- Introduction: Four Times Across The Atlantic
- Review: ITA Airways Business Class A350 (MIA-FCO)
- Review: ITA Airways Lounge Rome Airport (FCO)
- Review: Prima Vista Lounge Rome Airport (FCO)
- Review: ITA Airways Business Class A320 (FCO-CAI)
- Changing Terminals At Cairo Airport: Still Complicated
- Review: EgyptAir Lounge Cairo Airport (CAI)
- My Rough Night At Cairo Airport, Made Better By EgyptAir’s Osama
- Review: EgyptAir Business Class 787 (CAI-CDG)
- Review: Sheraton Paris Airport (CDG)
- Review: YOTELAIR Paris Airport Priority Pass Lounge (CDG)
- Review: Air France Lounge Paris Airport (CDG)
- Review: New Air France Business Class 777-300ER (CDG-JFK)
- Review: Hyatt Regency JFK At Resorts World New York
- Review: AA & BA Greenwich Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: AA & BA Soho Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: AA & BA Chelsea Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge New York (JFK)
- Review: British Airways Lounge Newark Airport (EWR)
- Review: New British Airways First Class 777 (EWR-LHR)
- Review: Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel (LHR)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: No1 Lounge London Heathrow (LHR)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic A330neo Upper Class Business Class (LHR-MIA)
- Is Virgin Atlantic’s Retreat Suite Worth It?
For the last hotel stay of my review trip, I spent a night at the 710-room Renaissance London Heathrow. I had arrived in British Airways’ 777-300ER first class from Newark, and was departing the following day in Virgin Atlantic’s A330-900neo business class to Miami.
Heathrow has endless airport hotels, so why did I select the Renaissance? Well, I feel like staying here is almost a rite of passage for avgeeks, as the hotel is known for its runway views. However, that’s just about the only exceptional thing about the hotel. The property is otherwise perfectly serviceable, but I’d only recommend specifically seeking out this hotel if you really love airplane views.
In this post:
Booking the Renaissance London Heathrow
For the Sunday night I was staying, the Renaissance Heathrow Airport was running 107 GBP (~130 USD) all-in. That seemed reasonable, so I ended up just paying cash for my stay. As a point of comparison, the hotel would have cost 28,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so in this case paying cash was the better deal.
Renaissance London Heathrow location
Typically the most important factor for me with an airport hotel is location. I’m willing to pay a premium to stay at a hotel that’s connected to a terminal, and doesn’t require a taxi or shuttle. In this case I made an exception, since I was intrigued by the runway views of the Renaissance Heathrow, plus the hotel was much more reasonably priced than the properties connected to terminals.
The Renaissance Heathrow is located toward the east part of Bath Road. That puts it closer to Terminal 2 & 3 than to Terminal 5. Airports at Heathrow don’t have their own free shuttles, but rather the (paid) Hotel Hoppa offers service here.
Personally I ended up just taking a taxi from Terminal 5, which cost under 20 GBP. That offered huge time savings compared to taking the Hotel Hoppa but having to wait, make multiple stops, etc. A taxi was also cheaper than Uber, for whatever reason.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that taxis at Heathrow don’t mind making local trips, because if they’re assigned these kinds of trips, they get to cut the queue when they return to Heathrow. This is in stark contrast to some other airports, where you’ll get chewed out by a taxi driver if you request a short ride.
The following morning I took an Uber to Terminal 3, which cost just 10 GBP.
Renaissance London Heathrow lobby & check-in
The Renaissance isn’t about to win any design awards from Architectural Digest. The property is five stories (including a basement level), and it’s quite sprawling, given that there are over 700 rooms with so few floors.
Given how big the hotel is, I was expecting that there would be a queue at reception. Instead there wasn’t even an associate at check-in. After waiting for a minute, someone finally appeared.
The person checking me in was friendly, though advised me my room wasn’t ready (which is fair enough, since it was just after 10AM). I asked if any room was ready, as I was happy to have a different bed type for my short stay, I just wanted to maximize my time in a room. Sure enough, she managed to find a twin room with a runway view, so that worked great for me. She also explained the hours of the club lounge, and the hotel’s other features.
