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RESTAURANTS - CHEFS - HOTELS - REVIEWS & STORIES
Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel****
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Peter and Linda D'Aprix 2009 |
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The public rooms were remodeled in June 2008 and the restaurant and bar in 2014. There are spacious and open areas from reception to the lounges, bar, dining rooms, billiards room, shops, computer room (six or seven workstations for the guests for supplemental fees), the club lounge, and a health club facilities that include state-of-the-art gym and studio classes, sauna and steam rooms, personal fitness trainers and even massage (perfect for the overstressed traveler of today's air travel). Just what you need 
to set you up whether it's to pursue sightseeing or renew a sense of purpose for a business meeting.
Do not be put off by the 1960s exterior. There's not much they can do about that, but the interior offers comfort, earth tones, and relaxation. The rooms are not large (the foot print being set back in the 1960's) but they are well appointed. In fact they have 649 guest rooms that are so well soundproofed you do not hear the Jets taking off or landing just across the way. There is WiFi access in the bedrooms for a small additional charge. Our room was well appointed with a pleasant and modern bathroom.
We would recommend, especially if you are staying at the hotel and flying out the next day, to check-in at the club level. The club lounge in addition to offering soft drinks, bottled water, tea and coffee (with espresso maker) as well as snacks gratis and continental breakfast, not to mention an uninterrupted view of the ceaseless activities of the airport, there is a computer terminal at no charge with Internet access so that you can check in to your airlines web site, and if it offers Internet check-in, you can not only confirm your reservation, take your seats, specify your meals, and with the attached printer you can even print out your boarding passes. If you are flying with air lines that offer this, such as British Airways, it speeds 
things up in the terminal. (If you're flying British Airways and you have more than the maximum number of bags, please note you need to register the excess luggage at a particular link on their web site home page or risk paying a higher fee once you get to the airport. The link is a several lines below the "check in" link and easy to miss if you are using a lap top or small screen.)
You can take a taxi from the terminals to the hotel, a short ride, or you can take the airport bus service which makes the rounds at 20 minute intervals. Cost: £4.00 ea. UK.
What we had liked most about this hotel was the food. Breakfast is still a big, generous buffet spread with everything you could possibly want to start your day. Lunch is a lighter affair served in the spacious bar-lounge and offers starters, main courses and desserts. But we were disappointed to find that their formerly great dinner choices were sadly a shadow of their former selves. Still edible but not especially enjoyable. That and the room we were given had become shabby with elements that were not functioning and a bathroom that could use some additional cleaning. But normally we have been pleased with the cleanlinessand airconditioaing that would not turn off.
Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel**** |
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No copying, reuse or partial reproduction permitted without written permission by the authors, Peter and Linda D'Aprix.