LHR transit. What would you do?

[sanne]

We are flying CX J BNE to LHR arriving 6pm. The following day 9am flight LHR to BCN J with BA. Both arrival and departure at terminal 3.

We have 3 checked bags plus hand luggage.

I have some questions which I hope you can help me with.

Would you check all the bags through from BNE to BCN? and then overnight at a hotel at LHR with Hand luggage only? is there a problem leaving bags at LHR T3 for 15 hours?

Would you collect your bags at LHR and taxi to hotel at LHR and return the following morning?

Any suggestions for comfortable and convenient hotel? We have previously stayed at the Sofitel T5 but this may not be the best option since we're going in and out of T3. I understand there is no connecting hotel at T3.

We are non too young and like to find the easiest options.

Thank you for any suggestions to make this as smooth and seamless as possible.

 

[scwappy]

I would check your bags through and just take what you need for the transit. You can take the tube from T3 to T5 if you wanted to stay at the Sofitel.

 

[sanne]

Thanks scrappy for your reply.

I guess I was a bit concerned with the luggage disappearing at LHR, they don't have a good track record! That is obviously the best and easiest option though.

i presume that there is no problem with checking the luggage through from BNE to BCN as both are OW?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks scrappy for your reply.

I guess I was a bit concerned with the luggage disappearing at LHR, they don't have a good track record! That is obviously the best and easiest option though.

i presume that there is no problem with checking the luggage through from BNE to BCN as both are OW?

yes - OW->OW is fine, even on separate tickets. Cathay is pretty good with through checking bags, Qantas can have varying results (although they may have improved).

I appreciate your 15 hour issue... in all likelihood the bag will be 'parked' somewhere waiting for the connection... with a bunch of other bags for different flights. There are occasions when a bag gets forgotten in this process. You can go part way to solving that issue by asking at the gate whether they have loaded your bags (give them the bag check receipts). But in any event, if it is left behind, flights from London to BCN are frequent, so your bag shouldn't be too far behind and they'll deliver it to your hotel.

 

[sanne]

yes - OW->OW is fine, even on separate tickets. Cathay is pretty good with through checking bags, Qantas can have varying results (although they may have improved).

I appreciate your 15 hour issue... in all likelihood the bag will be 'parked' somewhere waiting for the connection... with a bunch of other bags for different flights. There are occasions when a bag gets forgotten in this process. You can go part way to solving that issue by asking at the gate whether they have loaded your bags (give them the bag check receipts). But in any event, if it is left behind, flights from London to BCN are frequent, so your bag shouldn't be too far behind and they'll deliver it to your hotel.

Thanks for your help. I have decided that that is the way to go. Check bags through to BCN. We will have 2 nights in Barcelona before our cruise so worse case is I have time to buy new clothes etc before our bags catch up with us!

 

[Duffa]

Thanks for your help. I have decided that that is the way to go. Check bags through to BCN. We will have 2 nights in Barcelona before our cruise so worse case is I have time to buy new clothes etc before our bags catch up with us!

And if you use the cc insurance that most of us have then you can claim for a new outfit or two

 

[docjames]

I would check your bags through and just take what you need for the transit. You can take the tube from T3 to T5 if you wanted to stay at the Sofitel.

+1 from me - check bags through, overnight with carryon only.

 

[pagingjoan]

If you decide to stay at the Sofitel, T5, then transfer from T3 to T5 can be done, free of charge, via the Heathrow Express, which runs every 15 minutes.
Travel between terminals | Heathrow
Sofitel is a good option, in my experience, especially if you can find a sale price, and Accor membership will often result in a room upgrade.
Happy travels.

 

[Dr Ralph]

I'd check bags through and take the free shuttle bus to one of the airport hotels close by.

 

[Skyring]

Check the bags through, have enough in carry on for an overnight. A convenient low-cost option is the Yotel at T4, where you can select the number of hours you want to stay. I just use it for a sleep and a shower, and then go hang out in the lounge when it opens.

They designed Yotel like the ultimate first class suite on a plane. Compact, but lots of comfort.

Heathrow is surrounded by hotels, and they all have shuttles. When travelling with my missus, Yotel is not an option!

Enjoy Barcelona. Fabulous city. Highly recommend the Xalet restaurant halfway up Montjuic at the Olympic diving venue. Take the special train up from the city centre. Awesome evening view over the city and mountains behind. Great food. A bit pricey, but IMHO well worth it for the occasion.

Recommend getting away from the tourist streets and finding a restaurant where the locals eat. The food will be better and the prices lower.

Sagrada Familia is a must. Fabulous inside and out. The spire(s) tour is really good, but you have to get there early.

 

[sanne]

Thanks everyone for all your great suggestions and taking the time to post them here.

