Sofitel London Heathrow review

The hotel is attached to Terminal 5. A covered walkway of about 160 m, at level 1 of the terminal's front building, takes you to the terminal in five minutes, and Accor calls it the only hotel with direct access to Terminal 5. The same terminal holds the Piccadilly line, the Elizabeth line, the Heathrow Express and the T5 bus station, so every rail link into London starts at the end of the walkway.

For central London, the hotel publishes 21 minutes to Paddington on the Heathrow Express, 40 minutes to Bond Street on the Elizabeth line and 60 minutes to King's Cross on the Piccadilly line. Accor adds that Canary Wharf is within an hour on the Elizabeth line. Bank, in the City, is 28.3 km away in a straight line, so every day in town starts with a train. The hotel publishes no transfer time to the other Heathrow terminals.

Sofitel London Heathrow has 605 rooms and suites. It opened in July 2008, a few months after Terminal 5 itself took its first passengers on 27 March 2008, and The Arora Group owns and runs it under a franchise with Accor. Some Classic rooms look onto an internal Zen garden, and the Imperial Suite of 165 m², with two bedrooms for up to six, has a view of the runway. Between the two, the Junior Suite of 35 m² pairs a king bed with a sofa bed for four, the Prestige Suites measure 54 to 64 m², and the two-bedroom Opera Suite reaches 95 m² for six. The sizes of the Classic rooms are not published, and no room has a kitchen.

The suites and the Luxury Club rooms come with access to the Club Millésime lounge. For events, the hotel lists 45 meeting rooms and a ballroom of 1,309 m² for up to 1,300 guests, though Accor's meetings table counts 55 rooms. In 2019 the Skytrax World Airport Awards named it Best Airport Hotel in Europe, its third European title since opening.

The Spa has five treatment rooms and a relaxation space, a traditional sauna, a steam room and a thermal vitality pool with hydro features and access for guests with reduced mobility. Treatments use Temple Spa and Sothys products. It opens every day from 09:00 to 21:00, late enough for an evening arrival or a long wait between flights. The vitality pool is the only pool the hotel lists, and no lap pool is mentioned.

The spa's own page is contradictory on age. It says facility use is for adults only and charged per person, and it also allows guests aged 16 to 18 to have treatments with an adult. Guests aged 16 and under may not use the hydro bath, the steam room or the sauna. No double treatment room or ritual for two appears on the official page. The fitness studio is open 24 hours, has cardio and resistance machines and free weights, is free for hotel guests and is closed to under-16s.

Accor says two of the restaurants hold AA Rosettes, without saying how many each. La Belle Époque cooks British and French dishes from seasonal British produce, and the hotel calls it the only fine-dining restaurant at Heathrow. Vivre is an open kitchen with a deli, a wok, a grill and pizza, and it has a children's menu. Tea 5 serves teas from around the world and afternoon tea. Le Bar Parisien serves Champagne, wine and gin, and the Sphere Bar & Lounge has Icelandic décor and a fireplace. Opening hours and chefs are not published.

Family rooms measure 35 m² and sleep four, with a sofa bed for two children and breakfast in Vivre included, and cots come on request. Accor and Sofitel publish different counts of family and connecting rooms, so ask for a connecting room when you book. There is no kids' club and no babysitting service listed.