Two hotels can look £80 apart on a booking site and end up much closer once you have paid to reach the terminal. Three things decide the real cost: whether you pay per person or per car, whether you pay once or both ways, and whether the transfer is running at the hour you need it.
The four ways to reach your terminal
| Cost | Runs | Good to know | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walk | Nothing | Any time | Only from hotels joined to a terminal |
| Heathrow Pod | £8.75 per person, each way | 04:00 to 00:15 | Terminal 5 only. Arrives in the car park |
| Hotel Hoppa bus | £7 per person single, £13 return | 04:00 to midnight | Group tickets: £20 single, £36 return |
| Taxi | On the meter, per car | Any time | Ranks outside every terminal |
Walk
A handful of hotels are joined to a terminal by a covered walkway. There is nothing to pay, nothing to book and no timetable. These hotels charge more for the room, and for an early flight or a late landing that is usually what you are paying for.
Heathrow Pod
Driverless pods run between one hotel and Terminal 5 in five minutes. The fare is per person for each journey, so it adds up for a family. The pod stops at the Terminal 5 car park, so there is still a walk to check-in, and luggage trolleys cannot go through the station barriers.
Hotel Hoppa bus
The Hoppa is the paid shuttle network that links most Heathrow hotels with the terminals. It is charged per person. A return ticket saves a little if you are coming back to the same hotel, and a group ticket is worth asking about if there are three or more of you. Buses run to a timetable, so the first one of the morning and the last one at night matter more than the fare.
Taxi
Black cabs wait at ranks outside every terminal and charge what the meter reads. Heathrow also has a fixed-rate car service with desks in each arrivals hall. A taxi costs the same whether one of you is travelling or four, and it runs at any hour, which makes it the fallback when the pod and the buses have stopped. As a rough guide, a short hop to a nearby hotel is somewhere between £10 and £25.
Local buses
Ordinary public buses also serve some hotel areas and cost less than the Hoppa. You cannot pay with cash on them: use a contactless card or an Oyster card. One route, the H30, is free all day between the central bus station, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5. Night buses run from the airport between about 23:40 and 05:35, though they are routes into London, not hotel shuttles.
What it adds up to
One way, from hotel to terminal:
| Two adults | Family of four | |
|---|---|---|
| Walk | £0 | £0 |
| Heathrow Pod | £17.50 | £35 |
| Hotel Hoppa bus | £14 | £20 with a group ticket |
| Taxi | About £10 to £25 | About £10 to £25 |
Double the pod and taxi figures if you are returning to the same hotel after your trip.
How to use this when choosing a hotel
- Add the transfer to the room rate before you compare. Our short lists do this for you, for two adults, one way.
- Count heads. Alone or as a couple, the pod and the bus are cheap. With three or four of you, a taxi or a group ticket usually costs less.
- Check the clock. Before 04:00 and after midnight only walking and taxis are certain. If your flight could be delayed past the last bus, price in a taxi.
- A connected hotel is not always the dear option. At Terminal 4 the budget hotels are joined to the terminal, so the walk costs nothing extra.