The morning TV had an old Roger Moore ‘Saint’ episode I hadn’t seen before, where the ‘star’ car was a TVR he was driving in a rally and one of the other cars featured was a Marcos. I must check to see if that episode is on YouTube. Some good actual rally clips.
Another excellent breakfast, before loading up and setting the SatNav for Cheam railway station, where we’d agreed to meet Richard. When we set off, the SatNav showed our expected arrival time to be 12:05, but due to traffic delays, one of which was due to someone with a flat tyre parking their car in the middle of the left lane, instead of pulling off the road, we arrived at a little before 12:30.
Now here is a current annoyance in the UK. I mentioned before that the old £5 notes now have to be paid into a bank and the new £10 notes are due in about October, but they have also updated the £1 coins. However, some coin machines, such as the one in the station car park at Cheam, doesn’t accept the new coins! A fat lot of use when it is an unattended car park, but still subject to the traffic wardens checking up. Luckily, we managed to find a parking spot out on the street with a 2 hour limit.
Richard duly arrived just after 1pm and we then drove around to Cheam Park where Olya joined us. A very pleasant natter and drinks for about 2 or 3 hours and then we headed off for our stay at the brand new Premier Inn near terminal 4, on Heathrow airport’s south perimeter road.
That was easier said than done. We knew where the road was and it is just past the Hatton Cross tube station (by about 500m), and there it was. Getting in? A different proposition altogether. We slowed, only to find a one way exit road, but no entrance! We passed it, still looking. Nothing. A U-turn and back again – still nothing. Another U – turn and this time, just after the hotel, we took a left, up a ramp, another hard left, then another left, finally getting the entrance to the car park. We were met at the barrier by a staff member, who checked to see it we’d booked a car space. We hadn’t. Fortunately, she was able to allocate us a space and it was about then that it dawned on us that although this Premier Inn is new and large, there were some glaring design deficiencies. Access and car parking were the first to be noticed.
Check in was straightforward and comprehensive, inasmuch as the staff member covered all the bases.
We were in room 201 and by my calculations, this hotel may have up to 90 rooms per floor and 7 floors. That is quite a few rooms. Number of car spaces? Just 50… Room rate booked well in advance - £29.50. Car parking? A staggering £25 – a day or even part of a day. There is a pedestrian tunnel access straight to terminal 4 (though we didn’t look for it) and the designers assumed that most guests wouldn’t need car parking. However, there is no shuttle to the other terminals, no access for a shuttle either (roof height for the car park is just 2.1 metres) and no parking bay for a coach drop off. Someone in the design side goofed, big time. We are flying out of terminal 2 anyway, not 4.
Our comprehensive receptionist persuaded us to take the meal package, two courses, a drink (restricted) and a full breakfast, for £26.50 each. What could have been a cheap stay was now not so cheap! However, the room was superb. As a brand new hotel, the electrics weren’t quite as good as the Marriott in LA, but the room was immaculate, with a totally sound proof window, despite the proximity to the aircraft landing. Premier pride themselves on ‘a good night’s sleep, or your money back’. The bathroom as expected was also immaculate and for only the second time on this strip, liquid soap and no hard soap.
Another chicken curry, but the meal deal included drink, didn’t include cider, even though it was on tap, nor did the soft drinks include anything other than fizzy drinks. Pity and somewhat short sighted of the Premier group. I opted for the cheeseboard for my second course and that was a very good choice and substantial.
A large modern TV and a fair sized bed and we crashed for our last UK night, happy enough, as we’d had another fine day. We certainly couldn’t complain at the weather as for the 50 days so far, just 5 or 6 days have actually been wet.
Off to LA tomorrow and the trip home really does start.
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