London Heathrow Marriott opened in 1998 but underwent a complete refurbishment between 2016-2018. It still feels fresh with contemporary rooms and a redesigned bright and spacious lobby entrance (pictured below). As one of the big brands of airport hotels on the Bath Road it stands out with the bonus of a swimming pool and is a leading hotel for sustainable practices, including an emphasis on food waste with its own Food Waste Lab and zero waste recipes. Sustainable Hotel News stayed at the hotel after an event on food waste and the hotel’s general manager Ron Vos was keen for us to see business-as-usual as well as behind-the-scenes, sharing his enthusiasm for the hotel’s many sustainable achievements and progress.
Arrival: I took the Elizabeth Line to T2&3 and then jumped on a bus, from bus stop 19, to new Harlington Road. The bus stops just outside the hotel. If you don’t want to deal with Heathrow, from central London you can also get the Underground to Hayes and catch a bus from there.
The hotel has a partnership with WeKnow, which is akin to a concierge service for transport, tickets and events around London. The cars, which can be booked for a fee, are electric Jaguar I-Pace. For guests arriving in their own vehicles on-site parking is also available.
How many rooms?: There are 393 rooms on floors 1 (also the event floor) and 2-5 with the entire 5th floor for executive rooms and suites. Guests staying in executive rooms also have access to the M-Club Lounge on the ground floor where breakfast and refreshments are available all day with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and hors d’oeuvres in the evening. The M-Club also has Waste Free Wednesdays where those guests staying in executive rooms can see how the hotel creates zero waste menus and get a peek at the food waste lab in the kitchen.
Accessible rooms: The hotel has 20 accessible rooms – although the room which is shown on the website does not offer roll-in accessible shower. Hats off to Marriott for showing the accessible room on the website. It’s not often guests can see photos of accessible rooms. See our feature about that here.
The room: I had a room on 5th floor, which is the Executive Floor. The room had contemporary decor with neutral tones with bright pops of colour in the furnishings. There was an open wardrobe, powerful aerated walk-in shower, a large TV, desk and a chaise longue and a small table. There was an ironing board, hair dryer and a safe. These rooms also have coffee machines (standard rooms have coffee sachets rather than a machine), a kettle, bottled water in a reusable glass bottles, free secure wifi with a password and plenty of places to charge phones and laptops. The rooms all have soundproof glass in the windows, being so close to the airport.
Breakfast: Breakfast is at Carluccio’s on the ground floor of the hotel. There is a “grab and go” option if you are in a hurry for a flight. The restaurant has 280 covers and offers an a la carte menu. The menu was extensive with a ‘build your own breakfast’ option for £21.95 – choosing from a cold option a hot option and unlimited tea, coffee and fruit juice. The fruit pots served in Kilner jars looked delicious, as did the full breakfast, but I opted for poached eggs with smoked salmon, a cappuccino and a glass of orange juice. It was busy in the breakfast area, with business and leisure travellers creating a happy hum of chatter.
The a la carte option for breakfast was a decision made to reduce food waste. Executive head chef, Anna Pazdera, is known for turning waste into “gastronomic treasures” and I was invited to see the ‘Food Waste Lab’. Pazdera creates dishes from banana and watermelon skins, and crafts unique soaps from coffee grounds and citrus peels. You can read all about Pazdera and the food waste initiatives at the hotel in our piece here.
Working: There was plenty of space to work in the room with a large desk, free secure wifi and a more relaxed seated area with a small table. The hotel also has the M-Club lounge for guests in executive rooms, although there is no natural daylight – the lobby is another brighter, although busier option.
Events: On the first floor, which also has guest rooms, there is 10,000 sqft of event space across 18 rooms. There are also breakout areas for tea and coffee. The hotel hosts events from 4-450 people.
Gym or fitness?: Yes there is a fitness centre with free weights, rowing machine, running machine, exercise bikes and also, a big bonus for an airport hotel, an indoor heated swimming pool. Open 06:00-23:00.
Certification?: The London Heathrow Marriott hotel was the first Marriott in the UK to gain the Green Key certification – in 2019.
Sustainable Practices:
The hotel’s website has an extensive section for its sustainability initiatives. It also shares the carbon footprint per room night (21.56 kg) and its water footprint per room night (325.66 liters).
By 2025, Marriott International has pledged to reduce the amount of waste the business sends to landfill by 45 per cent and food waste by 50 per cent. London Heathrow Marriott has sent no waste to landfill for the last 13 years. It donates furnishings to charities such as The British Heart Foundation.
Regarding food waste, Marriott and Winnow aim to reduce this by 50 per cent by next year and have currently achieved a 25 per cent reduction in food waste at this hotel and 52 others across the UK. The hotel’s food sourcing strategy supports local farmers, emphasising local and seasonal produce to reduce carbon emissions from transportation. Non-food items are also sourced from suppliers offering eco-friendly options, with a focus on biodegradable, recyclable, or reusable products and minimal plastic packaging.
The hotel generates its own electricity and heat for hot water and has had 23 extra energy metres put in to analyse and keep track of this data. In addition, through its CHP (combined heat and power plant) it generates electricity and heat for the hotel. Wind power and solar panels on its rooftop provide the power for the external lighting for the hotel (the big red Marriott sign on the roof) and reduce the CO2 emissions by 12 tonnes a year. The roof also has a green house where the chefs grow herbs, salad and garnishes for the restaurant and for events.
The hotel has made savings to water waste of 26 per cent using dual flush and aerated taps in its bathrooms. The hotel has also invested in its in-house laundry room appliances so that 1.7 million litres of water is saved annually – about the same as 11,800 average showers.
Every light in the hotel is LED, which reduces wattage from 20W to 7w. This hotel has reduced its EPC rating from F to B – a huge achievement.
You can read more about the hotel’s extensive sustainability initiatives here.
Felicity Cousins stayed at the London Heathrow Marriott hotel at the beginning of October, 2024.
Images supplied