Premier Travel Inn London - Heathrow (Bath Road), London

There are now at least three Premier Inn hotels in the London Heathrow area. They seem to be popping up all over nowadays, so the chain must be getting something right. The one at Bath Road (Hounslow) certainly delivered the goods for us last weekend and, in my opinion, compared well with similar hotels costing considerably more.

Our latest flying visit to London

Late last year our daughter was planning a couple of trips to see her favourite band on their 2012 European tour, including the final concert at the O2 Arena (formerly the Millennium Dome, Greenwich). A weekend in London suddenly sounded quite attractive, so we both decided to accompany her and take in a show ourselves at the West End on the night of the concert. In the end we had a great time, spending one night at a Premier Inn in West London and another at a Holiday Inn out east.

The original idea was to fly to City Airport, which we’d found handy in the past, and to book rooms at the Greenwich Holiday Inn close to the O2. We did stay there on the second night but, as we had to settle for an evening flight to Heathrow this time, we ended up spending the first night at the Bath Road Premier Inn and we weren’t disappointed.

It must have been one of the wettest weekends in memory in the south east of England but, having at last gladly waved goodbye to Heathrow Airport, we were pleased at least to start our break in comfort here.

Value for money

I hadn’t really planned to review either of these hotels, but I was so struck by the price difference that I felt it worth passing this on. At less than half the price of the Holiday Inn, this Premier Inn seemed a real bargain. It was clean, efficient, friendly and comfortable. It was also incredibly quiet for such a large hotel so close to the UK’s biggest airport, and we all enjoyed a remarkably good night’s sleep. (The double glazing did seem to have been specified for maximum soundproofing.)

The whole overnight package came to just £94 – for 2 double rooms in a 3 star hotel just 1 mile from Heathrow.

Facilities and service

Members of staff were all very friendly and helpful at check-in and in the morning.

Our rooms were clean and the beds comfortable. The usual tea/coffee-making facilities were provided and we found enough channels on the TV to divert us briefly.

I believe rooms and other areas were wifi-equipped, but we just weren’t there long enough to investigate this.

Facilities were adequate, as might be expected, rather than luxurious.

Food and drink

As we arrived late in the evening, we didn’t explore the integrated restaurant. The menu looked fairly comprehensive, if not especially cheap, and there appeared to be plenty of tables free, at least for breakfast.

In the morning, we decided to settle for a bacon roll, coffee and juice at the Costa in the impressive lobby.

Getting there, accessibility

I can’t comment on access by rail or car as it has been some time since I travelled to the Hounslow area by either. We took the shuttle bus from the airport, having been warned by a helpful taxi driver that his night-time rate would be prohibitive. This would have cost around £30, while the bus fare came to roughly half that amount for all three of us. There may be even cheaper options but it was late and we were just happy to arrive safely without undue expense.

As we were arriving late, I checked in advance and was assured this would be no problem, though they might need to be warned if it was likely to be after midnight. As it turned out, we got there shortly after 11pm and were promptly allocated adjoining rooms.

Within the hotel, the lifts (elevators) seemed efficient enough, though this is a relatively low-rise establishment with some very long corridors.

Having previously experienced a delay on the ‘Heathrow Express’ rail service, we took the old Piccadilly Line into central London, then the faster Jubilee Line to the east. In the morning the friendly reception staff advised us how to get to the nearest tube station by bus, which saved us valuable time and money.

Summary and recommendation

This is an excellent value ‘budget’ hotel close to Heathrow, deserving its formal three star rating. I’d thoroughly recommend it and personally rate it at 4 stars here for its convenience, proximity to the airport, and value for money. It helped get our short break off to a flying start!

(As for London itself, we thoroughly enjoyed our latest stay: the theatre, exhibitions, museums and galleries etc. Somehow we always do far more now as visitors than we ever did as residents!)

Address:

15 Bath Road, Hounslow,

Middlesex TW6 2AB

Tel: 0871 527 8508

Select links

• www.premierinn.com/en/hotel/HEAMTI/heath​row-airport-bath-road

[© SteveS001 2012. A version of this original review may appear on other review sites]