With a key in hand, I headed to my room. The lobby has plenty of comfortable seating, though I found the design to be a bit random.
Renaissance London Heathrow guest room
I was assigned room 2218, on the second floor. Fortunately there are lots of handy maps on each floor, because otherwise you could easily spend half of your stay trying to find your room.
The Renaissance Heathrow was last renovated in 2015, which is probably what you’d expect from looking at the property. The design isn’t terribly outdated, but also isn’t cutting edge.
Rooms at the Renaissance Heathrow are marketed as being 247 square feet (23 square meters), so they’re on the compact side. However, my room didn’t feel uncomfortably small. Upon entering the room, the bathroom was to the right, while a closet and the minibar setup was to the left.
The room had two twin beds, which I found to be extremely comfortable. The mattresses were soft, and the pillows substantial. I guess one benefit of having two beds when traveling alone is that you get even more pillows!
The room had a small chair and side table by the window.
Then across from the beds was a desk, as well as a TV on a stand.
The minibar area had a kettle with instant coffee and tea, as well as two bottles of water.
There was also an empty mini-fridge.
The bathroom was also quite compact, and had a sink, toilet, and a shower and tub combo. The only bizarre thing was that there was only a single towel in the bathroom, which seemed stingy… hopefully that was a fluke?
Toiletries were in wall-mounted containers, and were from TokyoMilk.
Wi-Fi in the room was fast and free, and the room also felt quite clean. As you can probably tell, there’s nothing special about this room… except the view. OMG, what an epic runway view! You’re so close to the departure point for runway 27R, and as an avgeek I found this view to be unbeatable.
One thing to note is that the runway view rooms here are noisy. I don’t even want to blame the hotel for having bad sound insulation, but rather I think a lot of noise is almost unavoidable if you’re this close to a runway.
As someone who sleeps with a loud white noise app on, this didn’t bother me one bit, since I find the sound of airplane engines to be quite soothing. But if you’re a light sleeper and bothered by this, then you may want to avoid a runway view room. Do keep in mind that Heathrow has very few arrivals and departures overnight, so this isn’t a major issue from late at night until the morning.
Renaissance London Heathrow club lounge
The Renaissance Heathrow has a club lounge on the third floor. You can access this either by booking a club room, or by being a Bonvoy Platinum member or above. As a Bonvoy Titanium member, I received complimentary access to the lounge. I appreciate that the lounge is open 24/7, so that you can come here any hour of the day or night to grab a cup of coffee or a soft drink.
The club lounge is a long and narrow room, and architecturally isn’t a terribly inspiring space. There are tables, a few couches, and some high-top seating.
The one thing that makes this lounge absolutely epic (I mean, sort of) is the views. I sat here for most of the day working and enjoying the views of all the planes taking off. I also wasn’t the only avgeek, as throughout the day I saw several people sitting here for extended periods, with lots of commentary about which planes were landing, etc.
While the lounge has amazing views, you’ll definitely want to manage your expectations when it comes to the food selection.
Coffee, soft drinks, nuts, and cookies, are available all day.
I arrived at the hotel right at the tail end of breakfast. The selection was exceedingly basic, and consisted of cold cuts, pastries, bread, cereal, fruit salad, and orange juice.
Then in the evenings there was a happy hour, with free drinks and snacks. Once again, the selection was very limited. The self serve options included bread, crackers, cheese, and cake.
In addition to those options, each guest was brought a pre-made plate, which… didn’t look terribly appealing to me.
Alcohol was also available from the server in the lounge. There was the choice of two white wines, two red wines, and three beers (Budwesier, Miller, and Coors). I just had a glass of white wine, which was at least a generous pour.
The attendant in the lounge was friendly. I felt bad for her, as there was one jerk in the lounge who essentially chewed her out about how bad the beer selection was. Talk about misdirected frustration.
Renaissance London Heathrow gym
The Renaissance Heathrow’s gym is on the basement level. It had decent equipment, but also wasn’t particularly large for a 710-room hotel.
Renaissance London Heathrow restaurant & bar
I didn’t end up visiting any of the food & beverage outlets on property (beyond the club lounge), though there are three options to choose from, all on the lobby level.
