Add your sail date and the links open on the night before.
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The Bell is the characterful one. It’s a village inn with two restaurants, two bars and free parking for your stay, per Hotels.com.
The catch is the arrival. There’s no front desk, check-in closes at 20:30, and you let yourself in by lockbox — a hard fit after a late flight.
Breakfast is cheap, from about £3.95. Book it if you’re driving in by daylight.
Book it if
- You’re driving in during the afternoon
- You want a proper pub dinner
- You’re bringing a dog
Look elsewhere if
- You land late; check-in closes at 20:30
- You need a lift
- You want a front desk
Your night before, from here
From check-in to the gangway, using only what The Bell Inn publishes and our own map estimates.
Two restaurants, The Ostlers on select days and The Bell Inn daily for lunch and dinner, both by reservation, and two bars, per Hotels.com.
No ride to the ship is listed. The terminal is about 8.7 km in a straight line; RoL Cruise puts it about 6.5 miles and 12 minutes by car. Book a taxi.
Not in the rate: cooked to order, about £3.95 to £8.95 a person, per Hotels.com.
The Tilbury terminal is about 8.7 km away in a straight line, so it’s a ride, not a walk. Your boarding documents set the check-in time, not the hotel.
Hotels.com lists free on-site parking for your stay. Nothing says you can leave the car for a cruise.
Night-Before Score: 28 of 100
Every point comes from Hotels.com’s listing (we couldn’t reach the inn’s own site); the hub explains how the Night-Before Score works.
Getting here, and on to the ship
By our map estimate The Bell Inn is about 59.8 km from Heathrow in a straight line, and about 8.7 km from the Tilbury terminal. Every question mark below is a ride you book yourself.
No airport shuttle is listed. From Heathrow, take the Elizabeth line, then the c2c train to Tilbury Town or a nearby station, or book a car.
No ride to the ship is listed. The terminal is about 8.7 km in a straight line; RoL Cruise puts it about 6.5 miles and 12 minutes by car. Book a taxi.
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.
Hotels.com lists free on-site parking for your stay. Nothing says you can leave the car for a cruise.
Parking for your stay: Free on site (Hotels.com).
No ride to the ship is listed. The terminal is about 8.7 km in a straight line; RoL Cruise puts it about 6.5 miles and 12 minutes by car. Book a taxi.
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. The Bell Inn is about 8.7 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
~8.7 km, straight lineAbout 8.7 km from the Tilbury terminal in a straight line between our map pins. That’s a ride, not a walk.
Airport bus
Not statedThere’s no airport bus to Tilbury. From Heathrow it’s the Elizabeth line, a change for West Ham and the c2c train, or a booked car.
Parking while you sail
Cruise parking
Cruise parking unconfirmedHotels.com lists free on-site parking for your stay. Nothing says you can leave the car for a cruise.
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 siteTwo restaurants, The Ostlers on select days and The Bell Inn daily for lunch and dinner, both by reservation, and two bars, per Hotels.com.
Breakfast
ExtraNot in the rate: cooked to order, about £3.95 to £8.95 a person, per Hotels.com.
Address
High Road, Horndon-on-the-HillHigh Road, Horndon-on-the-Hill, Stanford-le-Hope SS17 8LD
Hotel website
The fine print, in one place
Times, fees, rooms and the small stuff, from The Bell Inn and the sources named under each fact. We couldn’t confirm the inn’s own pages, whether parking can cover a cruise, so ask when you book.
Check-in and check-out
Breakfast
Not in the rate: cooked to order, about £3.95 to £8.95 a person, per Hotels.com.
Parking for your stay
Free on site (Hotels.com)
Pool
No pool mentioned on the pages we read
Pets
One pet a stay in set rooms, £15 a night, per Hotels.com; service animals free.
Food and drink on site
- The Bell InnLunch and dinner, daily
- The OstlersSelect days
- Two bars
Rooms
26 rooms of about 13 to 35 m², most for two and two types for three, per Hotels.com.
Accessibility
Accessible parking, but no lifts, per Hotels.com. Ask about ground-floor rooms.
On site
- GymNot stated
- Sauna or spaNot stated
- Family roomsNot stated
- Pets allowedYes
Also worth knowing
- No front desk: entry by emailed instructions and a lockbox
- No check-in after 20:30
- Cots £10 a day
Before you book
Worth knowing
- Check-in by lockbox, 15:00 to 20:30.
- Free parking for your stay.
- No lifts.
What we couldn’t confirm
- The inn’s own pages
- Whether parking can cover a cruise
Every hotel fact here comes from Hotels.com’s listing (we couldn’t reach the inn’s own site), 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 The Bell Inn: the London (Tilbury) cruise guide and London (Tilbury) as a port of call.
A pub dinner in the village, a taxi to the river.
Tell us your sail date and we’ll check The Bell Inn for the night before. No payment on the form.
The Bell Inn FAQ
Is there a front desk at The Bell Inn Horndon-on-the-Hill?
No. Hotels.com says guests get emailed entry instructions and use a lockbox, with check-in from 15:00 to 20:30.
Does The Bell Inn have parking?
Free on-site parking for your stay, per Hotels.com. Nothing says it covers a cruise.
How far is The Bell Inn from the Tilbury cruise terminal?
About 8.7 km in a straight line by our map. RoL Cruise puts it about 6.5 miles and 12 minutes by car.
Booking the cruise too?
Tell us the sailing and we’ll line up The Bell Inn, the ride to the ship and the cruise itself. No fee, no obligation.
Got it — thank you.
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