Heathrow Transfers

[kpc]

Need some suggestions re transport to / from Heathrow. 3x pax to London city (Hilton London Canary Wharf hotel, South Quay, Marsh Wall, London to be precise). Probably have 3 suitcases. Read somewhere that a black cab will cost about 90 pounds one way, and I'm also worried that we may not get all our bags into the cab. So looking for a pick up transfer service that is reasonably priced that would fit us all in, with luggage. Doesn't have to be the latest Mercedes limo, tho....

 

[tuapekastar]

No idea on the limo service, but are trains out of the question?

I'm not sure how 3 x pax will affect the maths/economics of the exercise, but Heathrow Express (GBP18 one way, 15 mins, runs frequently) and Heathrow Connect (GBP8.50 one way, 25 mins, runs every 30 mins) will both deposit you at Paddington, from where you could tube or taxi it to the hotel (unsure of the cost of that part of the trip, and does not necessarily address your concerns of the bags fitting in the cab). Tube is also available from LHR, but at GBP5 for the trip, I would go the Connect.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I concur with the Heathrow express option. It is fantastic and Paddington station is very easy to navigate to taxi rank with luggage ( unlike Euston which is a nightmare). Just remember to have cash for the fare as very few cabs have eftpos.

 

[kpc]

Thanks for above; just got a quote from:
Airport Cars Service | Taxi to & from Airport Service

£62 for 3 pax with 6 pieces of luggage (station wagon / estate car) and they will meet us at arrivals - seems quite reasonable to me...work will pick up the tab so price not a real issue but convenience is....what do you think?

 

[Princess Fiona]

That's not too bad a deal. Might be a longish journey if there's traffic. Big advantage of the Express is its 15 mins to Paddington.
I've never personally driven from LHR so can't comment specifically as I always use the HE option and claim it back through work ( First class is very peaceful)
Edit: Just realised you are going to Canary Wharf and that's a long cab ride from Paddington
Hire car option looks better

 

[tuapekastar]

While I'm not really familiar with London cab/limo prices, 62 quid between 3 (I know work is paying) for that trip sounds a good option. I'd certainly consider it for myself if I was travelling with a couple of people. Solo though, the trains would work better for me.

PS. I'm only guessing here, but I suspect a moderately generous tip could maybe be expected by the driver? Just speculating...

 

[KitKat]

I have used

London Heathrow Cars | Heathrow Taxis | Airport Transfer Service | London UK

4 times, no complaints, paid cash (don't like giving out my CC no), you can ask for a receipt.
On arrival, called them after having a shower in the arrivals lounge.
Arrived promptly at agreed meeting point

 

[animusmh12]

I too have done the car option twice without any trouble and found the traffic not too bad. For me travelling with a big suitcase for work it was far better an option and easy after a long flight.

 

[kpc]

OK...I have booked the car. They did say there is a £5 cancellation fee but I elected to pay the driver with cash so they never took my credit card details. I guess the worse case scenario is the driver doesn't turn up but I guess we can look for an alternative as we haven't paid for anything upfront....he may get a small tip but remember we are stingy Aussies!!

I have used

London Heathrow Cars | Heathrow Taxis | Airport Transfer Service | London UK

4 times, no complaints, paid cash (don't like giving out my CC no), you can ask for a receipt.
On arrival, called them after having a shower in the arrivals lounge.
Arrived promptly at agreed meeting point

Their price seems the same as the one I booked so i will leave my original booking as is....BTW, how much is a reasonable tip for a £62 fare?


Princess Fiona, why is Euston train station a nightmare? I'm going to Birmingham for the day on Saturday for the ALL England Badminton championships and the train leaves from Euston

 

[Princess Fiona]

The Train station is fine but the access to the Taxi rank requires going down stairs via lift ( if it's working) or bouncing suitcases downstairs if it's not. There are then further ramps and stairs to get to the rank. Even worse for wheelchair users and strollers. IMHO it's an absolute shocker

 

[KitKat]

I usually round it to the nearest "5", or "10" if the service has been really good

 

[codash1099]

Just for the record, I've used London Airport Direct Transfer - Heathrow Airport - Gatwick Airport - Stansted Airport - Luton Airport a couple of times. Fairly competitive and efficient.

 

[drmikki]

Kpc, thats a great hotel - stayed there in Jan If you get exec lounge they have brekky, afternoon tea and light dinner so no need to even leave the place!

For 3 of you car is totally worthwhile, especially for that price and work paying! I wouldn't recommend Heathrow Connect or Heathrow Express for this hotel, it's slightly faster but a fair bit more hassle to get there, especially with luggage.

If the car fails to show, easiest thing to do is get the tube from Heathrow to Green Park (has lifts for changing lines with luggage) then change to Jubilee line to Canary Wharf. It's possible to walk from Canary Wharf to the Hilton without steps - lifts and escalators. On exiting the Oyster gates at Canary Wharf, go left thru some double doors and up a level to the shopping centre. Turn right past starbucks and there's an exit on the left - escalators up. You end up in the atrium of one of the towers, with a restaurant - mozzarella or something? The exit to the building is in front of you off the escalator. Over the bridge (over the water) is the Hilton, and you can see the sign pretty easily. There is a lift on the right for the 7 or so stairs to the pedestrian bridge.

If you take the DLR, South Quay is the closest, and you go right past the Hilton about a minute before the station.

 

[kpc]

The Train station is fine but the access to the Taxi rank requires going down stairs via lift ( if it's working) or bouncing suitcases downstairs if it's not. There are then further ramps and stairs to get to the rank. Even worse for wheelchair users and strollers. IMHO it's an absolute shocker

Ta. Only small back pack needed for day trip so i should be OK..

