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Heathrow Parking T5 – My Guide

We all know the problem with airport parking at Heathrow. The official parks are super expensive. Many of the unofficial car parks are crap.

In my experience 90% of airport car parks are awful. So it pays to plan ahead. That’s the problem with the price comparison services. You’ll see which car park is the cheapest. But who knows if the service is any good.

This is my guide to Heathrow Parking T5. So next time you fly from Terminal 5. You’ll save money, arrive on time and keep your sanity!.

I would also note that most Heathrow Car Parks serve all terminals. There’s a small numbers of services for terminal 5 only. These are Heathrow’s official short stay and Meet and Greet Services. The car park at the Sofitel Terminal 5 (my review of the hotel is here). And you can take the driverless pods from the Thistle Hotel to Terminal 5.

In my tests for this article, the best two offers I saw were as follows. P Parking - £71 for 7 nights. And IHG, who charge £99 for 1 night hotel and 8 days Parking at the Holiday Inn Express.

## Heathrow Terminal 5 Parking Guide – Key Tips


  • Beware as some Heathrow car parks are run by unlicensed operators who park cars on residential streets or at random pubs.
  • Official Heathrow parking is closest to the terminals but comes with high costs and mixed customer reviews.
  • Consider P Parking for budget friendly options with shuttle buses to all Heathrow terminals, including T5. £71.96 for 7 days
  • Try pod parking at the Thistle Hotel for a quick, futuristic 5 minute ride to Terminal 5.
  • Book hotel + parking packages at Heathrow hotels to save up to 25% and enjoy a stress free start to your trip. £99 for 1 night hotel and 8 days parking at the Holiday Inn Express


A word about the Cowboys

A lot of Airport Car Parks have very similar names. This makes it difficult to spot the dodgy car parks from the good car parks. Just make sure you’re careful when you book your parking.

The reason why there are so many cowboys running airport car parks is clear. It’s very easy to set up an ‘airport car park company’.

Anyone can create a website with WordPress. They put a photo of a secure car park on the front page. The cowboys always offer a ‘meet and greet’ service. They will meet you somewhere and collect your car, but who know what they really do with your car?

Often, they will park your car on residential streets, fields or in pub car parks. Without permission. If your car gets a ticket, then you need to pay. These companies probably aren’t insured either.

Official Heathrow Parking – Close but expensive

Official Heathrow Airport Parking have the car parks closest to the airport terminals. However, they are the most expensive option for Heathrow Parking T5.

I just checked the pricing for a random date in March. They charge £223 to park at the Heathrow Terminal 5 Short Stay Car Park. For 7 days. Screenshot above.

Meet And Greet Parking is charged at £170. Where you drop your car off at Terminal 5, and then a staff member takes your keys and parks your car.

My personal experiences haven’t been great. Which is why I don’t use them. In addition to being pricy, I’ve heard stories about people’s cars being damaged upon return.

There aren’t many online reviews of official Heathrow Airport Parking. This could mean that Heathrow have taken down their profiles from the review sites. This normally happens when the reviews are bad.

My Choice for Heathrow Parking T5 - £71 for 7 days

For airport parking in the UK generally, I recommend P Parking. They are also my choice for Heathrow Parking T5. They promise to always have the lowest price (although I haven’t personally verified that).

They have a 4.1* rating on Trustpilot. Which isn’t perfect, but it’s still pretty good. They operate at all major UK car parks. I’ve never had a bad experience with them.

They have one car park at Heathrow, which serves all terminals. They don’t have a specific car park for Heathrow Terminal 5.

The car park is on Bath Road. Bath Road runs horizontally, at the northern side of Heathrow Airport.

You drop your car off at the car park, and then you’ll be taken by minibus to the airport terminal. There are separate buses for Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5.

I just priced up 7 days parking at a random date in March. And they quoted £71.96. Screenshot above.

Book you stay with P Parking here.

Park at an Airport Hotel and save 25%

Sometimes it’s cheaper to stay for one night at an airport hotel and park your car there during your holiday. It’s also a nicer experience, especially if you have an early morning flight. I love airport hotels – it means my holiday starts 1 day earlier!

You need to book your hotel stay and parking together. Typically, expect to save 25%, compared to booking a hotel and parking separately. I have links below, for the special landing pages for each hotel group, where you can get these discounts.

I just priced up a hotel with the IHG link. The Holiday Inn Express Heathrow T5 was charging £99 for 1 night’s stay and 8 days parking. They also charge £134 for 1 night’s stay and 15 days parking. View screenshot above

The Links to book parking and hotel stays together


Marriott’s page on their website for airport hotel and parking packages

IHG’s page on their website for airport hotel and parking packages

Hilton’s page on their website for airport hotel and parking packages

Radisson’s page on their website for airport hotel and parking packages

The best hotels for Heathrow T5


My favourite hotel is the Sofitel at Heathrow Terminal 5. It’s the only airport hotel within walking distance of Heathrow Terminal 5. Save time as the walk only takes 5 minutes. It’s also a nice and modern hotel, with gym and spa. My review of the Sofitel is here.

Other hotels might have Heathrow Terminal 5 in their name. But only the Sofitel is next to the Terminal 5!

The hotels on Bath Road all have car parks. There are around 15 Heathrow hotels here. Including the Renaissance Heathrow, Radisson Blu Heathrow and the Holiday Inn. However, you’ll need to take a taxi to Terminal 5. I’ve never paid less than £30 for a one way taxi. It’s easy to pay more. The ride takes around 15 minutes.

The final option is The Hilton Garden Inn at Hatton Cross. You park your car at the hotel, and then you need to take the train from Hatton Cross Tube Station to Heathrow Terminal 5. The first train to Heathrow Terminal 5 is at 4.19am. So this hotel won’t work if you have a very early flight, or if you have lots of luggage.


 

 

Pod Parking at the Thistle Hotel

If you park your car at the Thistle Hotel at London Heathrow, then you can take the driverless pods to Heathrow Terminal 5. These pods are really cool.

The journey takes 5 minutes. The pods run from 4am to 12am every day.

You can book up a stay at the Thistle Hotel here or by the form below.


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