There’s Market Garden Restaurant, which serves breakfast and dinner daily, described as offering “seasonal European dining in a casually elegant atmosphere.”
Then there’s Bar Eleven, which is quite a large bar serving drinks and meals from midday until late.
Lastly, the Renaissance Heathrow has Cafe Cha, a coffee shop serving a variety of drinks and light snacks. Unfortunately it has fairly limited hours, and is open from 6AM until 3PM.
Bottom line
I’m happy I finally had the chance to check out the Renaissance Heathrow, since I’ve seen so many pictures and videos of airplanes over the years that were taken from this property. The Renaissance Heathrow is a totally run-of-the-mill Heathrow Airport hotel, and there’s almost nothing special about it… except the views, which are awesome.
If you like plane views, by all means check this property out. If you don’t like plane views, only stay here if it’s the best value for your stay.
Would I stay at the Renaissance Heathrow again? While I enjoyed the plane views, in the future I’d probably once again prefer a property connected to the terminal I’m departing from, like the Hilton Garden Inn Terminal 2, Hilton Heathrow Terminal 4, or Sofitel Heathrow Terminal 5.
What do you make of the Renaissance Heathrow Airport?
I was do happy and excited for their meal ,well served and very listening and supportive..I was served by ambassador ROQUE and the breakfast was delicious and it was on point ..the man is very calm and respectful
I have stayed at the hotel three times in the the last five years. Unlike the Heathrow Marriott, the Renaissance offers Titanium Bonvoy Members, like me, a free dining room breakfast, in addition to what is offered in the Executive Lounge. The Marriott restricts you to their lounge. That being said, the breakfast buffet at the Renaissance is the best one offered in Marriott properties in the UK that I have stayed in, which is very many.
For most of the "Heathrow Airport Hotels" around the area and inparticular along bath road, i would 100% reccomend getting the TFL operated (London Buses) services over the Hotel Hoppa buses. They are significantly cheaper and often quicker. Yes they can be busy, usually with airport staff more than anything, but the Hoppa is unneccessarily expensive. Their buses are generlly old and uncomfortable and despite it being a dedicated service, their drivers are usually rude...
For most of the "Heathrow Airport Hotels" around the area and inparticular along bath road, i would 100% reccomend getting the TFL operated (London Buses) services over the Hotel Hoppa buses. They are significantly cheaper and often quicker. Yes they can be busy, usually with airport staff more than anything, but the Hoppa is unneccessarily expensive. Their buses are generlly old and uncomfortable and despite it being a dedicated service, their drivers are usually rude and can not bare to help customers unfamiliar with the area... common being a huge international airport.
We had a missed connection at Heathrow last month and British Airways put us in this hotel and gave us vouchers for the Hopper. We went down to the bus stop around 9.30am and found that the hopper service didn’t run until 3.00pm since check-in time is in the afternoon. We pleased with a Hopper driver who was dropping off and he agreed to take us near to our hotel because he agreed that the schedules are stupid and don’t match the published schedule.
Sounds shabby enough to become a member of the Fawlty Towers brand. As Basil would say - "Don't mention Michael Irvin"
The club lounge offerings look pretty shabby
Other than that a doable property
The soundproofing would concern me
Prefer Sofitel @ terminal 5 and I’ve tried most of these tired old bomb shelters they call airport hotels @ Heathrow
Ben, Thanks for sharing your review of the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel.
I recently had the misfortune of staying at the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel and I feel compelled to share my experience. I have to say, I completely agree with the previous comments regarding the state of the hotel. The entire property is run down, filthy and in my opinion should be removed from the Renaissance brand of Marriott International.
I can attest to...
Ben, Thanks for sharing your review of the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel.
I recently had the misfortune of staying at the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel and I feel compelled to share my experience. I have to say, I completely agree with the previous comments regarding the state of the hotel. The entire property is run down, filthy and in my opinion should be removed from the Renaissance brand of Marriott International.
I can attest to the fact that the issue with the bath towel was not a fluke. When I stayed at the hotel last September 2022, I also only received one bath towel for my entire stay. This lack of attention to detail is unacceptable.
