Review: Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel

We stay at this hotel frequently because 1) we normally fly out of Terminal 5 and 2) the points redemption is lower than Skyline. I also just learned that Sheraton is downgrading this hotel in March from a Category 3 to a 2. Interesting because it was just raised to 3 a year or so ago. I have already booked another stay in early April so am hoping to re-book at lower rate.

I agree that the rooms are fine for a good night's sleep but as you pointed out most of the rest of the hotel is cold, drab, and tired. Also, parking is a real problem because they offer park/fly rates and it's sometimes next to impossible to find a space. All in all, I'll probably continue to stay here because of the good rates and it serves my purpose.

2 weeks ago I got a rate of 41 GBP for a 5 day stay including a weekend. It would have been 38 GBP for just the weekend days. IMHO outstanding value!

I used to stay at this hotel often. My own version of a mattress run. Weekend's visiting family in England, I'd arrive late at night, stay at this hotel and then leave fresh in the morning to drive anywhere I wanted to. It helped me attain SPG elite status. 🙂

Unfortunately, I was there a day or 2 before you and had the worst ever experience when checking in. After a long wait (also only 2 front desk associates), the associate tried to charge me again (for a prepaid room) and then tried to add an extra 100 quid onto the normal guarantee authorisation. She couldn't work the credit card machine (how simple is that and I'd think that is one piece of kit she uses at every check in). Eventually after 30 minutes I was finally checked in (including a hefty guarantee authorisation). Then the TV didn't work (first at this hotel) and the bathroom was not cleaned properly (germaphobe much?). So yes, this was my worst Sheraton experience....

Btw some notes on transportation.
There is a Hotel Hoppa bus service from all of the terminals. A single is 5 pounds and a return is 8 pounds.

OR
The normal local red bus (Bus 441) is free as the hotel sits in a "airport free flow"-zone. The bus stops at Dukes Bridge which is a block away from the hotel.

I occasionally stay at the Sofitel T5, which is a nice albeit mostly overpriced hotel, but the wifi can be very slow. That said, it's also connected to the terminal, like the Hilton T4.

I'm curious about your comments from your Andaz stay, where you remarked that a room is large for London standards, and yet you've rarely stayed outside the airport hotels. London has a wide variety of very nice and modern and spacious hotels, as well as a number of hotels with rooms the size of a typical New York hotel. I'm surprised you have such strong opinions of London, though, given how you've barely scratched the surface on what this city has to offer.

Given how easy it is to get on the tube or Heathrow Express, I almost always avoid the Heathrow airport hotels unless I have a real reason to be over there (e.g. a client near LHR, or a meeting where I want to leave my luggage at the hotel and then grab my bags before catching an evening flight, etc.).

"and sorta kinda look like really big caskets, in my opinion."

I literally LOL'ed.

But seriously, this hotel looks like the type of place that will one day be haunted or something. The price is right, though.

@ Dylan -- Not disagreeing, though I also think NYC hotel rooms are small. 😉 I'm just saying that NYC/London/Tokyo hotel rooms are going to be smaller than Topeka/Leeds/Phnom Penh hotel rooms, on average.

I sometimes choose to stay here over the weekend when I'm visiting London - it's quite far out but fine if you're not coming and going.

(The best route is often a local bus to a nearby train station and then a train to Paddington, or the local bus to Hatton Cross and then the tube; TfL will try to get you to take the HEX but you can convince it otherwise by telling it to route you via Hayes & Harlington (for train) or Earls Court (for tube). Going via the HEX from this property into the middle of London will often save you a few minutes at best. The TfL website knows where the "Sheraton Heathrow Hotel" is if you put that in its journey planner.)

Yes, it's very tired (especially in the corridors) and quite quirky, but I've never had a bad staff member or bad service, and the times I've been there they had a separate queue for delayed passengers. The breakfast is hearty, the gym is decent, the beds are comfortable and the hotel itself surprisingly cosy. Yes, there are far, far nicer Sheratons out there. But for 50 quid a night I would challenge anyone to do better in London. (When it reaches the 100+ quid level though, I have no idea what they're thinking.)

@wonkachocolat.. You expect Ben to use a local bus good lord it cannot be....
@Ben, why keep banging on about VAT (sales tax to the non Brits), yes it is high but we will always have it. Have a look at http://www.aboutimmigration.co.uk/claiming-vat-refund-when-leaving-uk.html, book it through your business and perhaps you may be about to claim back the VAT??

I stayed at this Sheraton several years ago, and its price was its greatest (only?) drawing point. I paid for an upgrade to their Club Level, since the upcharge (20-40 quid or so) was worth it as a non-status guest. I would've paid that much (or more) for internet, drinks, and breakfast anyway. I recall that the happy hour selection, while nothing special, was a bit more robust, and the lounge staff were attentive.

As an aside, I don't think I've ever paid for a taxi or the Hotel Hoppa for any of the Heathrow hotels, since the free local buses were perfectly fine.

