- The Long Way From Abu Dhabi To Doha: Introduction
- Review: Gulf Air Falcon Gold Lounge London Heathrow
- Review: Gulf Air Business Class A330 London To Bahrain
- Review: Westin Bahrain City Centre
- Review: Etihad Airways Business Class Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport
- Review: Etihad Airways First Class Apartment A380 Abu Dhabi To London
- Review: Andaz London Liverpool Street Hotel
- Review: Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel Copenhagen
- Review: Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Copenhagen
- Review: Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel
- Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge London Heathrow Airport
- Review: American Airlines First Class 777-300ER London To New York
- Review: Sheraton New York JFK Airport
- Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge New York JFK Airport
- Review: American Airlines First Class A321 New York To Los Angeles
- Review: Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa
- Review: American Airlines Admirals Club Honolulu Airport
- Review: American Airlines First Class 777-300ER Los Angeles To London
- Review: Sheraton Skyline Hotel London Heathrow
- Review: Etihad Airways Lounge London Heathrow Airport
- Review: Etihad Airways First Class 777-300ER London To Abu Dhabi
- Review: Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa
- Review: Cairo Airport Ahlan VIP Service
- Review: Qatar Airways First Class 777-300ER Cairo To Doha
- Review: The Airport Hotel Doha Hamad International Airport
- Review: Qatar Airways A350 Inaugural Flight Gate Party
- Review: Qatar Airways Business Class A350 Doha To Frankfurt
- Review: Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport
- Review: US Airways Business Class A330 Frankfurt To Philadelphia
For reasons I won’t get into here, I ended up spending several nights at the Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow. Because, ya know, there’s nothing more glamorous than staying at a Heathrow Airport hotel for extended periods of time. Keep in mind that this is the hotel which is being purchased by Qatar Airways and being rebranded as the Oryx Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow.
The previous week I had stayed at the Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel, so I was curious to see how this hotel compared. It’s generally regarded as being quite a bit better than the other Sheraton, and is usually priced accordingly.
My rate was 89GBP (~130USD) per night, which I thought was a great rate for the “premium” Heathrow Starwood property. As a point of reference, the Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow is a Category 3 SPG property, making it 7,000 Starpoints per night (up until recently it was a Category 4 property). Given weekdays rates at this hotel sometimes, there are certainly circumstances under which it could make sense to redeem points for a stay.
The Sheraton Skyline is literally just off the end of runway 27R, so it is very close to the airport. However, due to the cluster which is Heathrow, it can be a bit of a drive to actually get to the terminals. For example, a taxi from Terminal 4 to the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow costs 18GBP and takes about 15 minutes.
Anyway, I don’t know if the two Heathrow Sheratons are trying to compete with one another for ugliest exterior, but it sure wouldn’t surprise me. I think the Sheraton Skyline might just have the ugliest hotel exterior I’ve ever seen, though.
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow exterior
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow entrance
Fortunately it’s a completely different story once you get inside the hotel. I mean, it’s not the Four Seasons George V, but the inside of the hotel does feel “fresh” and renovated.
Once inside the lobby the reception and elevators to guest rooms are located to the right.
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow lobby
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow lobby
And to the left is the business center and a Starbucks (which is always good news if, like me, you’re caffeine addicted).
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow lobby
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow lobby Starbucks
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow lobby
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow business center
The check-in process was pleasant, and the associate that checked me in thanked me for being a Platinum member. I asked if any suite upgrades were available, to which she responded “of course we’ve upgraded you, to one of our lovely airport view club rooms.” That didn’t answer my actual question, but okay. 😉
Once I was checked in the associate asked me to hold on so she could fetch the “SPG Ambassador” at the hotel. I guess her role is to welcome elite members. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure I exactly understand the point of that. After a longhaul flight I want to get to my room, sleep, and freshen up, and not have a superfluous conversation (don’t get me wrong, she did a good job at her role, I’m just not sure I see the point of the role, especially at an airport hotel).
The lifts were located right across from reception, and were oddly charming, thanks to lit “LIFTS” sign, and that they were clearly the original elevators from when the hotel was built.
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow elevators
The hotel only has three floors, each of which are huge. I was assigned room 3005, which was located off the elevator and to the left on the third floor.
