When I’ve enjoyed a hotel stay or restaurant meal, I’m often reluctant to return for fear of being disappointed.
However, following a run of early morning flights from Heathrow Terminal 2, the best option has been an overnight stay at the Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3 – literally a five-minute walk to the departure hall. Last time, we booked well in advance, through booking.com and paid £188. This time, although we thought we’d made a reservation, we discovered five weeks beforehand that we hadn’t, and paid the price literally – £266. My advice would be to book as soon as possible, as there is free cancellation up to five days beforehand.
We arrived at the hotel around 4pm (3pm check-in) and whilst concluding the formalities, was persuaded by the pleasant receptionist to join the Hilton club with one click. Our room 5003 was near the road but it was very quiet and, as before, had all the usual 4-star facilities, most of which we didn’t use.
Once again, we had a light bite in the 14th floor Runway Bar, rather than the restaurant. Unfortunately, due to its location, there is no draught beer, but two bottles of Cobra and a Rekorderlig Passion Fruit went down well with a shared samosa and chickpea curry (£30 with service).
Blackout curtains helped us to sleep even at 8pm, as we had a 4.15 alarm call.
The next morning, we left the bathroom virtually intact, deciding that 30 minutes extra in bed was preferable to showers. Check out was as slick as check in, as we simply left the key card in the automatic express checkout with the receipt being emailed later.
For the third time, the hotel lived up to expectations – expensive, but reassuring when you have an early flight.