The VAT is no more 'ridiculous' than it is in any other country (and whether they want to call it VAT, GST, 'resort fee', nightly tourist tax). In Denmark it's 25%, in Croatia 21%, in Germany 19%, in Hungary 18% on hotels and foodstuff, but up to 27% on certain items...

I'm surprised you can't reclaim this as a non EU registered business? https://www.gov.uk/vat-refunds-for-non-eu-businesses-visiting-the-uk

Love the coffee lounge sign. Thanks.

I've stayed at this hotel probably a dozen times over the past couple of years and think it is a great place & value for the prices usually offered. The Hotel Hoppa is a bit of a pain tho'.

@ Mikeh -- For three people the cost of a taxi was the same as the Hotel Hoppa. But thanks for playing...

Ben,

When are you going to put a "tracker app" on your blog that tells us where in the world(or time zone) you are in.. Think many of us lose track of where you are.

This isn't bad at all. I'd value it at no more than $100 per night. I'm always amazed at how many hotels have a great lobby -- first impressions matter! -- but then, as you observed, shabby hallways leading to the guest rooms. Even if the rooms are fine, or superb, the shabby hallways ruin any positive first impressions of the lobby.

I made the mistake of using points a while back at the Renaissance Heathrow. Talk about bad. It was easily the worst hotel, ever. This was November 2013.

Yep, pretty much as I remember it..yes it's cheap, but location and facility make it really low on my list of properties around LHR.

One thing you didn't note, maybe you didn't have this issue but in ALL the rooms I've stayed in you can really hear the neighbor above and beside you's shower and the pipes and showers make a lot of noise.

Now, it's not a problem if you are the first to rise, but if you're trying to sleep in or catch up on some jet-lag it gets annoying. So, BRING YOUR EARPLUGS

FYI, if you're departing flight leaves before the club lounge (weekdays) or the restaurant (weekends) opens for breakfast, they will gladly make you a to-go breakfast in a bag, with fruit, yoghurt, & a croissant. (coffee, water, & OJ are avail 24/7 in the lounge, inc. to-go cups).

I do like that the lounge is "open" 24/7 if one is up at an odd hour & wants a desktop to work at, or to grab a drink (juices, teas, coffees) or a snack (usually biscuits/cookies, fruit, sometimes nacho chips....).

It was not that long ago that the whole lobby had the same "decor" as that elevator....ugh. So glad when that changed. Am told that more of the rooms & the hotel will be renovated in due course.

I stay there often before/after a late-arriving or early-departing flight. For the price, a comfortable bed, a clean room, a decent gym, enough to eat (not great food but not horrible), and a 5 minute free ride to the airport, it def does the job. If I have time, and "need" an additional stay credit, I can secure a fairly affordable "day use" rate down the road at the Skyline.

A distinguishing feature of the Skyline, that some chose it over this Sheraton Heathrow for, is its indoor pool...yet I cannot count the number of times I had a reservation there and did not find out until arrival (or after arrival) that the pool area was closed due to an event/private party.

I have stayed there so many times its not funny. Revenue tickets intra Europe can be amazingly cheap if you book via London (Basel to Milan is about $700, but Basel to London and London to Milan was about $200 and I got to save on the hotel too by staying at the Sheraton). Its functional for a nights stay and the Hoppa is the way to go.

Incidentally the building next to it is a prison (on the left of you if facing the front door) and you can see the barbed wire fence.

The check in guy told me it is primarily a hotel for BA cancelled flights of which on average there is one per day. On a trip to NBO (SFO-LHR-NBO) my flight to NBO was delayed for 8 hours before they rescheduled for the next day and we got to stay there again. Its low on the number of Starwood points it takes and for its function i think its great. You will not however mistake this for the Four Seasons.

Will be back there in a couple of weeks....

@Mikeh - I like reading Ben's blog as much as the next guy, but tracking him in real time seems a little creepy. He already shares a lot of his life, so let him have a modicum of privacy.

The bathroom seems really nice, and I think the hotel is a great value, given how low the prices are.
By the way, Indonesia charges about 24% for VAT......

Prices at this hotel vary widely (I've seen it well over $200/night) so the upcoming Cat 2 point redemption can be an excellent value. (Unbelievably, it was actually Cat 4 a few years ago.)

Unlike Ben, I am ADDICTED to English bacon and baked beans - can't get enough of them!! So the breakfast buffet is one of my favorites.

My main complaint is the long check-in lines (never see more than 2 agents working). And as for that "concierge"? Last time I was there, he couldn't provide even very basic info (options for getting into central London). One of the customers waiting in line was only too happy to help....I should have given him a nice tip. 🙂

As Dylan mentioned, the Sofitel is conveniently connected to T5, fresh and newish only being a couple years old, and attractively designed. When I have an early morning flight out of Heathrow (too early to take the tube from central London), I'll typically stay at the Sofitel at T5 even when flying out of T4, just because I feel it's quite a bit nicer than the Hilton. Maybe give it a try next time your at LHR!

Has anyone used Uber to get to the Sheraton Skyline.