The Club Lounge at the hotel was a BIG disappointment as well. The furnishings were terribly outdated and covered in unsanitized filthy marks. The space itself was unremarkable and offered little inspiration. In my opinion, the Renaissance London Heathrow is the worst property within the entire brand.
Regarding the food selection, I completely agree with the previous remarks. The pre-made plate in the photo was very accurate and the food was simply disgusting. As someone who has traveled extensively, I can honestly say that the selection of food was one of the worst I have ever seen.
As a frequent traveler, I look forward to staying at Renaissance hotels for their unique and modern style and exceptional customer service. Unfortunately, the Renaissance London Heathrow fell far short of my expectations. I strongly advise anyone considering staying at this property to run and stay away.
Ben (/Tiff), have you even googled what YinDaoYan means? I'm not going to reproduce it here but if you needed a reason to ban it ... have a quick google.
I have a soft spot for the Renaissance. I used to attend hi-fi exhibitions here as a youngster with my Dad back in the mid-seventies! I disagree with you about the architecture though because I think it's an excellent example of 1970s space-age futurism. The building needs investment, preservation and potentially even listed status. It can't help the fact it's getting older and is in need of some TLC here and there.
I do...
I have a soft spot for the Renaissance. I used to attend hi-fi exhibitions here as a youngster with my Dad back in the mid-seventies! I disagree with you about the architecture though because I think it's an excellent example of 1970s space-age futurism. The building needs investment, preservation and potentially even listed status. It can't help the fact it's getting older and is in need of some TLC here and there.
I do think the interior design, however, is pretty dire and as you quite rightly say 'random'! It certainly doesn't match the exterior. I think interior design along the lines of the Virgin Clubhouse would be more apt and would complement the exterior more successfully. The Renaissance is managed by the Arora hotel group, who also manage the Sofitel and the HGI at T2 among others.
Finally, yes - the runways views are second to none. They've just launched a 'plane-spotter's stay package'!
The hotel caters to a lot of groups in addition to being the layover hotel for certain airlines. At certain times, reception is an absolute nightmare! That said, it is very much my hotel of choice when staying at LHR, because of the great views.
The Courtyard down the road, which is pretty new, has fantastic views at the end of 27R from the rooftop bar/restaurant! No views from rooms though.
I don’t know how I missed knowing about this place. Seems like a great value as well as great views. Thanks for the review!
I think I was there that night he was having a moan that the beers were basically lagers. it didn't use to be like that. I have been using the hotel for 40 years, and it has had name changes etc. The age is the reason for the height and room size. Alot of the airside hotels are of simillar age and height - skin paint radar back then.
I am lifetime Titanium and...
I think I was there that night he was having a moan that the beers were basically lagers. it didn't use to be like that. I have been using the hotel for 40 years, and it has had name changes etc. The age is the reason for the height and room size. Alot of the airside hotels are of simillar age and height - skin paint radar back then.
I am lifetime Titanium and they always give me the resteraunt breakfast. It does have the unique views. The hotels that weren't built recently suffer from having to convert rooms to the lounge. Only the Marriott from this group has a really good lounge at LHR. Basically as a frequent stayer it does what it says on the bottle, nothing special but I sleep well here.
I have stayed more times than I can remember at this property dating back nearly 40 years - first when it was the Heathrow Penta, then the Ramada, and then finally the Renaissance. My last visit there was probably around 2016 or so. Some of my fondest childhood recollections are of sitting at the window with a homemade airband receiver and listening to ATC as the drama unfolded outside. I still have old 110 film...
I have stayed more times than I can remember at this property dating back nearly 40 years - first when it was the Heathrow Penta, then the Ramada, and then finally the Renaissance. My last visit there was probably around 2016 or so. Some of my fondest childhood recollections are of sitting at the window with a homemade airband receiver and listening to ATC as the drama unfolded outside. I still have old 110 film photos of Concorde taken from there sitting in an album at my parent's house. If any hotel could be said to have been an influence on my life and career choices, this would be the one.
I remember the McDonald's across the street where I had many breakfasts. The bus stop where we would wait in the chilling wind to catch a ride into Hounslow - and the arguments with my mother to wait for a double decker so I could have a clearer view of the aircraft as we drove along Bath Road towards Cranford. Good times!
