There is no charge to actually ride the pods so you can hop on the pod at Terminal 5 and ride it to the car park but without the code to get past the gate and into the hotel, you'll just be stuck in the car park and have to ride back to the terminal. If you're staying at the Thistle hotel, you'll need to contact the hotel and they will give you a code to get through the gate when you arrive at Station B and add the cost to your bill. If you're not staying at the hotel (or parking in the pod car park) but just want to ride the pods, then that is totally free.
@@PC-vg8vn Yes and no. The pods are there primarily for the car parking and are included as part of the £55.70 daily parking rate and it's only possible to access the pods if you're parking in the pod car park or if you're staying at the Thistle Hotel. Sure, you can ride the pods for free but you just end up at the car park with nowhere to go except back to the airport. If you want to actually use the pods as a practical transport option as opposed to a joyride, then you're going to have to either pay for parking or pay Thistle to walk through the gate. I'm certain that Thistle have to pay a fee to Heathrow to let their guests use the pods, which they have to pass on to their customers, so in this sense you're paying a toll to walk through the gate that separates the hotel from the pod station.
If you’re staying at the Thistle, they charge about 7 Pounds each way for the pods to Terminal #5. Which is MUCH cheaper than a 20-pound taxi/Uber ride!!
I was there a year ago and the hotel was all right, bigger than most comparing it with the same price for central London, but the restaurant was not any good not terrible but not good food and the service was extremely slow.
There was a temporary restaurant running when I stayed and it didn't look that appealing, although I've heard that the new restaurant is better but more so for the runway views than for the food.
@@EnglandRover I think if there’s an next time and if I don’t eat at the pub, then I’ll just buy some food from the M& S or something else from the airport and take it along to the hotel and at the hotel restaurant I can just have a beer at the hotel restaurant to watch the planes. ✈
@@enjoystraveling I'm sure I'll review this hotel again in the future as the current bar and restaurant wasn't operating when I visited and I'd like to have an updated review showing the new bar and restaurant. I'll probably do the same thing, though, and eat elsewhere but come to the bar for a drink while I watch the planes. This was the first video I filmed for this channel and I can see a lot of ways that I can improve the next version of the video. Parts of this video, particularly the bits outdoors were overexposed and I think I could have done a better job showing the area around the hotel.
I’d like to know how to get to the village that you can get the good pub food. I walked out of the front of the hotel and to the right I saw the bus stop but the bus that went by was extremely full, I’d rather walk to the village.
Turn left when you walk out of the hotel and then it's only a 7-8-minute walk to Longford. It's a lovely little village with a Grade II listed pub that's been operating since 1601, certainly not what you would expect to find so close to a major airport and it definitely has more character than your average hotel restaurant.
Hello, how do you book and pay for the pop, please? Thank you
There is no charge to actually ride the pods so you can hop on the pod at Terminal 5 and ride it to the car park but without the code to get past the gate and into the hotel, you'll just be stuck in the car park and have to ride back to the terminal. If you're staying at the Thistle hotel, you'll need to contact the hotel and they will give you a code to get through the gate when you arrive at Station B and add the cost to your bill. If you're not staying at the hotel (or parking in the pod car park) but just want to ride the pods, then that is totally free.
@@EnglandRover you mean they charge you to use something that is actually free? Or are they effectively charging you an entry fee to their hotel?
@@PC-vg8vn Yes and no. The pods are there primarily for the car parking and are included as part of the £55.70 daily parking rate and it's only possible to access the pods if you're parking in the pod car park or if you're staying at the Thistle Hotel. Sure, you can ride the pods for free but you just end up at the car park with nowhere to go except back to the airport. If you want to actually use the pods as a practical transport option as opposed to a joyride, then you're going to have to either pay for parking or pay Thistle to walk through the gate. I'm certain that Thistle have to pay a fee to Heathrow to let their guests use the pods, which they have to pass on to their customers, so in this sense you're paying a toll to walk through the gate that separates the hotel from the pod station.
If you’re staying at the Thistle, they charge about 7 Pounds each way for the pods to Terminal #5.
Which is MUCH cheaper than a 20-pound taxi/Uber ride!!
I was there a year ago and the hotel was all right, bigger than most comparing it with the same price for central London, but the restaurant was not any good not terrible but not good food and the service was extremely slow.
There was a temporary restaurant running when I stayed and it didn't look that appealing, although I've heard that the new restaurant is better but more so for the runway views than for the food.
@@EnglandRover I think if there’s an next time and if I don’t eat at the pub, then I’ll just buy some food from the M& S or something else from the airport and take it along to the hotel and at the hotel restaurant I can just have a beer at the hotel restaurant to watch the planes. ✈
@@enjoystraveling I'm sure I'll review this hotel again in the future as the current bar and restaurant wasn't operating when I visited and I'd like to have an updated review showing the new bar and restaurant. I'll probably do the same thing, though, and eat elsewhere but come to the bar for a drink while I watch the planes.
This was the first video I filmed for this channel and I can see a lot of ways that I can improve the next version of the video. Parts of this video, particularly the bits outdoors were overexposed and I think I could have done a better job showing the area around the hotel.
@@EnglandRover thanks for the info, I’ll watch it when you make it.
I’d like to know how to get to the village that you can get the good pub food.
I walked out of the front of the hotel and to the right I saw the bus stop but the bus that went by was extremely full, I’d rather walk to the village.
Turn left when you walk out of the hotel and then it's only a 7-8-minute walk to Longford. It's a lovely little village with a Grade II listed pub that's been operating since 1601, certainly not what you would expect to find so close to a major airport and it definitely has more character than your average hotel restaurant.
@@EnglandRover thanks for the information!