Hotel or place to stay in London, one night end of June...

We have an overnight stopover in London the night of June 29th. We need sleeping accommodations for six for the night, near the airport. I also need a car service with vans that can seat six, though I would take the subway if it was safe.

We are arriving IY"H at 8:15pm and have to be back at the airport at 8am, so the accommodations don't need to be fancy, but I would like clean and I need a place to plug things (medical equipment) in to recharge.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/g.....RD12514301 I found some places that seem okay, but how do I know?

Thanks for any advice or leads on finding what I need!!
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Liba, mommy to Zlata Tova 5/6/98, Tziporah Faiga 1/12/01, Esther Rivka 7/13/04 and Avraham Chaim 7/2/2006

Platinum Member Joined: Nov 04 2008 Posts: 7928

The subway is safe Smile

Rhodes hotel is nice, I think they have a few big rooms that could accommodate an entire family. The owners are super nice. http://www.rhodeshotel.com/ The convenient thing about it is it's right by Paddington, from which you take the Paddington Express to Heathrow.
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Gold Member Joined: Feb 05 2008 Posts: 2428 Location: UK

I have no idea about hotels near heathrow, but if you need a car Emes Minicabs should be able to help you +44 20 8809 4444. They have bigger cars just make sure you let them know when you make your booking.

Oh, what about the holiday inn, park inn etc that are right near heathrow? I just googled hotels near heathrow, they might even be able to get in hermolis frozen meals for you in advance.

Hatzlocha.
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Unfortunately, my daydreams about being skinny are always being interrrupted by the sound of my own chewing.

Posted: Wed, May 04 2011, 8:49 am Post subject:

Their biggest rooms are for a family of five and they require two nights, so I am still looking, but I really appreciate the link and the help!!

Posted: Wed, May 04 2011, 8:50 am Post subject:

Thank you smilethere!! I am taking notes. Smile

Posted: Wed, May 04 2011, 10:20 am Post subject:

there are loads of pretty decent hotels near the airport why dont u just search normal hotel names like sheraton, ramada, holiday ill, etc and look for heathrow? I wouldnt advise travelling too far its just not worth the shlep

Posted: Wed, May 04 2011, 11:05 am Post subject:

I searched London and Hotels and was overwhelmed. Searing Healthrow was actually much better, thanks!! I think I figured something out.

First and most important of all, did you check WHICH London airport you're landing? I guess you're coming from Israel, in which case majority should be Heathrow but some flights go to Luton or Stanstead.
Following comments are assuming you're arriving and departing from Heathrow. (Also you need to mark down which terminals you're arriving/departing.)

1. If your flight is landing at 8:15pm, you're unlikely to be out of the airport till after 9pm--it's not the rush hour for long-distance flights but LHR is a BIG airport, you can easily walk 10-15min just from the gate to the central area, then you need to go through passport control and pick up luggage. It makes more sense to stay close to Heathrow.

2. There're several budget hotel chains--Premier Inns are very basic but rooms are clean and definitely adequate for an overnight stay. Travelodge is another budget chain but they are not as nice (and has a nasty and inflexible way of sneaking surcharges). There're also Holiday Inn and Novotel. Premier Inns usually have a family room but up to 4, so you may need two rooms unless your family includes young children. For getting competitive price, you may wan to try priceline. There're also budget easyHotel (run by the same folks as easyJet) but I think rooms are just big enough for 1-2 guests.

3. There are no such things as complimentary shuttle services at Heathrow hotels. Instead, you pay something like 3-4pounds per person on Hoppa bus that connect different hotels around the airport. With 6 people, I think taking a taxi may come out cheaper than Hoppa bus.

4. It's perfectly safe to take underground, just stay alert. There'll be plenty of other passengers coming from the airport too. Though if you need connecting to different lines and have suitcases, you may want to be aware you'll need to go up/down the stairs in most stations. Also, HEATHROW EXPRESS IS A TOTAL RIP-OFF at GBP32 for adult round-trip. I usually take cheaper, slightly-slower (it makes more stops) but still direct Heathrow Connect that also gets you to Paddington.

5. Landing 8:15, out of airport 9:15-9:30, so probably you won't get to hotel till close to 10pm. The closest kosher restaurant from LHR is Isola Bella at Westfield (good 20-25min by car), I think their last order is 11pm. You're probably better off bringing your nosh and pack snacks. There are a few coffeeshops where they sell kosher prepackeged sandwiches but they're usually closed/gone by that time of the evening.

Posted: Wed, May 04 2011, 10:43 pm Post subject:

Mrs Bissli thank you so so much for taking the time and energy to post all of that!! I really appreciate it!

I found cheap rooms at Comfort Hotel. The ratings that I could find looked fine and the prices were good. They also had arrangements for six seater cabs at what looked like a good price. The only issue is they want a cell phone and to text us with where to meet the cab... I have no idea how to make that work. I assume we aren't the first to be there without a cell phone.

Food is going to be an issue. Someone suggested that we have Hermolis food delivered. It looks to be expensive and I can't find anything on their website that says their dairy products are all cholov yisroel, but the star k says they are...

Smile

All in all B"H piece by piece things are coming together!!

We have plane tickets, passports, a hotel for the layover, oxygen arranged for the flights, medical clearance from the doctor and airline, a car rental reservation for the US, a US cell phone rental arranged, our itinerary is done, and I started making packing lists.

Posted: Thu, May 05 2011, 2:55 am Post subject:

hermolis are all chalav yisrael, they are the best hecsher in the uk.
second of all about the mobile, make sure ur israeli mobile is set for roaming and just give them your israeli mobile number and get them to text that. you just need to include the area code in the beginning.
hope u have a good and successful trip.

I would bring food with you, it will be easiest. Or you could take a taxi or train to the nearest kosher resturant (ie your husbnad could) but it will be a shlep. Hermolis meals are pretty good if you don't mind the price. The hechsher is excellent.

If there are stores open in heathrow or near your hotel you can buy drinks (any pure fruit juice is fine) fresh fruit and veggeis, kellogs cereals, (check for the mk hechsher, also cheerios have a hechsher) alpro soya milk, plain nuts and various other things.

ask the hotel if there is a supermarket open late close by.

Posted: Thu, May 05 2011, 7:44 am Post subject:

drumjj, we can't get texts on our Israeli phone. Smile

I sound like I am trying to make trouble, but I am not, it is a "kosher phone" no games or texts, just voice.