Looking at your photos really brings back great memories - the property looks the same as it did in the 1980s, just updated and modernised. Thanks for posting this, for reasons other than the review itself.
The Renaissance Hotel Heathrow is a very whimsical looking hotel. Those views are nearly unrivaled for a hotel. Nice review.
I don't believe the public busses in the "hotel zone" are free anymore. Public busses run frequently and are often a quicker option than the Hoppa hotel shuttle.
Yup, no free busses anymore.
Nice review, Lucky. Always notice this hotel upon landing and have wanted to learn more. Great views, for sure.
All buses ( NOT the hoppa) within the 'Heathrow Zone' are free. It's abit frowned upon to board your whole family and their cases for a two week trip BUT if there's room in the racks for them then crack on if you can handle the inevitable stares from those going to-from work. If you're HBO then you're golden. Just go to the bus pickup lane at T5 and T4 or the bus pickup area...
All buses ( NOT the hoppa) within the 'Heathrow Zone' are free. It's abit frowned upon to board your whole family and their cases for a two week trip BUT if there's room in the racks for them then crack on if you can handle the inevitable stares from those going to-from work. If you're HBO then you're golden. Just go to the bus pickup lane at T5 and T4 or the bus pickup area for the rest. Ask literally anyone in any uniform which bus goes to XYZ hotel & if they don't know, the person next to them will.
For a lot of the hotels there are multiple busses that will go past/stop at them so you rarely have to wait long.
When you board just say. "I'm going to the Renaissance" and then once seated pull up Google maps. Add the hotel and click Public Transport and you can track your journey and know when your stop is coming up. On the reverse just get on and say "Terminal X please" and off u go. No need to have an oyster card or to tap Ur bank card. Just say where and find a seat.
Alas post pandemic the free Heathrow zone was abolished.
The TFL (London Buses) are no longer free in the Heathrow zone. However they are substancially cheaper than the Hotel Hoppa buses and for most of the time quicker and more frequent to most of the Heathrow Airport hotels. Particularly those on Bath Road
I LOVE this hotel!....checked in at the crack of dawn...had am unexpectedly fab lunch in the bar...a long chat with a REAL concierge (George)...who set me up with travel plans for the next day...a very good breakfast with the runway view and an easy Uber to the airport train station...no, it's not pretty but Don't let that put you off
..
Actually the place seems to have been revamped and looks much better than when I stayed there some years ago. The club lounge was in shambles with everything falling off and the welcome cheese plate kept in my room had half eaten slices!
Welcome to the club Ben, I see you had a view of Gerry from Big Jet TV standing on the roof of his van! If memory serves you covered one of his YouTube vlogs last year after a tail strike was captured.
I used to enjoy, watching Jerry's LHR video streams; but he has become too commercialised and money-grabbing. Blatantly promoting and endorsing Emirates, on a recent stream. I had been a fully-paid 'member' of his channel for 3 years. I have now stopped this.
I watched his YouTube video from Dubai and he focuses purely on the Emirates aircraft landing. He does admit when he includes some FedEx cargo planes that he hopes Emirates will not mind. I guess with Emirates being host he had to please them lol.
Poor woman that is about the worst beer selection you could imagine, I’d be embarrassed to serve it.
Totally agree. Especially in the UK which has plenty of well distributed ales, stouts, and so on.
I've been to quite a few airport lounges (and indeed on many flights) where a lager was the only beer option. As someone who much prefers a stout, bitter or IPA it's somewhat disappointing but not unexpected.
Ben, would you mind to name the white noise app you use? Thanks.
@ Up Up & Away -- Yep, the app is called "White Noise," I've been using it for years.
I really like this hotel and had many similar experiences (eg apologising to the cab driver who told me “no worries I get to cut the line”)
I had actually booked for the following night accidentally and they swapped me for free which was generous. I sat in that very chair and just watched plane after plane. Loved it. Almost prefer to staying on terminal.
There are still airports like this? I thought they've all implemented a line-cutting system for drivers returning from short trips.
Either that or I started working out more and drivers don't chew me out because they fear I'd sock it to 'em with my large muscles and 6 pack.