ibis London Heathrow: the budget hotel and the ibis budget

ibis, the Accor budget brand, runs two hotels at Heathrow, and they sit a rung apart on price and comfort. The standard ibis London Heathrow Airport is the fuller of the two, with a restaurant, a bar and soundproofed rooms. The ibis budget London Heathrow Central is the cheaper, more basic option, stripped back to a simple room and a continental breakfast. Both are near the Bath Road, reached by the Hotel Hoppa rather than a walkway, and both are aimed squarely at the traveller who wants a clean, cheap bed near the airport and not much beyond it.

The choice between them is a straightforward one about money and what you want from the evening. If you would like a proper dinner and a bar on site, the standard ibis is the one; if the room is all you need and the lower rate is the point, the ibis budget does the job for less. Both are a step below the full-service Bath Road hotels like the Marriott and the Radisson, and roughly level with a Premier Inn on price and purpose.

The standard ibis runs 356 rooms, air-cooled and soundproofed against the Bath Road and the aprons, with the brand's Sweet Beds, a private bathroom, satellite TV, tea and coffee, and a work desk. They are functional and consistent rather than spacious or characterful, which is the ibis promise: a reliable budget room that is the same wherever you find it. Family rooms take the usual two adults and two children.

What lifts it above the barest budget option is the restaurant and bar. Breakfast is a hot and cold buffet, and the kitchen runs an a la carte lunch and dinner of salads, pizzas, soups and comfort food, so you can eat and have a drink on site without heading back to a terminal or out into Hayes. For a budget hotel that is a real convenience, especially for a late arrival or an early departure when the last thing you want is to go looking for dinner.

The ibis budget London Heathrow Central is the cheaper sister, and it is honest about what it is: a simple, modern room, free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour reception, and an early continental breakfast, without the restaurant, the bar or the extra comfort of the standard ibis. The rooms are compact and built for a night's sleep rather than a stay, which is exactly what most people booking a budget airport hotel actually need.

It is the one to book when the rate is the whole point: an overnight before an early flight where you will be asleep for most of the time you are there, or a late arrival where you just need a bed until morning. If you want an evening meal, a bar, or a bit more room, the few extra pounds for the standard ibis buy them; if you do not, the ibis budget is among the cheapest ways to sleep near Heathrow with a recognised name over the door.

The standard ibis has on-site parking at around £18 per 24 hours, paid through the RingGo app or at reception, with EV chargers on site; the ibis budget also has paid on-site parking. Neither is a park-and-fly specialist in the way the bigger Bath Road hotels are, so for a week or more away, price a hotel-and-parking bundle or pre-booked airport long-stay parking rather than paying the nightly rate to leave the car while you fly.

Neither ibis runs a free shuttle, so you reach the terminals on the Hotel Hoppa at £7.00 single and £13.00 return, or more cheaply on the local Transport for London buses 105 and 111 at £1.75 a journey, which cover the Bath Road into the central bus station between Terminals 2 and 3. That puts the ibis closest to Terminal 2 and Terminal 3; confirm which terminal your airline uses before booking, since it is a longer ride to Terminals 4 and 5.

Book an ibis when the priority is a cheap, reliable bed near the airport and you do not need the pool, the spa or the walkway of the pricier hotels. The standard ibis suits a traveller who wants an evening meal and a bar on site for a modest rate; the ibis budget suits anyone who just needs somewhere to sleep before an early flight and wants to pay as little as possible for it. Both are clean, consistent and close, which for a one-night stop is usually all that matters.

Weigh it against the Premier Inn on the same road, its closest rival, and price both for your dates, since neither is reliably cheaper. If breakfast in the rate matters, the Holiday Inn Express includes it, and its Terminal 4 hotel even walks to the terminal; and if you would rather be minutes from check-in on foot, a walkway hotel is worth the step up in price. Set the budget options side by side on the Heathrow hotel guide and let the rate on the night decide.