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow hallway
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow room entrance
As you can see based on the below floorplan, I wasn’t kidding when I said each floor was huge.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow floorplan
The room was quite nice, for sure a huge step up from the Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel, which I had stayed at the week prior.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room
Once inside the room the bathroom was located to the left, while the closet and minibar were located to the right.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room entrance
The room featured a comfortable Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room
In the far corner of the room was a two-seat couch with a coffee table and ottoman.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room couch
Then opposite of it by the window was a desk with a rolling leather chair.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room desk
I really appreciated the fact that the desk had international adapters. In my opinion this should be a standard feature at airport hotels, though it’s pretty rare to see.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room outlets
A few feet from the desk was a chest with the flat screen TV on top of it.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room TV
Speaking of the view from the room, let me start by saying that I’m as much of an aviation geek as they come. So generally I go out of my way to request a room with a runway view. And the runway views here are spectacular, as traffic doesn’t get much more exciting than at Heathrow.
However, the hotel is extremely close to runway 27R, so during non-curfew hours you loudly hear a plane taking off roughly every 90 seconds. On one hand the sound of engines spooling up is sort of soothing to me, though on the other hand it really is loud. If your goal is to sleep — in particular during the day — you might want to request a room facing the opposite direction of the airport.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room view
Back near the entrance was the well stocked minibar.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room minibar
Above it was a kettle. I do love how it’s common to have in-room kettles rather than coffee machines in the UK.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room kettle
The bathroom was a decent size and functional, with a sink, toilet, and shower/tub combo.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King bathroom
The water pressure and temperature control in the shower were reasonably good.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King shower
The toiletries were brand standard for Sheraton, and there were two bottles of complimentary water in the bathroom.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club King room toiletries
The club lounge was located a short walk from my room, at the end of the corridor I was staying on.
The club lounge is open daily from 6:30AM until 11PM on weekdays (it only opens at 7AM on weekends), and requires key access.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge entrance
Physically it’s a gorgeous space and sort of feels like a living room, given that it has couches, comfortable sofa chairs, table-top seating, etc. It’s a very nice space.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge seating
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge seating
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge seating
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge seating
In the back corner of the lounge was a small business center with two PCs and a printer.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge computers
Frankly I was expecting it to be overcrowded since I assumed there would be a ton of Platinum members staying at a Sheraton at one of the busiest airports in the world. However, to my surprise it was actually quite quiet. On almost all occasions the only other people in the lounge seemed to be Qatar Airways pilots. They have six flights to Heathrow per day, and their pilots all receive club lounge access.
And at times the dynamic between pilots was fascinating to witness…
The lounge had some basic snacks available all day.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge daytime snacks
There were chips, cookies, dried bananas, and dates.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge daytime snacks
In addition to that there were soft drinks, tea, and a coffee machine available all day.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge coffee/tea
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge coffee machine
The evening spread was available daily from 6PM until 8PM. While it wasn’t a dinner substitute, the quality itself was okay, certainly better than at the Sheraton Heathrow.
They had bilinis topped with a few types of spreads, which were decent enough.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge evening spread
Then they had beef skewers and sundried tomato and feta cheese tartlets.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge evening spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge evening spread
The dessert consisted of small slices of cheesecake and some fruit salad.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge evening spread
The daytime snacks were also available in the evenings, except the chips were also accompanied by three dips.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge evening spread
The evening spread seemed to be on a two day rotation, which I guess makes sense, since they assume no one would stay at an airport hotel for longer than that. 😉
The breakfast spread was available on weekdays from 6:30AM until 10:30AM. It consisted of fruit salad, sliced fruit, cheese, muesli, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, cold cuts, cereal, toast, croissants, pastries, etc. There were no hot options, though as I’ve said in the past, I’m not a fan of hot food for breakfast anyway.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Club Lounge breakfast spread
One other thing worth noting about the hotel is that it has an excellent Indian restaurant located just off the lobby, called Madhu’s.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Madhu’s Indian Restaurant
It was absolutely fantastic, from the decor to the food to the service. And I guess you know it’s decent, since almost everyone eating there seemed to be coming from outside the hotel.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Madhu’s Indian Restaurant
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Madhu’s Indian Restaurant
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow Madhu’s Indian Restaurant
In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there’s an indoor pool in the center of the hotel. That really seems to be a generational thing that I don’t get. Why is it that every airport hotel built in the 70s has an indoor “courtyard” pool of sorts?
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow pool
The hotel also had a standard Sheraton gym.
Sheraton Skyline Heathrow fitness center
Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow bottom line
I was impressed by the Sheraton Skyline London Heathrow, and it’s certainly a step up from the Sheraton London Heathrow Hotel. While the hotel’s exterior may be the ugliest I’ve ever seen, the inside has been recently renovated and was quite nice. The club lounge was nice, the service was good, and the Wi-Fi was fast. And this hotel seems to be about 90% crew, so it makes for some interesting people watching as well.
