London Underground is home to one of London’s great mysteries. Located near the western end of the Piccadilly Line lies a station that baffles many a Londoner. It’s called Hatton Cross and no one I know of can explain the point of it; it’s in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by large roads. However, what it does have is the Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Airport.
A handy location for Heathrow
We love the Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Airport. We’ve tried a few hotels near Heathrow, including the Hilton at Terminal 4. Unlike the Hilton at T5, at least the T4 Hilton is actually at the airport. (The Hilton T5 is quite a long bus ride from the airport). The T4 Hilton is great if you’re flying from T4, but as anyone who has ever had a flight connection at Heathrow knows, getting from T4 to the other terminals is a pain.
So why stay at the Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Airport? Well, price-wise it has better rates than many of the other airport hotels. (Certainly better value than the Hiltons at T4 and T5). It is only a few minutes’ walk away from Hatton Cross station; so if you’re flying from any terminal at Heathrow it’s a short journey. The rooms are nicely equipped, with comfy beds and flat screen TVs. There is also FREE WiFi throughout the hotel. Yes, FREE WiFi and it’s pretty speedy!
The hotel boasts a 24-hour Business Centre with complimentary printing should you need it, complimentary fitness centre with cardio & weight training equipment and a coin-operated laundry. Dining options include the Garden Grille, the Garden Lounge and the Pavilion Pantry, as well as a large bar.
A warm welcome at check-in
Arriving around 8pm, there was a vibrant and festive atmosphere in the lobby due to Christmas party in one of the adjacent bar areas. There were a few people ahead of us waiting to check in, but the front office manager popped onto one of the check-in desks and we were lucky to be able to go to her and check in straight away.
We thought that Sharron, the Front Office Manager, deserves a special mention. One of the things we have found in the past is how pleasant the staff are at the hotel and Sharron gave us a perfect example of how a warm, friendly and personal welcome should be done. Not a case of going through the motions, but actually taking a real interest in our plans for the weekend.
We had booked a king room and were given one on the 5th floor. Access to the guest rooms requires a room card to activate the lifts. Checking the room over we found it to be spotlessly clean. The rooms at the Garden Inn are surprisingly large and decorated in light neutral colours. The room is equipped with a mini fridge, iron, safe and 26″ flat screen TV. The hotel internet is fast and there was no faffing around with access codes or having to enter names and room numbers.
The bed was way bigger than a standard UK king size. The Serta Suite Dreams beds at the Hilton Garden Inns are very comfortable. This nicely supportive mattress, coupled with the higher-than-standard thread count cotton sheets and feather pillows, led to us getting a great night’s sleep.
Dinner time at the Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Airport
Eventually, having got settled into the room (after having to hang around as Bart did his David Bailey impersonation and photographed the room from every conceivable angle), it was 8:30pm and we were ready for food.
We popped down to the Garden Grille on the ground floor for dinner. The lovely Sharron had asked if we wanted to book a table, but we hadn’t. We were surprised at how busy the restaurant was, though fortunately there were a few tables free. Again, the staff were friendly and efficient; we were warmly welcomed and attended to quickly.
The menu is quite extensive (more so than the T4 Hilton), with some really interesting choices. Price-wise it’s what you would expect from a hotel. Bart had a Garden Burger and I had the Confit Duck. The food arrived after a decent interval; long enough to know it hadn’t just been microwaved and not so long that we had started to wonder where it was.
The food was tasty and hot (let’s face it, that may seem to be a basic thing, but it’s amazing how many places can’t manage to do it). The portions were a decent size, the burger was cooked to perfection and the duck was juicy with a rich jus. We manage to find room to squeeze in a dessert (a gorgeously gooey Warm Chocolate Brownie for me and sticky, sweet and sumptuous Tart Tatin for Bart). We headed back to the room and went to our gorgeously comfortable bed with a feeling of contentment.
Checking out the breakfast before checking out
Waking up feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep, we quickly showered and dressed. The bathroom was compact but was equipped with a bath and over bath shower. The water pressure was good and the shower temperature was easy to control.
Once dressed we headed down to breakfast. Although this was the standard hotel buffet, the food looked appetising and fresh. There was a good range of hot dishes available on the buffet, with a chef’s station cooking omelettes and other dishes to order. Being a Hilton Garden Inn there was also their famous signature waffles with a range of tasty toppings. As well as the hot buffet, there was a wide selection of cold dishes, cereals and pastries. We both opted for the hot buffet, which was tasty and set us up well for the day.
After popping back to the room to grab our bags we headed to reception and checked out. We were checked out by the lovely Sharron who had checked us in. She wished us a great weekend and told us how jealous she was. Great that she remembered us and made the service that much more personal!
All in all, we had a great stay at the Hilton Garden Inn London Heathrow Airport. It’s a very convenient hotel if you want to stay near the airport. The great rooms, good food and fantastic service make it a pleasure to stay there. It’s our first choice if we need to stay at Heathrow; we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it and I have no doubt we’ll be back there again next time we’re taking a morning flight from LHR.
Time to dash, we had to check out Cathay Pacific’s new Business Class lounge before catching our flight to Vienna.
