There was the plan...and then there was what happened.
I am a planner. See prior posts...and laugh at me if you want to, but this is actually something that brings me a lot of joy. It also used to cause a lot of problems, because when things did not go to plan, my reactions were not healthy. This trip was a test of my new methods, and I did not have to wait long for the chance to put them to use!
Knowing that our flight was landing early in the morning, and we'd have a 5-hour time difference to adjust to, I'd decided through my research that the best way to adjust quickly would be to stay awake and active - outdoors as much as possible - for the first day in London, and try to not sleep until as close to a "normal" bedtime as possible. I pre-purchased tickets to Windsor Castle for noon on our arrival day, estimating that 5 hours would be enough time to get out of the airport, drop our bags at the hotel, and get over to Windsor (a 20-minute ride away...remember this fact, it'll be important later).
Despite a delay taking off, we had a tail wind or something, so our "time in the air" for our flight was shorter than predicted, resulting in us arriving pretty much exactly when we were scheduled to. Getting out of Heathrow was really easy - signs are clear, people are friendly, layout is mostly sensible. We had a small issue with the automated passport readers not working for 2 out of 4 of us, but they were quickly processed by a human agent instead, and by the time that was done, our bags were out and waiting for us. We grabbed them and headed for the exit. Other than forgetting to tap an ATM for some Pounds, we made it out to the taxi stand and got a ride over to our first hotel without a hitch.
Details:
- Used a Black Cab stand at Heathrow, wonderful experience: staff hailed the cab for us, the driver was professional, friendly, and helpful
- Paid for the ride with contactless credit card (Chase Sapphire), was not prompted to tip, and never did tip a taxi driver the entire time, even though I wanted to. For this trip it's because I didn't know how and was just too tired to try to figure it out.
- cabs "seat 6" but with our bags it meant that 2 bags went up front with the driver, 2 in the back with us, and I sat in the fold-down seat facing backward. If we had bigger suitcases, we would've needed to get 2 cars to fit it all.
We arrived at the Sheraton Heathrow hotel to find our rooms were not yet ready, despite requesting early check-in. We were able to leave our suitcases with the front desk, and have breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. N was feeling quite nauseated from the plane and taxi rides, as well as exhausted like the rest of us. The lack of sleep and food were making everyone a bit cranky, and it wasn't feeling like a great trip at this point. However, after some food and time to sit, we did all agree that a "quick trip" over to Windsor would be a good way to pass the time while we waited for our room.
First-time Traveler Mistake:
We asked the front desk for help getting a cab to Windsor Castle, and they pointed to a "virtual concierge" - basically, a huge tablet hung on the wall. We're pretty tech-savvy folks, so we walked over and clicked the icon to order a ride from a company called "WeKnowLondon" (not the Black Cab company we'd used earlier). We entered the destination as "Windsor Castle" and picked the first (and only) option that matched. The driver arrived a few minutes later and off we went.
Remember how I said that ride was about 15-20 minutes from the hotel?
About 15 minutes into the ride, I was like...why are we heading towards London, when Windsor Castle is the opposite direction from Heathrow? But I kept quiet, feeling like the idiot tourist.
About 35 minutes into the ride, I was like...why are we in the heart of London and not at the Castle yet?
I asked the driver how much further, and he said it was another 35 minutes away.🤯 After a few minutes of discussion, and me pulling up Google Maps, I finally had to convince the driver that he was taking us to the WRONG place! (He tried to tell us there were TWO Windsor Castles in London. For the record, there are NOT.) After getting in touch with his dispatcher, he turned around, and we took another 45 minutes to get us to our actual destination!! So much for our "quick ride" to kill time! N was SO carsick by this point, it was awful. And on top of that, since the hotel (technically) did not make the error, we had to eat the fare for the entire trip (over $250).
Lessons Learned:
- "WeKnowLondon" absolutely does not (We exclusively used Black Cab for the rest of our days in London and had the best experiences from then on)
- Check the address of where you request to go
- Ask the driver where they think they are taking you, before they start driving
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