I usually round it to the nearest "5", or "10" if the service has been really good

Thanks...will get the driver to add the tip to the receipt

Kpc, thats a great hotel - stayed there in Jan If you get exec lounge they have brekky, afternoon tea and light dinner so no need to even leave the place!

Good to hear your comments on the hotel. It seems to have got very good reviews on TA if you believe what is said on that site. I'm Diamond and booked the cheapest room (£146.60 incl. tax per night which I thought was very reasonabale for London; am secretly hoping for a suite upgrade), and at my suggestion, both my colleagues booked Executive rooms:mrgreen:

If the car fails to show, easiest thing to do is....

Call the service that KitKat mentioned below. After a 24 hour flight, the last thing we want to do is be dragging bags on / off trains...:shock:

I have used

London Heathrow Cars | Heathrow Taxis | Airport Transfer Service | London UK

4 times, no complaints, paid cash (don't like giving out my CC no), you can ask for a receipt.
On arrival, called them after having a shower in the arrivals lounge.
Arrived promptly at agreed meeting point

 

[fairhsa]

London taxi drivers may appreciate tips but they certainly don't expect them. It's not the USA you are visiting.
Personally, I'd go with the Tube advise posted in such detail above - it'll cost a fraction of the price (probably less than 10 pounds each in total, less if you get an oyster card) and you get to experience the real London too. WAAY too much risk of getting stuck in traffic in a cab for my liking.

 

[Flashback]

London taxi drivers may appreciate tips but they certainly don't expect them. It's not the USA you are visiting.
Personally, I'd go with the Tube advise posted in such detail above - it'll cost a fraction of the price (probably less than 10 pounds each in total, less if you get an oyster card) and you get to experience the real London too. WAAY too much risk of getting stuck in traffic in a cab for my liking.

Unless time is an issue, what does it matter? It's a set fare, so you don't lose out there. I'd rather get stuck in a cab for a little while, than have to take the tube all the way out to Canary Wharf. YMMV...

Also, +1 for the Hilton there, very nice property with a very nice lounge. That's a steal of a price, too:!:

 

[Mh4k]

I've used Addison Lee Minicabs - the largest London minicab company and the service was fine, though the sedan cars are a bit lacking compared to what you'd find in an equivalent Australian private car service - so I stumped up the small amount extra on the return transfer for an E-Class Merc which was pretty nice. The Mercs have in-car wifi, which is a nice touch. Their booking website is also great - very high tech, easy to get a quote, make a booking and then reschedule/upgrade/cancel your booking online and on the day the car is dispatched you can track it by GPS so you know exactly how far away from you they are.

Use the Tube for getting around London day to day but not for getting to the airport. It's way too stressful particularly in rush hour and/or if you have bags. The Heathrow express is OK but I'm no fan of the 15 minute wait at Heathrow Central to change trains to get to whatever terminal you're headed to. Also I dislike lugging my luggage around the city or hauling it for miles through airports.

 

[MikedOut]

I agree, the Hilton at Canary Wharf is good, friendly staff as well (although that was 2 years ago). One thing with the taxis though (and now I'd go with a hire car) getting from Heathrow to Canary Wharf on a Monday morning was hell and seriously expensive. The cost was around £130, huge traffic jam and and not helped by the driver taking me to the wrong Hilton (I think we went to a Docklands one first, still not sure who's fault that was, his or mine)

 

[kpc]

Need some suggestions re transport to / from Heathrow. 3x pax to London city (Hilton London Canary Wharf hotel, South Quay, Marsh Wall, London to be precise). Probably have 3 suitcases. Read somewhere that a black cab will cost about 90 pounds one way, and I'm also worried that we may not get all our bags into the cab. So looking for a pick up transfer service that is reasonably priced that would fit us all in, with luggage. Doesn't have to be the latest Mercedes limo, tho....

Thanks for above; just got a quote from:
Airport Cars Service | Taxi to & from Airport Service

£62 for 3 pax with 6 pieces of luggage (station wagon / estate car) and they will meet us at arrivals - seems quite reasonable to me...work will pick up the tab so price not a real issue but convenience is....what do you think?

Quick update to report a positive (sort of) experience. Was met and picked up as scheduled from LHR. VW people mover (maybe 3 years old) had no trouble fitting the 3 of us and our 6 pieces of luggage...had space for more!! Took a whopping 1 hour 40 mins from LHR T3 to Hilton Canary Wharf at Tuesday 8am. Travel took us past Harrods, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge, Tower of London etc which excited my 2 colleagues as they had not been to London before...not sure whether it was the most direct route, but traffic was horrendous. We rounded the £62 fare up to £70 as we felt a bit sorry for the poor driver, and we got a receipt for the same for work expenses Happy enough that we will book the same service for our return to LHR next week.

 

[ncraigm]

That probably was the most direct route, although the SatNav completely rules here so the driver probably didn't know an alternative. (Black Cab drivers know the inner London 'rat runs' which cut off vast amounts of time when the traffic is bad, but you obviously pay extra for it). 1h40 would seem about par at that time of day too when taking that route. The issue with London - in contrast to most Australian cities - is that there is no such thing as 'going against the traffic' at certain times of the day. When you get within 10kms of the West End it just stays busy.

Depending on what time your flight home is I'd look at leaving at least 2 hours before check-in opens if you're going to take a car. Or, get the tube to Paddington (Jubilee Line to Baker St, then Bakerloo) and the Heathrow Express from there. You'll be there in under an hour from The Wharf. Imo, that is the best way to get to LHR bar none. All it takes is an accident on the M4 and you're shot (as I found out to my chagrin when I took a cab instead of the HEX and missed the last flight of the day to VIE 18 months ago).

Hope you're enjoying London though (you can take this dodgy weather back to Oz too thanks very much )