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Trip Report: Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T5

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After spending a few days at the London Marriott Hotel Maida Vale (trip report), we spent our last night in the UK at the Holiday Inn Express London – Heathrow T5, mostly to avoid an additional night of central London hotel prices.

Lobby of the Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T5. Photo from ihg.com

Lobby of the Holiday Inn Express London Heathrow T5. Photo from ihg.com

Location: This hotel is located in Slough, a town just west of Heathrow Airport. It was a bit of a trek from our hotel in London – we had to take the Underground to Paddington Station, then paid £9.20 each to go one stop to Slough on a Great Western Railway train, then took a double decker bus about 20 minutes from the Slough railway station to this hotel. It’s located just off the M5 highway next to a water reservoir (not exactly an exciting location), and about 5 miles from the western edge of Heathrow airport.

To get between the hotel and the airport, you can either take the National Express Hotel Hoppa (£4.50 if bought in advance or £5 on board) or the Slough 7 bus (£4.20), which stops around the corner from the hotel. We opted for the local bus, not knowing how expensive it was (the fares weren’t posted at the bus stop and I could only find pricing for multi-trip passes on their website) or that they don’t take Oyster cards. We only had £5 in cash, but luckily the driver took pity on us and charged us the normal fare of £2.40 instead of the more expensive Heathrow fare.

Checkin/Checkout: Checkin was quick and painless; they had an express checkout box, so I just dropped our keys in it on our way out the door.

Room: The room was pretty straightforward – one queen size bed, a desk, two side tables, an electric tea kettle, and a bathroom. The walls were a bit thin – we could hear children playing in the evening, and in the morning one of our neighbors was having some kind of argument that involved shouting and slamming doors.

Internet: The hotel offered basic internet for free, but it was too slow for anything more than basic browsing, so I paid £5 for a 24-hour premium wifi pass. The wifi registration page said to talk to the front desk about discounts for multi-day passes.

Food: The hotel offered a decent continental breakfast – croissants and pain au chocolat, eggs and baked beans, cereal, yogurt, and fruit. There is a 24 hour gas station with a Marks and Spencer’s grocery store across the street, but my room didn’t have a refrigerator or microwave. There is also a bar/lounge in the lobby, as well as an Italian restaurant that’s open for dinner.

Service: We had little interaction with the staff, but what we did have was polite and efficient.

Verdict: An inexpensive and perfectly serviceable hotel with relatively convenient access to Heathrow. Would recommend for a one night stay before or after a flight, though for an overnight layover you may want to consider closer options.

Have you stayed at this hotel recently? What was your experience? If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Cheers everyone!

P.S. The next stop on our big winter trip was Cancun, Mexico.  Stay tuned for the next part of my trip report.  Adios amigos!


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One thought on “Trip Report: Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T5

  1. Jerry Mandel

    Unlike hotels near major airports in USA, hotels near Heathrow do not provide shuttle service. However, local buses are free to/from many hotels.

    Reply

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