Review: the Sofitel London Heathrow Terminal 5 hotel (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of our review of the Sofitel London Heathrow hotel. Part 1 is here.

In this final part I will look at the club lounge and the impressive variety of bars and restaurants on site, as well as drawing some conclusions.

The executive lounge at Sofitel London Heathrow

The lounge is called Club Millesime. Long-term readers may have visited it a few years ago when, for a short period, it was a Priority Pass lounge.

I had access via two routes – it was included with my suite booking regardless, but I also hold Platinum status in Accor Live Limitless which would have got me in.

It is based on the ground floor, up a short flight of steps. According to the timetable outside, it is open for breakfast between 6.30 and 10.30, afternoon team between 3pm and 5pm and evening snacks and drinks between 6pm and 8pm. In reality it seems to be open from 6.30am to midnight, albeit with nothing available except a coffee machine and cold drinks fridge outside the times above.

It is a surprisingly big space by hotel lounge standards, with a similar mix of wood and dark tones as found elsewhere:

and

Afternoon tea was a decent selection of cakes:

Next morning, at breakfast, the food selection laid out was slim – just fruit:

…. cereals (in cardboard boxes) and pastries. There was, however, a decent list of cooked to order options and so I took an Eggs Royale:

I was totally alone in the lounge during breakfast and afternoon tea, apart from an attendant.

Evenings drinks and snacks in Le Bar Parisien

At present the lounge is closed for evening drinks and snacks. Instead you are invited to Le Bar Parisien directly opposite, which is one of two bars in the hotel.

This was an impressively slick affair. Cold items, mainly salads, bread, dips and cheese, were laid out on the bar. Staff came to your table and served you whatever drinks you requested.

You could also have a plate of hot items – in fact, I got two! The contents are fixed – a couple of spring rolls and gyoza:

It was all very well done, and it was good to have (almost) full table service in an executive lounge.

Other eating and drinking options

La Belle Epoque

The main restaurant is called La Belle Epoque. This is very well regarded and has held 3 AA rosettes in the past (not sure about the present).

As you can see from the decor, this is not your typical airport hotel restaurant:

Incongruously, given the furnishings, the restaurant is one of the few places in the hotel where you can see British Airways aircraft parked up at the terminal.

La Belle Epoque does not come cheap. Starters run from £11 to £16 and mains from £19.50 to £35, with an extra £6 for each side dish.

Vivre

For something a bit cheaper, but not by much, there is Vivre. This is your standard burger / pizza / pasta / curry joint. Fish and chips comes in at £21, with lamb shoulder at £32. Pizzas are £14 – £18.

Tea 5

There is also Tea 5, a tea room in the lobby.

This has a hugely impressive looking selection of cakes which looked as good as any I’ve seen in London. During the day, it also serves a selection on paninis, wraps, pasta, pizza and salads. PR photo below:

Gym and spa at Sofitel Heathrow

I will quickly run through the other facilities – but not the 40+ meeting rooms that the hotel offers!

There is a good size gym:

At some point I believe that there was a proper spa with a hot tub etc. This is all gone. The only facilities available now are in a small treatments area which seemed to specialise in facials and nailcare.

The lack of a proper pool is, I think, the biggest issue with the hotel. For a 5-star airport facility I think it is necessary.

The ground floor has a substantial gift shop:

There is also a SIXT car hire office in the hotel. With Avis having relocated to the car park of the Holiday Inn on Bath Road, this is the only car hire office left in Terminal 5.

Conclusion

The Sofitel London Heathrow hotel is one of those places where the sum is greater than the parts.

It is easy to gripe about various things – lack of sockets, dated rooms, no pool, pricey restaurants, poor check-in experience – but despite this the hotel does give off an air of class and competence.

It was the little things – the high level of service in the bar / lounge in the evening, the quality of the cakes on display at Tea 5, the ‘cooked to order’ menu for breakfast in the lounge, a restaurant that has actually won awards for its food – that justify the five star rating and price tag.

Is it worth the money? Only you can tell. My suite – which was booked with a suite upgrade certificate for being Accor Platinum – was £299 vs £450+ at standard rate. I think the cheapest cash rate for the same night would have been around £249. Prices seem to be softening for advance bookings with £175-ish rates appearing for later in Spring.

Whether you are happy to pay 100% more than a hotel on Bath Road for the convenience and quality of the Sofitel is up to you. If you’re not flying from Terminal 5 then it is a far less attractive proposition given the alternatives attached to Terminals 2/3 and Terminal 4. If you have Accor Live Limitless Platinum or Diamond status and can get club lounge access then I’d definitely recommend it – you don’t need to spend anything in the hotel in this case.

You can see our other London airport reviews listed here.

You can find out more about Sofitel London Heathrow, and book, on its website here.

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Accor Live Limitless update – April 2024:

Earn bonus Accor points: Accor is not currently running a global promotion

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