We had one night in London, as we were arriving at around 3PM from Bucharest, and were departing the next day at around 12PM to New York. We were going back and forth about whether to stay in the city or near the airport.
Eventually we decided to just stay near the airport and go into the city in the afternoon. But then when we actually got to our hotel and realized that it was already getting dark shortly after 4PM, the idea of that went out the window. Fortunately there are some phenomenal Indian restaurants near Heathrow.
Booking The Hyatt Place London Heathrow
I wanted to try something new near Heathrow, and Tiffany recommended the Hyatt Place London Heathrow. Generally a Hyatt Place doesn’t sound like a hotel I’d seek out, though much to my surprise this was unlike any other Hyatt Place I had ever stayed at.
The Hyatt Place Heathrow is a Category 2 property, so we booked it for 8,000 points per night. I value World of Hyatt points at ~1.5 cents each, so that’s the equivalent of paying ~$120 per night including taxes and fees, which is pretty great.
If you’re looking to earn World of Hyatt points you can redeem towards a stay here, the good news is that points are pretty easy to come by.
In addition to being able to earn World of Hyatt points with the World of Hyatt Credit Card, you can also transfer over points from Ultimate Rewards.
See this post for everything you need to know about earning Hyatt points with credit cards.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow Review
Now let’s take an in-depth look at the Hyatt Place Heathrow, including the rooms, lobby bar, breakfast, gym, and more. At the end I’ll also talk a bit about the location, and my overall thoughts on staying at a hotel near Heathrow (but not directly at the airport).
Hyatt Place Heathrow King Bed High Floor Room
The Hyatt Place Heathrow is the biggest Hyatt Place I’ve ever stayed at, with nearly 350 rooms.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow exterior
Reception was straight ahead once inside, and I immediately noticed that this didn’t feel like your typical Hyatt Place in terms of the design.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow reception
Hyatt Place London Heathrow lobby
Check-in was friendly and efficient, and we were informed that as Globalists we received free breakfast (which other guests don’t receive at this property), and we were also both upgraded to high floor king rooms.
They gave Tiffany and me rooms next to one another, on the fourth floor. Interestingly you need to enter your key to even call the elevator, but then once inside the elevator you can go to any floor.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow hallway
I was assigned room 459, towards the end of the hallway on the right.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room exterior
With Hyatt Place properties I’m used to big rooms that are most like junior suites, but that wasn’t the case here. This was definitely a “cozy” room, but it was more nicely appointed than your average Hyatt Place. There was an entryway with the bathroom on the right.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room entryway
The room featured a very soft and comfortable king size bed. There was a daybed by the window, across from that was a desk and TV, and then on the wall closest to the entrance was an exposed closet.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room desk
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room daybed
There was a small welcome amenity of two bottles of water and a few apples.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow bottled water & fruit
The room had a lovely runway view, which I love as an avgeek. The view isn’t quite as good as from the Renaissance since you’re towards the center of the runway rather than towards one end, but it was still cool to have those views.
The windows had excellent soundproofing, as I didn’t hear any planes. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the doors, as I could hear just about everything from the hallway.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow room view
Near the entrance was a kettle, a safe, and a mini-fridge.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow coffee & tea
Hyatt Place London Heathrow mini-fridge
The bathroom was compact but functional, and had a sink, toilet, and a shower-tub combo.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow bathroom
The shower wasn’t particularly well designed, mainly because I wish the glass shield had extended further. With how it was designed, so much water sprayed onto the floor.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow shower
Toiletries were the standard Hyatt Places ones, which are alright.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow toiletries
While I didn’t eat in the room, here’s what the in-room dining menu had on it:
Wifi in the room was fast and free.
Like I said, I thought the room was nicely appointed and felt modern for an airport hotel, though it in no way reminded me of a Hyatt Place.
Hyatt Place London Heathrow Lobby Bar
The Hyatt Place has a beautiful lobby bar, which again, in no way made me feel like I was at a Hyatt Place. It’s open 24/7 (which I love — coffee at 4AM, yay!), and is called “Coffee To Cocktails Bar.” You can find the menu here.
