stayed there a number of times. Someone apparently looked me up and saw that the room was booked in my name only some of those times. On other occasions in my travel partner's name. They essentially said I was a liar. I escalated this to manager on duty who stood firm. I have not returned to this property since.

The breakfast spread in the lounge is a lot better fwiw, and certainly a lot better than the Hilton. It's usually a subset of what is offered in their reasonably good restaurant.

I've generally had fast wifi there over my 15-20 stays over the years, though when I checkin I always ask to be put in a room near a wifi router. I also pay for their faster wifi option. And generally I'll test the wifi speed in a room before I unpack just in case. At the Sofitel years ago I complained and they reset the router.

I generally consider it to be a pretty nice airport hotel, though it definitely sounds like your experience was worse than mine.

This is my favorite hotel at Heathrow. I've never had a problem with the wifi speed and the club lounge is fine. I like the bar and the restaurant. Last time I stayed at the T4 Hilton I was in a room that had not been refreshed and it was very rundown. While the walk to the Sofitel from T5 is a long, I think the walk to the Hilton at T4 is longer. I hadn't thought about bottled water, but there is a grocery on the bottom floor of T5 outside security if you need a bottle.

That food spread doesn't look half bad if you're accessing on PP.

I think you don't tend to like UK tastes, Ben. I recall you once were unimpressed that you were given a gin and a tonic and a glass IIRC. Over here, we prefer that. We know what we've got if we mix it ourselves (and Beefeater I agree isn't premium artisan gin, but it definitely has the partriotic thing going on).

1. Did Sofitel have a buy-up offered for decent WiFi? Accord has been playing this trick in bargain and luxury hotels alike for a while. Did you complain about the lack of usable WiFi? If so, how did Sofitel respond?

2. You mentioned that you worked in the club. Does that mean the WiFi was decent there?

I am curious why bottled water is a necessity when the tap water is drinkable? It won't kill you...

I stayed at the Sofitel in August when connecting back to the States. Wifi was fine for me, but the room itself was pretty underwhelming. Especially the bed. Despite the wheel locks on the frame, the bed still rolled around a bit. The bed also wasn't just soft, it was droopy. I received a pretty good deal, having booked through the Amex Fine Resorts website. The only reason to stay here is if you're flying in/out of Terminal 5.

I am staying at the Intercontinental Park Lane right now - their Club Room offering is truly amazing, with Moet Champagner flowing from 5:30 - 7:30pm and a great selection of canapés, changing every day. This takes about 45 min from Heathrow with the Picadilly Line, for me personally, always a better option when staying in London, since you are right at the center of things. Highly recommended!

No bottled water? Did you check out the refrigerator? We've always had 2 bottles, 1 flat and 1sparkling, and nicely chilled.

My wife and I love the Hilton Terminal 5 which, yes, is about a 10 minute Uber ride away from the airport but it has a great spa area with a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steamroom, and rain showers that can do wonders for jet lag. Spa access is included with the rate and typically the rate is somewhere between $110-$140. Plus the executive lounge is great.
We often catch the 8:30 morning flight from Newark that arrives around 8:30 pm...we head to marks and Spencer in the airport for a cheap bottle of wine and food and then enjoy it at the Hilton, go to bed, and spa the next morning before heading into London proper.

Normally AP hotels do not represent the brand, rather only try to be less worse than their nearest competition since majority dont choose to vacation their, it's always circumstances (long connections, missed flights or complimentary by airline).

That being said, it's always appreciated when Ben samples and reviews a Sofitel or a MGallery,
Some nice ones exist and most of them are never covered.

Ohhh, the 490, my local route!

I've stayed here, one of the better airport hotels I have been to. No issue with the wifi, really convenient, room was pretty modern and service was great. Breakfast is very very good too.

y stay there 5 min travelodge in colnbrook £39 nts //ac. wifi.bar. food...the big hotels at heathrow are for mugs tourist who think its close to london or airport/// £220nts at sofitel wow mugs price.lots nice hotels like cliveden house /stoke park hotel same price only 15min in taxi //then there lovely marlow on thames great little town on the river ,maidenhead also on the river..when you dont live near heathrow you dont know . as i live near you have more knowledge.if anybody needs more info hotel food taxis just ask

I've stayed at the Sofitel Heathrow T5 twice, both times after arriving at T5 on the British Airways direct flight from San Diego, CA and I'm a fan. As a economy class traveler, I loved just walking to the hotel from arrivals and spending the night here so I can postpone further ground or air travel until the next morning after a relaxing evening and good sleep. To me it feels like an economical alternative to paying for premium economy or business class and I just continue on my way the next day. Fun things: The Terminal 5 land-side arrivals/departures areas are spacious and the building quite beautiful and gleaming at night. In the Arrivals area there's a Marks and Spencer 'Simply Food' shop with a massive selection of sandwiches and goodies. Downstairs in Departures there's an really attractive Caffe Nero for your classic British 'flat-white' coffee. In the hotel, the Vivre restaurant is lively and seems like good value, and there's also an upscale and very spacious cafe.

Often stay here ahead of early departures. It's the best of the 'eefrow 'otels by a wide margin though I can understand it falling a wee bit short of Herr Erste Klasse's high expectations. The brasserie style restaurant does some nice takes on British staples like fish and chips and 'Indian' curry. Bottled water is in the fridge.

Wifi is sometimes iffy in the room but good in public areas. Low water pressure is deliberate to save the stuff and keep enviro-nuts happy. We really run short of it in England.

I stay here once a month before my flight to the US the following morning, if you book ahead or use some airline points and cash you can get a really good price I have found. There is always 2 bottles of water in the fridge, and the one time there wasn't I rang and they brought them to the room.

I have the Accor Loyalty card (Sofitel is part of Accor), and as I have a silver card (really easy to get), they give me a drinks voucher (one per guest) for the bar, free wine or beer.

If you are in a superior room, you can have the premium wi-fi for free - even if it says there is a charge - the next morning they always take it from the bill. Similar to other people, most times I stay i get an upgraded room.

The restaurant is quite pricey, so after my free drink, I usually walk into departures and eat at Carluccio's which is a lot cheaper and unless there have been any cancellations very quiet. Haven't thought of using my priority card for the lounge - much cheaper than paying for a room with access.

There are now quite a few hotels linked to Heathrow directly:
Hilton Garden Inn @T2
Crowne Plaza @T4
Hilton @T4
Holiday Inn Express @T4
Premier Inn @T4
Yotel @T4 (only a capsule hotel)
Sofitel @T5

It's a shame you didn't visit any restaurants. There is a big selection at Sofitel, with 2 restaurants, 2 bars and 1 cafe. They also have a hair salon and a gift shop. In this way it's quite fully featured compared to other Heathrow hotels.