 

[Collie]

Agree that Barca is a great place. Quick tip - book your tickets for La Sagrada di Familia in advance online. You can skip the queue then. If you get the chance go to a Barca game at the Camp Nou, even if you are not a footie fan. Probably the greatest team ever to play the game currently and the atmosphere will be awesome. Great little fairytale bar (with running stream) down the bottom of Las Ramblas, beside the waxwork museum - it's really unique

 

[Anna]

Sofitel at T5 or Hilton at T4 are both good overnight choices IMO, or Yotel at T4 for a shorter transit.

Beware however that the Hilton that pretends to be "at" T5 is not in fact at T5 but is a 15 minute bus ride away, on a bus that is not all that frequent and seems to take forever to arrive (especially when you are standing outside in the London cold waiting for it having just landed from summer in Aus). I got sucked into making that mistake once - never again.

 

[sanne]

Sofitel at T5 or Hilton at T4 are both good overnight choices IMO, or Yotel at T4 for a shorter transit.

Beware however that the Hilton that pretends to be "at" T5 is not in fact at T5 but is a 15 minute bus ride away, on a bus that is not all that frequent and seems to take forever to arrive (especially when you are standing outside in the London cold waiting for it having just landed from summer in Aus). I got sucked into making that mistake once - never again.

I'm thinking that the Sofitel at T5 might be the best for speed and ease.

We arrive and leave from T3 and it seems the train connecting T3-T5 goes every 15 mins as apposed to staying anywhere else which would require a Hoppa bus which is every half hour.

I guess I'm looking for a seamless overnight stay with minimum waiting around.

 

[Anna]

I'm thinking that the Sofitel at T5 might be the best for speed and ease.

We arrive and leave from T3 and it seems the train connecting T3-T5 goes every 15 mins as apposed to staying anywhere else which would require a Hoppa bus which is every half hour.

I guess I'm looking for a seamless overnight stay with minimum waiting around.

I don't disagree with what you have said. I add though that transfer to T4 is also possible by train. I can't remember which terminal it is that you need to take 2 short train trips to get there. It's annoying to have to change trains when you're tired and jetlagged after the flight from Aust, but at least it is all indoors (unlike the buses) and it's only a short walk to the other platform to change.

 

[SFSC]

If you have checked your bags through you can be a little bit more adventurous and take advantage of the free bus zone around Heathrow. Note this is on the public buses, not the hoppa. If you were to stay at the Holiday Inn Arial, for example, you could get a 111 or 105 bus to Harlington Corner (stop E) which is the last stop within the free zone in that direction and is about 75 metres from your hotel. Going back, cross Bath Rd and then Hatton Rd North at the lights and get the 105, 111 or 140 from Harlington Corner (stop J) back to the central bus station. Also, if you decide you don't want to eat an evening meal at the hotel, you might want to walk (1.2km) or catch a bus (free from stop J) along Bath Rd to the Three Magpies and have a drink and a pub feed there.

 

[pagingjoan]

I think you are on a winner, Sanne.

In the past, we've tried the "Heathrow hotel" options, with several variations on the shuttles and buses.
For me, none of them worked well, in terms of the standard of the hotels or the messing about and unreliability of services.

In more recent times, we've used the Sofitel on five or six occasions and it has always worked well for us.
The added benefits, although you may not need all of them on this visit, are the excellent restaurant, the invariably efficient and welcoming check in service, and a good breakfast offering, again with good service.

Then, on departure, you are not at the mercy of bus timetables or car services.

It certainly won't be the cheapest option and the convenience level is not brilliant for T3-T5-T3 but I would still rate it the best available.
Good luck with it all.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Since we're mentioning hotels - the Renaissance heathrow is a great place for plane spotting. The 'runway' rooms are just a few metres from the active runways and provide a pretty amazing experience. Free buses and the Hoppa. Rates from GBP68 a night. (Don't worry, the rooms are sound-proofed!)

Managed to find a youtube video shot from one of the rooms to give you an idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3t4y9PN1OY

 

[PineappleSkip]

Stayed at the HI Heathrow Arial and the Sheraton Skyline. Both were fine and a short taxi ride away from T3. Taxi doesn't break the bank for that distance.

Cheers skip

 

[SFSC]

I use the bus to go to the Bath Road hotels rather than a taxi because I would not like to be a taxi driver who only gets such a short fare after queuing at the terminal. Getting a cab back is a different matter. Though I usually use the bus for this as well because they are quite frequent.

When checking after making my earlier post to confirm that the free zone still existed, I found a page ( https://www.londontoolkit.com/blog/...-airport-hotels-from-the-passenger-terminals/ ) which includes a you tube video of the bus journey from the bus station and shows some of the hotels.