While I’ve had overnight connections in London more times than I can count, I’ve always either gone into the city or stayed at the Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 4. The Hilton is an ideal option if you’re connecting to/from Terminal 4, since it’s connected to the terminal by air bridge.
I find most of the other Heathrow hotels to just be a pain, given that they’re not connected to the terminals and don’t have complimentary shuttles.
In this case we were arriving on British Airways from Copenhagen at Terminal 5, and departing the following day on American to New York from Terminal 3. I figured we might as well check out one of the Starwood properties, especially since it was the first week of the year — who doesn’t want to get elite status requalification off to a good start? 😉
There are two Sheraton properties at Heathrow — the Sheraton Heathrow and the Sheraton Skyline, and the rate difference is generally huge. For the night we were staying, the Sheraton Heathrow was 50GBP, while the Sheraton Skyline was 119GBP.
In this case I figured we’d book the Sheraton Heathrow, and then on the return trip I could check out the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow.
In an odd way I was excited to check out the Sheraton Heathrow, since it gets terrible reviews. Then again, I think peoples’ expectations might just not be in line, because what can you really expect for 50GBP (~$75) per night including the ridiculous 20% VAT?
We took a taxi from Terminal 5 to the Sheraton, which cost £15 and took about 10 minutes.
I couldn’t help but feel like the hotel looked a bit like a funeral home from the outside. Am I crazy?
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel exterior
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel exterior
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel entrance
It was a total zoo inside the lobby. There was a canceled flight and a long queue for check-in. Even the SPG Gold/Platinum line had quite a wait.
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel lobby
Perhaps the most amazing part is that there were only two front desk associates working, and one was giving a guest ideas for what to do in London for about five minutes. There was a concierge desk staffed with a concierge one desk over, so you’d think he would have sent him over there.
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel reception
Once it was my turn the associate was friendly and efficient, and I had my key within a minute.
I spent that minute trying to count the number of grammar/punctuation mistakes in the below promotional poster.
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel SPG member coffee lounge
The lobby feels much smaller than you’d expect for a hotel of this size. That being said, it’s actually quite nice and fresh feeling, with comfortable seating. It’s probably the highlight of the hotel, actually.
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel lobby
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel business center
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel lobby
The elevators are located just past the reception desk, and sorta kinda look like really big caskets, in my opinion.
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel elevator
I took the elevator up to the third floor, where my room was located (that’s the highest floor of the hotel). The hotel really is massive. Below is the floorplan for the third floor — as you can see, it’s quite easy to get lost and make wrong turns.
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel floorplan
My room was located past a door which was labeled “Club Level.”
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel hallway
The hallway was rather shabby, not just in terms of the not-so-lovely wallpaper and carpet, but also in terms of the random couches that just seemed to be stored in the hallway.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel hallway
I was assigned room 3430.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room door
I was pleasantly surprised by the room. It was clean and felt more modern than I was expecting, given what I’ve heard about the hotel.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room entryway
The bathroom was located to the left, and then the rest of the room was down the hallway. There was a comfortable signature Sheraton bed with plenty of pillows, a chair and coffee table by the window, and a flat screen TV and desk.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room seat and coffee table
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room TV
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room desk
I thought it was a nice touch that they had built-in US, EU, and UK adapters. It amazes me how many airport hotels don’t have that.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room outlets
The room had a pot with instant coffee and tea on the desk. Most exciting were the two Biscoff cookies on the tray. 😉
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room coffeepot
The bathroom was functional, with a sink, toilet, and shower/tub combo.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room bathroom
The water pressure and temperature control were very good.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room shower
As you’d expect from a Sheraton, the toiletries were the signature Sheraton branded variety.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel toiletries
My room faced a parking lot away from the airport, which meant that it was nice and quiet.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel room view
Wifi was fast throughout the hotel, which was much appreciated.
My room was just down the hallway from the club lounge. Oddly enough there’s as much furniture randomly sitting in front of the lounge as in the lounge. I’m not sure if they’re using it as a furniture storage facility or if it’s meant to be overflow seating or what…
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge door
The lounge itself is open on weekdays for breakfast and seven days a week for evening drinks & snacks. We were staying on a Friday night, and arrived just shortly before the 6-8PM happy hour ended.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge hours
The lounge was tiny for such a large hotel. It had two small couches and then a few awkwardly placed tables.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge seating
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge seating
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge seating
Then there were two computers. That was it.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge business center
The evening spread was rather underwhelming, to put it mildly.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge evening spread
In terms of cold options there was black pudding & apples as well as shots of juice.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge evening spread
I guess pork was on sale at Tesco, because the hot options consisted of pork sausage and pork balls. Then there were mozzarella sticks and potatoes.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge evening spread
There was a water jug, a small fridge with soft drinks, and a coffeepot.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge evening spread
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel club lounge evening spread
In retrospect I get why they only have a few tables in the lounge — I can’t imagine anyone would actually want to eat and/or spend time there. 😉
I figured I’d also check out the coffee setup for SPG members, available from 5PM until 8PM daily. It was at least in a nice environment in front of a fireplace. The ground level is nicely renovated and really doesn’t match the rest of the hotel.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel SPG coffee lounge
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel SPG coffee lounge
The spread consisted of coffee, tea, and stale cookies.
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel SPG coffee lounge
Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel SPG coffee lounge
Instead we decided to go to Discovery Bar, which is the bar located in the back corner of the hotel. It was legitimately nice, and we had some gin & tonics and fries.
Sheraton London Heathrow Discovery Bar
In the morning we had breakfast at The Orchard Restaurant, which is included for SPG Platinum members on weekends, given that the club lounge is closed for breakfast. On weekends breakfast is served from 6AM until 11AM.
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant
I’m not generally a huge fan of breakfast buffets in the UK (there’s too much hot meat and the eggs are usually way too runny for my liking), and this was no exception. The spread itself was extensive, though I can’t say anything looked especially good. So I just had some coffee, cereal, and yogurt.
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
Sheraton London Heathrow The Orchard Restaurant breakfast buffet
In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there’s a fitness center located on the ground floor.
Sheraton London Heathrow gym
The gym equipment is unarguably the most modern aspect of the hotel.
Sheraton London Heathrow gym
Sheraton London Heathrow gym
Sheraton London Heathrow bottom line
I realize it may not sound this way, but I was pleasantly surprised by the hotel. For $75 per night at the most expensive airport in the world, I had really low expectations. But the room was clean, the elite recognition was good, the Wi-Fi was fast, etc.
I think the experience at this hotel can beautifully be summed up by a blog post by my friend Chris Guillebeau about the hotel — Why I Keep Returning To My Least Favorite Hotel In London.
At a similar rate I wouldn’t hesitate to return.
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