runway views at the easyhotel, heathrow

as a bargain hunter through and through, i often take very early-in-the-morning flights from very far away airports in order to secure the cheap flight. this time, it was a 6am departure out of heathrow - probably the hardest airport for me to get to at that time of the morning, and the cost to get there from my place is pretty extortionate. so, rather than fork out on a red-eye cab at 3:30am, i decided to try my luck in another of london's airport hotels. my experience in them has so far been polar opposite (great at stansted and terrible at heathrow) for different reasons, but the easyhotel at heathrow was so very cheap, and so very not-attached to the airport that i thought it would be worth a third attempt. mainly because saving money and sleeping are some of my favourite things.

there were two options of room type that i was deciding between: single room with a window (£29.99), or single room without a window (£24.99). the different in cost was literally a fiver, so i opted for the one with the window. for me, i was hoping for some fresh air as it had been a pretty warm day, but what i got what actually a whole lot better; a great view of terminal 2's runway, complete with a light show as plane after plane came in to land greeted me when i entered the tiny box of a room, and i have to say: it wasn't even the best thing about that room.

small, sure. bare, definitely. comfortable, absolutely! the bed was one of the most comfortable i've slept on in ages (outside of my own), and the pillows ranged in firmness so you could literally have the best sleep possible. the only thing that would have made it a more comfortable stay would have been the basic essentials one requires from a hotel room like tea and coffee and more than just a vending machine in the lobby, but considering how purse-friendly the room was, i suspect the only way to keep costs down is by stripping out those things.

the hotel was super close to heathrow central bus station, and there's a local bus that goes 24 hours a day past the hotel to the airport. at £1.50 the bus is certainly the cheapest airport transfer i've had, and getting to the hotel couldn't have been easier either either. i jumped on a train from paddington to hayes and harlington station (fare zone 5), then a bus 15 minutes up the road to the airport. the whole thing cost around £6, which - added to the cost of the stay, was still a lot cheaper than a taxi would have cost me first thing in the morning. and, i got to fall asleep watching planes land, and that's a pretty cool experience in itself.

i'm glad i gave this chain a shot, and know i will definitely use them again when all i need is a bed for the night. there are a heap of these hotels around, so the question now is.. where to next?