Ultimately I wouldn’t hesitate to return to either Sheraton at Heathrow:
- If the prices were comparable, I’d definitely choose the Sheraton Skyline Heathrow over the Sheraton Heathrow
- If the price difference was more than 20-30GBP per night, I’d probably just slum it at the Sheraton Heathrow, though I guess it would vary somewhat depending on the circumstances of the stay
But ultimately Sheraton has a nice presence at Heathrow — I’m not sure why I’ve been avoiding these hotels for so long.
Now if only there were more hotels connected to the terminals or with complimentary shuttles…
Heathrow changes arrival and departure runways every day around 3pm. So your takeoffs will change to landings on the north side. Or vice-versa. It’s done to give residents under the flight paths a break. Hotels are served by the Hoppa bus service which is about £5 1 way or £9 return but those in the know use the free red bus services. There are no individual hotel shuttles as common in the US.
@Alok Mathur
I used to come to this hotel for that very reason: Collectors Aircraft Models! It was a lovely little shop but went bust probably over 10 years ago. So nostalgic.
Skyline Sheraton has always been my favourite Hotel. I used to stay there in 1990's while transiting thru Heathrow to other European cities. It's quite surroundings was very soothing. I wonder if they still have the Airplane Model shop in their Lobby. You could always find a scale model of any Airline Airplane model in that shop. I wish they had the Indian food Restaurant at the Hotel at that time. Never stayed at the London Heathrow Airport Hotel.
AKM
When we stayed at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel in June 2014, we were able to take a regular red bus to/from the hotel and airport using the central Heathrow Bus Station, for free. There was no need for special arrangements. The bus stop was maybe 100 yards/meters from the hotel and the buses ran frequently, maybe every ten minutes or so. Just had to make sure you got on the correct bus, which was not...
When we stayed at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel in June 2014, we were able to take a regular red bus to/from the hotel and airport using the central Heathrow Bus Station, for free. There was no need for special arrangements. The bus stop was maybe 100 yards/meters from the hotel and the buses ran frequently, maybe every ten minutes or so. Just had to make sure you got on the correct bus, which was not hard to do as staff at both the central Heathrow Bus Station and the hotel were helpful in telling us which buses we could take. Believe this is a standard complimentary service for airport hotel guests so the hotels do not have to run shuttles to/from the airport.
Smoked trout at breakfast? Yum yum yum...
Next time you have more than a few hours layover at Heathrow you need to hop on the 105 bus and get some real Indian food in Souhall. I'm sure the Sheraton's was fine but I can guarantee that anything you have along the Uxbridge Rd will be far superior and a hell of a lot cheaper.
Sigh, even crappy Indian in London is better than anything I find in Chicago.
Interesting to see this review as i work in the office block next door as this hotel is the nearest coffee shop for us in the office i spend way too much time in there.
And yes with an open 3rd floor office watching the aircraft take off from the runway is hypnotic and i will spend many a lunch break watching the aircraft movement.
And their is a hotel bus that runs...
Interesting to see this review as i work in the office block next door as this hotel is the nearest coffee shop for us in the office i spend way too much time in there.
And yes with an open 3rd floor office watching the aircraft take off from the runway is hypnotic and i will spend many a lunch break watching the aircraft movement.
And their is a hotel bus that runs to the hotels down the strip but if you are like a friend of mine the head of HR for British Airways you have not been on a public bus in 20 odd years...
You know, you don't have to take a Taxi to the Bath Road?
Most local busses around LHR are free! :-)
http://www.heathrowairport.com/static/Heathrow/Downloads/PDF/travel_around_Heathrow.pdf
I have always gone into London during my lengthy layovers as I love staying at the Cafe Royal and dining at Gymkhana.
But!
I now must try this Sheraton just so I could sit in front of that window in a near hynotic trance while watching the runway traffic.
Lucky, I am very sure that I am not the only one who is dearly wondering why you had an extended stay at an airport hotel.
Sorry, the palm trees should have clued me in. Along with noise mitigation.
How did you get the lower rate? BRG? The published lowest rate shown above is much higher. Also, the pool isn't really indoors.
@ Christian -- The pool is indoors. There's a roof about it (though it's clear). The rate shown was for weekdays, while I booked a weekend rate.
That's an indoor pool? Or there's also an indoor pool?
@ colleen -- That's an indoor pool. There's a "clear" roof in there.
I would love a room with that view! Did you manage to get work done or did you just looked outside the window all day long?
@ Marc -- Hah, I did spend quite a bit of time watching planes. :D
@Lucky Good review, but you know that's a Kettle and not a Teapot in the room right! ;-)
@ Chris C -- Huh? I thought kettles were just at airports? ;)
Fixed, thanks!