This consisted of a bar, as well as a variety of comfortable couches and chairs.
Hyatt Place Heathrow lobby lounge
Hyatt Place Heathrow lobby lounge
Hyatt Place Heathrow lobby lounge
Hyatt Place Heathrow lobby lounge
As is standard at Hyatt Place, there was also an area with self serve drinks and snacks for purchase.
Hyatt Place Heathrow pantry
Hyatt Place Heathrow pantry
Hyatt Place Heathrow pantry
Tiffany and I worked from here in the afternoon for a bit, and I thought their cappuccino was excellent (and nicely presented).
Hyatt Place Heathrow cappuccino
We didn’t eat anything here, as we instead went to Kaniz Restaurant, which was an Indian restaurant just a five minute walk away (and which I’d highly recommend).
Hyatt Place London Heathrow Breakfast
The Hyatt Place Heathrow serves breakfast daily from 6AM until 10:30AM. As I stated above, breakfast actually isn’t complimentary, with the exception of Globalist members, and those booking a rate inclusive of breakfast (at other Hyatt Place properties breakfast is free as long as you book direct).
Hyatt Place Heathrow restaurant
Breakfast consisted of a fairly substantial buffet, along with eggs cooked to order. In the end I just had a couple of cups of coffee here, as we had our real breakfast in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. I’ll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves.
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place Heathrow breakfast buffet
Hyatt Place London Heathrow Gym
The Hyatt Place has a gym on the basement level, which was reasonably decent. It had no natural light, but then again when it gets dark shortly after 4PM, it might not be that different than if you have windows. 😉
Hyatt Place Heathrow gym
Hyatt Place Heathrow gym
Getting To & From The Hyatt Place Heathrow
I generally get quite frustrated by the layout of Heathrow Airport. Airside buses between some terminals take 15-20 minutes, so it’s pretty incredible how spread out the terminals are.
There are some hotels connected to terminals (there’s a Hilton Garden Inn Terminal 2, Hilton Terminal 4, Premier Inn Terminal 4, Sofitel Terminal 5, etc.), and there you at least have the convenience of being able to walk there.
For the hotels not connected to the terminals, you have a few options:
- You can take an Uber, but I have absolutely horrible luck with Uber drivers at Heathrow canceling after 10-15 minutes; I think my record is three drivers in a row canceling on me after 10+ minutes
- You can take the Hotel Hoppa bus, but that only goes to certain terminals and it’s surprisingly pricey (£5.50-6 one-way or £10.50-11 return per person)
- You can take the free buses around Heathrow’s “ring” road
Tiffany is a public transportation ninja, so she navigated our way to the hotel using free buses. The catch? It was an hour from the time we got off the plane to the time we arrived at the hotel. In that amount of time we could have also gone to the city.
And I’m not sure there were better options:
- Like I said, I’ve had horrible luck with Uber drivers canceling, so I’m not sure it would have been that much faster
- Best I can tell, from T4 taking the Hotel Hoppa would have still required a transfer to get to the Hyatt Place
On the plus side, on the return it was a much faster journey, though it still took 20+ minutes to get from the hotel to the entrance of Terminal 3.
Hyatt Place Heathrow free bus service
My point is simply that in the future I think I’d only stay at a Heathrow Airport hotel if it’s connected to the terminal, because otherwise time savings are very limited compared to just going into the city.
Hyatt Place Heathrow Bottom Line
I really liked the Hyatt Place Heathrow, and think it’s one of the nicer Heathrow airport hotels. To me it felt a lot more like a standard Hyatt than a Hyatt Place, as it didn’t have the typical Hyatt Place features — breakfast wasn’t free for everyone, the room wasn’t big, the hotel had a proper restaurant and lobby lounge, and the room was more nicely appointed.
So while I think this is a great option for a Hyatt loyalist, I’m going to do everything in my power going forward to either stay at a hotel connected directly to the terminal, or to just stay in the city. Otherwise the whole process is just too time consuming, and you might as well head into the city.
What’s your hotel strategy when you have an overnight at Heathrow?
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