Add your sail date and the links open on the night before.
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Sofitel is the airport night done properly. A covered walkway runs to Terminal 5, there’s a spa and a gym, and four places to eat and drink, per Sofitel.
For the night before a Tilbury sailing it ranks low, because the terminal is about 1 hour 15 minutes away by car.
Use it the night you land late, or the night after you sail back.
Book it if
- You land at Terminal 5 late
- You fly home early after the cruise
- You want a spa after a long flight
Look elsewhere if
- You want a short morning to the ship
- You’re bringing a pet
Your night before, from here
From check-in to the gangway, using only what Sofitel Heathrow T5 publishes and our own map estimates.
Vivre Restaurant, La Belle Époque, Tea 5 and the Sphere Bar, per Sofitel.
No ride to the ship is listed. The terminal is about 58 km away in a straight line; a booked car runs about 1 hour 15 minutes, per City Airport Taxis.
Not in the rate: an English breakfast is about £20 a person, 05:30 to 10:30 on weekdays, per Travelocity.
This is an airport hotel. A booked car from Heathrow to Tilbury runs about 1 hour 15 minutes, per City Airport Taxis, and the train chain needs two changes. Your boarding documents set the check-in time, not the hotel.
Sofitel charges staying guests £40 a day. It’s airport parking for your stay, not a cruise plan.
Night-Before Score: 19 of 100
Every point comes from Sofitel’s own pages for the hotel, with Travelocity’s listing for rooms, breakfast and pets (named where used); the hub explains how the Night-Before Score works.
Getting here, and on to the ship
By our map estimate Sofitel Heathrow T5 is about 2.4 km from Heathrow in a straight line, and about 58.2 km from the Tilbury terminal. Every question mark below is a ride you book yourself.
Linked to Terminal 5 by a covered walkway, about five minutes on foot, per Sofitel. Free transfers to Terminals 2, 3 and 4 by Heathrow Express or the Underground, per Sofitel.
No ride to the ship is listed. The terminal is about 58 km away in a straight line; a booked car runs about 1 hour 15 minutes, per City Airport Taxis.
From LHR without a hotel shuttle
A booked car from Tilbury to Heathrow is listed from £156.91 for a saloon, about 1 hour 15 minutes, by City Airport Taxis. By rail it’s the Elizabeth line from £13.90, per Heathrow, then c2c from West Ham to Tilbury Town from £5.80 off-peak, per c2c, then about a mile to the terminal. The airport page has the fares and the timing.
Sofitel charges staying guests £40 a day. It’s airport parking for your stay, not a cruise plan.
Parking for your stay: £40 a day for staying guests (Sofitel).
No ride to the ship is listed. The terminal is about 58 km away in a straight line; a booked car runs about 1 hour 15 minutes, per City Airport Taxis.
Flying in the morning you sail? Heathrow is about 1 hour 15 minutes from the terminal by car on a transfer company’s estimate, and you’ll be coming off an overnight flight, so we’d land the day before; the airport page has the landing check.
Which quay
the Tilbury terminalShips turn around at the London International Cruise Terminal at Tilbury, 22 nautical miles down the Thames from Tower Bridge, per Capital Cruising. Sofitel Heathrow T5 is about 58.2 km from our pin for it in a straight line. Some lines use the Greenwich mooring instead, so check your documents; the London (Tilbury) cruise guide has the rest.
Source: capitalcruising.co.ukDistance
~58.2 km, straight lineAbout 58.2 km from the Tilbury terminal in a straight line between our map pins. That’s a ride, not a walk.
Airport bus
Covered walkway to T5Linked to Terminal 5 by a covered walkway, about five minutes on foot, per Sofitel.
Source: sofitelheathrow.comParking while you sail
Cruise parking
Cruise parking unconfirmedSofitel charges staying guests £40 a day. It’s airport parking for your stay, not a cruise plan.
In town
Terminal long stay, £11 a nightCapital Cruising runs long-stay parking at the terminal: £11.00 a night including VAT, booked in advance, with a lower rate for cruises of 30 nights or more. When it’s busy you’re sent to an overflow area with a free shuttle bus. None of our hotels prices parking for a cruise.
The evening and the morning
The evening
Food or bar on siteVivre Restaurant, La Belle Époque, Tea 5 and the Sphere Bar, per Sofitel.
Breakfast
ExtraNot in the rate: an English breakfast is about £20 a person, 05:30 to 10:30 on weekdays, per Travelocity.
Address
Terminal 5, Heathrow AirportTerminal 5, London Heathrow Airport, London TW6 2GD
Hotel website
The fine print, in one place
Times, fees, rooms and the small stuff, from Sofitel Heathrow T5 and the sources named under each fact. We couldn’t confirm whether there’s a pool; sofitel doesn’t mention one, so ask when you book.
Check-in and check-out
Breakfast
Not in the rate: an English breakfast is about £20 a person, 05:30 to 10:30 on weekdays, per Travelocity.
Parking for your stay
£40 a day for staying guests (Sofitel)
Pool
No pool mentioned on the pages we read
Pets
Not allowed; service animals welcome, per Travelocity.
Food and drink on site
- Vivre Restaurant
- La Belle Époque
- Sphere Bar
Rooms
605 rooms, including family rooms and suites, per Travelocity; accessible rooms with roll-in showers, per Sofitel.
Accessibility
Accessible rooms with roll-in showers and emergency call buttons, per Sofitel.
On site
- GymYes
- Sauna or spaYes
- Family roomsYes
- Pets allowedNo
Also worth knowing
- Central London 21 minutes by Heathrow Express, per Sofitel
- Early check-in £90, per Travelocity
Before you book
Worth knowing
- Breakfast about £20 extra, per Travelocity.
- Parking £40 a day.
- Covered walkway to T5.
What we couldn’t confirm
- Whether there’s a pool; Sofitel doesn’t mention one
Every hotel fact here comes from Sofitel’s own pages for the hotel, with Travelocity’s listing for rooms, breakfast and pets (named where used), read October 2026, unless we name another source. Distances are straight lines between our own map pins; the terminal pin and the hotel pins are our estimates.
Worth a look alongside it
Before you book Sofitel Heathrow T5: the London (Tilbury) cruise guide and London (Tilbury) as a port of call.
Off the plane, through the walkway, to bed.
Tell us your sail date and we’ll check Sofitel Heathrow T5 for the night before. No payment on the form.
Sofitel Heathrow T5 FAQ
Is Sofitel London Heathrow connected to Terminal 5?
Yes, by a covered walkway, about five minutes on foot, per Sofitel.
How far is Sofitel Heathrow from the Tilbury cruise terminal?
About 58 km in a straight line by our map. City Airport Taxis puts Heathrow to Tilbury at about 1 hour 15 minutes by car.
Is breakfast included at Sofitel Heathrow?
No. Travelocity lists about £20 a person.
Booking the cruise too?
Tell us the sailing and we’ll line up Sofitel Heathrow T5, the ride to the ship and the cruise itself. No fee, no obligation.
Got it — thank you.
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