TRIED AND TESTED HOTELS Crowne Plaza London Heathrow T4; Bankside Hotel, Autograph Collection; Kimpton Fitzroy London

BACKGROUND Attached to Terminal 4, the new Crowne Plaza opened in October and shares a lobby and facilities with the Holiday Inn Express T4, its fellow IHG brand. Together the properties have 700 rooms. Both are owned by Arora Hotels, a division of the Arora Group, which operates several other airport hotels at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It’s important if arriving by taxi not to confuse this property with the Crowne Plaza Heathrow or the Holiday Inn Express Heathrow, both of which are a few miles away.

WHAT’S IT LIKE? This is a new-design Crowne Plaza which, as the website says, is an “upscale brand for a business traveller”. Reception for both hotels is down an escalator from the connecting footbridge, in the main atrium, also home to a giant light sculpture. I was checked in at about 5pm – at this time the hotel seemed quite quiet but a few hours later it was more lively, with modern jazz music providing some atmosphere.

WHERE IS IT? The hotel is connected to T4 by a covered walkway on the Departures level – the same walkway that is used for the Hilton and Premier Inn. Head for the right-hand side of the terminal, beyond Zone H. It’s a brisk five-minute walk to the free Heathrow Express service for transferring to other terminals. There is underground parking for 130 cars.

ROOMS The hotel has 304 rooms, starting with Standard (27 sqm) and moving up through King Standard, King Business, King Club (about 30 sqm) and Suite. The Club rooms and lounge are located on the sixth floor. The rooms have similar, but not identical, designs, with differing colour schemes for the headboards and bed throws.

All have free wifi, plenty of charging/USB points, goodsized desks, free tea, coffee and Kit Kats, robes, safes and fridges. Business and Club rooms and suites also have Nespresso machines, slightly larger TVs (55 inches compared with 49 inches), and some have baths as well as showers. Rooms come with a variety of views, although none are particularly exciting; many look inwards on to the central atrium.

FOOD AND DRINK On the Crowne Plaza side of the lobby is the Tea 4 salon, which as well as hot drinks serves alcohol and freshly made pastries. There is also a bar located towards the back of the atrium called Destinations, which is cleverly designed to feel separate from the rest of the lobby. It serves 29 whiskies and 16 gins.

The restaurant on the Crowne Plaza side, the Urban Brasserie, offers modern British cuisine (steak, rump of English lamb, pan-fried sea bass, fish and chips) and Asian street food (wok fried ginger chicken noodles and tom yum soup). My starter of pickled beetroot, hummus, marshmallows and candied pecan nuts was unusual, ambitious and very tasty. A good selection of wines was available. Breakfast starts at 5am for continental (£10) or 6am for cooked (£18).

There’s also the Holiday Inn Express Café on the other side of the lobby.

MEETINGS There are four meeting rooms, a break-out area (screened from the main lobby by bookcases) and a business centre.

LEISURE The 24-hour gym has a good range of equipment.

VERDICT A great new addition to the hotel options at Heathrow. The restaurant is well worth trying and the rooms are modern and comfortable, with excellent soundproofing. Note that the Holiday Inn Express offers free breakfast but has slightly smaller rooms and no gym, although rates are lower. Both are good hotels. Tom Otley

The hotel is connected to Terminal 4 by a covered walkway on the Departures level

BESTFOR

Its convenience for flights from Terminal 4, and potentially T2 and T3

DON’TMISS

A drink at the Destinations bar and food at the Urban Brasserie

PRICE

Internet rates for a flexible midweek stay in April started from £139 for a Standard room

CONTACT

Crowne Plaza London Heathrow T4, Swindon Road; tel +44 (0)20 3971 4411; ihg.com