Staying at a hotel the night before a flight is a great idea. You get more sleep, avoid the stressful journey to the airport, and there’s minimal risk of missing your flight. But not all airport hotels are created equal.
According to Which?, the best airport hotel chain for 2026 is DoubleTree by Hilton. The consumer champion cited the warm cookie you’re handed on arrival, and the fact you can get room service at 2am, for its first place position. These perks come with a price tag. At an average cost of £147 per room per night, it certainly puts a dent in your holiday budget.
There are, however, more affordable options. Rooms at the ibis Styles at Heathrow Airport start at just £61.20 a night, or £59.36 for members of ALL Accor, a loyalty programme that’s free to join. That’s less than most people spend at Boots in departures. But what are you actually getting for your money? I checked into the ibis Styles at Heathrow Airport to find out.
First impressions
The hotel sits on a major road, around three miles from the airport. The journey to the terminal building is a bit of a mission, but relatively easy once you know how. The ibis Styles bills itself as a ‘design economy hotel, open to creative minds,’ a lofty tagline, but the vibe is definitely a bit cooler than your standard Travelodge. The reception is bright, with chevron-patterned flooring and neon bar stools. Staff at check-in were helpful and getting my key card took about 30 seconds.
Upstairs, the rooms are basic but modern. You’ve got a bed, side tables, a rail with some hangers and a small mini bar with water and tea. The hotel has a loose aviation theme, with carpets featuring an abstract cloud design and wall art featuring planes, cockpits and spacemen. The bathrooms are clean, with wall-mounted bottles dispensing shampoo, conditioner and hand wash. Don’t forget your toothpaste.
Is there food and drink?
If your flight is early in the morning, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to grab breakfast, as a limited continental service is offered from 4.30am. Alternatively, a hot English buffet breakfast is available from 6.30am, but that carries a surcharge of £14 per night. There’s an on-site restaurant that serves snacks all day, and no-fuss meals in the evening, such as pizza, burgers and chicken curry. This is not going to be the most memorable meal you’ve ever had, but if you don’t want to go to bed on an empty stomach, it’s as good a place as any. On the night I stayed, the bar in reception had a buzzy, welcoming feel, full of Scottish fans staying up late to watch their team play in the World Cup group stages.
How do you get from the airport to the hotel?
This is probably the biggest downside about staying here. While there are some hotels which are mere seconds from the airport, this hotel isn’t as convenient. To get to the hotel from the Tube, you need to head to Heathrow Central bus station, and from there sit on a bus for about 15 minutes. To get to the airport from the ibis, you need to leave the hotel, walk a few minutes down a dual carriageway and then wait for a bus. Once on it, it’s again about a 10 to 15 minute journey. While both of these routes are relatively simple, if you’re doing them late at night or early in the morning, it’s not ideal, especially when sleep deprived. However, staff at the ibis were super helpful, offering directions that were far clearer than any Google Maps gave me.
Isn’t it cheaper to just get a taxi?
In a word, yes. But only just. At the time of writing, an Uber from Zone 1 (Soho) to London Heathrow at 2.30am costs just £51 (booked a day in advance). That would get you to departures at 3.30am, two and a half hours early before a hypothetical 6am flight. Even from south London, the fare isn’t huge: an Uber fare from Clapham is £53, and £60 from Peckham Rye. Of course, you do still need to get to the airport, but if you’re travelling on the Heathrow Express, tickets start at £10 one way. So, you can either stay in the ibis Styles with a price tag of around £70 (once you factor in transport there), or save yourself about a tenner and get a cab, but lose precious hours of sleep.
Honest verdict
This is a three-star hotel and you get what you pay for. No frills food, a bar and a clean room to rest your head in before an early flight. The journey to the airport is a bit of a pain, but I’d take that over a criminally early alarm and a schlep across London coloured by rising panic. At £59 a night, it’s a solid choice to start your trip stress-free.
Ibis Styles at London Heathrow: At a glance
- Check-in: 3pm. Check-out: 12 noon.
- Disability access: There are 9 rooms designed for people with reduced mobility.
- Breakfast: Continental served from 4.30am for early flyers, with a hot buffet available from 6.30am, at a £14 surcharge.
- Parking: 26 parking spaces are available at £14 per day.
Kristina Beanland was a guest of Accor, but we never sugarcoat anything – our reviews are 100% independent.
