Renaissance London Heathrow, Hounslow

...and I stayed at the Renaissance Heathrow in January 2004 as our flight was so horrendously early and we didn’t relish getting up at 3 O’Clock in the morning! We booked through Holiday Extras for £70 which is quite a saving on the walk-in rate of £189!!

FEATURES
- Bar
- Restaurant
- Lift to all floors
- Gift Shop
- Leisure Facilities including a gym, solarium and a sauna

ARRIVAL
...
...can be quite difficult to actually get into the car park as the entrance is around the back on a different road. The directions given by hotel when I called were accurate once we found the right road but the lady should have been more specific with her directions so that I knew I was taking the correct turning off of the roundabout.

CHECKING IN
When I arrived at the hotel there was no queue so I was served immediately by a smartly ... more

My partner and I stayed at the Renaissance Heathrow in January 2004 as our flight was so horrendously early and we didn’t relish getting up at 3 O’Clock in the morning! We booked through Holiday Extras for £70 which is quite a saving on the walk-in rate of £189!!

FEATURES
- Bar
- Restaurant
- Lift to all floors
- Gift Shop
- Leisure Facilities including a gym, solarium and a sauna

ARRIVAL
Although the hotel is located on the Bath Road, it can be quite difficult to actually get into the car park as the entrance is around the back on a different road. The directions given by hotel when I called were accurate once we found the right road but the lady should have been more specific with her directions so that I knew I was taking the correct turning off of the roundabout.

CHECKING IN
When I arrived at the hotel there was no queue so I was served immediately by a smartly dressed member of staff. She was very efficient and friendly as we completed the check-in procedure which was quick and easy and just a case of signing my registration form and registering my credit card.

ROOMS
We stayed a standard twin room with ensuite facilities and had the following:
- Tea/Coffee making facilities
- Minibar (with outrageous prices e.g £1.75 for a 500ml bottle of water!)
- TV with some Cable channels and movies that you can pay extra for
- Air Conditioning (which heated as well as cooled the room)
- Iron and Ironing Board
- Hairdryer
- The in-room telephone also included a port that you could plug your laptop into and use the internet but I don’t know the prices charged for such a call

The room was clean and tidy and the TV and Kettle both worked. The bathroom was clean and included shower gel, shampoo/conditioner, shower cap and towels and flannels. The bed in the room was very comfortable and both of us got a good night’s sleep!

When we arrived at the hotel and parked we were concerned about noise as a plane was landing rather nosily next to the car park! We needn’t have worried though because the hotel is well sound-proofed and we heard no noise from either the runway or the busy main road on the other side of the hotel.

THE BAR
The hotel has a very nice, quiet bar on the ground floor with stools around the bar as well as sofas and comfy chairs to relax in. The only problem I had in the bar was the prices at £5.15 for a small glass of wine or £7.50 for a large glass and that was the House Wine!!

BREAKFAST
As the price of breakfast was not included in our room rate and we were not prepared to pay £16 for it I cannot comment on this as we didn’t have any!

PARKING
The hotel does, unfortunately, charge for parking at a rate of £7 per day and you can leave your car in the hotel car park while you are away and collect it upon your return. If you do park at the hotel you should bear in mind that the hotel does not offer free transfers to the airport. Instead, they are provided by the Heathrow Hoppa and are charged at £2.50 per person each way.

Another point to bear in mind with parking is that the hotel advertises the parking prices as “Per Day” but the machine charges you per hour but a word with Reception sorts this out.

CHECKING OUT
If you have registered your credit card then you may use the “Express Check-Out” facility that hotel offers. This is simply a case of dropping your room card key into a box and then the hotel will charge for you for your room and any minibar items you had.

We checked out with the Reception Staff as I prefer to receive a full broken-down receipt when I check-out. On the morning I did, however, the printer was broken and the guy could not provide me with an invoice. He did however offer to fax or post me one and for the “hassle” he also gave me free parking! (I didn’t think it was a hassle but I wasn’t going to argue!!)

SUMMARY
If you are flying from Heathrow this is an excellent choice of hotel and the only problems I have are the directions need improving and the prices in the bar and for breakfast but I don’t think these cause really big problems as you don’t have to eat in the hotel or drink in their bar! (There is a McDonald’s just across the road if you get desperate!!)

The only other thing I would say is that I think the hotel would do better to give the first day’s parking free as you are staying there after all!

 

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