We booked a 2.15 pm flight on British Airways from London Heathrow (LHR) Terminal 5 to Venice (VCE) on 20 Aug 2024. After being loaded onto the plane around 3 hours late, we were quickly unloaded, and our flight was disappointingly canceled.
As a result, British Airways put us up in the Airport Hilton Terminal 5 overnight, so even though this isn’t really a luxury option, I thought it would be worth penning together a review in case you need to overnight in London Heathrow for Terminal 5.
I have also compared this Airport Hilton to the Sofitel Terminal 5, as we stayed at the Sofitel a few years back. This comparison may help you make the decision if you are choosing between these two hotels.
Location
Firstly, this hotel is not located at London Heathrow Terminal 5. It is a 15-minute drive from the Terminal and can be reached by taxi for £30 GBP from Terminal 5 (£40 GBP if you order a return trip early in the morning) or by a regular Hotel Hoppa bus service, which we did not take but should be considerably cheaper. I believe the Hopper costs £5-10 per person, but you would do well to check this as we didn’t take the Hopper.
Style & Character
This Hilton is modern and fairly basic, as you would expect from an Airport hotel. A large atrium in the center of the hotel houses a bar and reception desk on the ground floor and a restaurant on a balcony level up a winding flight of stairs from the main lobby.
The design is modern and pleasing to the eye, with funky purple lighting and lots of fun bobbly lights and seating. There’s a bar at one end of the lobby, and the main reception desk occupies much of the remaining lobby area. There are two lifts to the rooms to one side of the large reception desk, which take you to the rooms.
The whole area is modern and pleasant, no complaints. The double/triple height ceilings in this area made it feel spacious and gave the whole hotel a “heart” and center point to meet and enjoy the hotel’s facilities.
Service & Facilities
The staff here were friendly. They ordered our taxi at the right time, 4:00 am, which was essential for our redeye flight from Terminal 5, so their accuracy was appreciated. They also did their best to be helpful when hundreds of British Airways passengers poured through their doors after our flight cancellation.
Rooms
The rooms at this Airport Hilton T5 were large for a budget hotel, with a double bed, a seating area, a desk, and a storage area. The bathroom was also generously sized, with funky purple lighting under the counters. It wasn’t perfectly clean, with a few stains here and there, and the carpet felt a bit used, but this is an airport hotel, so we weren’t expecting the Ritz.
The towels were fluffy, the bathroom had a powerful shower in the bath, the bed sheets were clean and fresh, and the pillows were decent. Most of what we needed was there. Unfortunately, the beds weren’t great; they were a bit like sleeping on a board and were very firm. Again, this is an airport hotel so expectations have to be managed. However, if you are looking for a more comfortable bed pre-flight at Terminal 5, pick the Sofitel, as their beds are more comfortable.
Food & Drink
We had dinner in the restaurant on the balcony overlooking the reception area. It was a buffet set up by British Airways with a nice salad, rice, warm vegetables, and a chicken and vegetarian Thai curry, which was surprisingly good. There was also a dessert, but that wasn’t as great.
Alcoholic drinks were also included for us by British Airways, although we didn’t feel like a drink after such an exhausting day. Honestly, we were so grateful for the hot curry after the flight mess. It kept us going long enough to unpack our pajamas and get some sleep.
The setting in this restaurant was airy, with plenty of seating and a bar in the middle. The seating was not on top of each other and had views over the foyer, and the staff tried to do their best in a busy setting. The lighting was particularly good, not too bright, and after many hours at the airport, it was nice to sit somewhere with muted rather than strip lighting.
We missed the breakfast service as our flight left at just past 6:00 am, so we had a Club Europe Buisness Class breakfast onboard the flight instead.
Review: British Airways Club Europe Breakfast
We experienced the British Airways Club Europe Business Class breakfast onboard an early morning flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) last week. I never book Redeye flights. However, we experienced their early morning service a few days ago due to a flight mess-up, so I thought it would be worth reviewing.
Conclusion
The Airport Hilton Terminal 5 does what it says on the box. It is an airport hotel near the airport, with parking and a bus to and from the Terminal. This is not a destination hotel, but it is functional and has generously large rooms and decent pillows. I would recommend having a meal in their restaurant on the mezzanine. It was a really nice setting (for an airport hotel), and the curry buffet that their kitchen provided was really good.
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