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the whole 'other passports' thing has gotten much more difficult at heathrow over the last year. It could be just me but Heathrow's lines have been hell. I am an American but my passport is stamped with a residency stamp from the UK.
That means that usually they will let me go through the EU line. Not anymore, you have have to go through the 'other passports' line and it has been huge lately.
The last time I did it there was a reason because it was a couple days before the Commonwealth Games and half of Canada and Africa were landing in Heathrow.
There are a number of airports in the London area - LHR, LGW, stanstead, Luton and London City. If you were flying from Europe the other ones would be more of an option but as its USA it is almost always LHR or LGW.
The Heathrow Express has made traveling from LHR much easier. It is a service that takes 15 minutes to get into central London. The only thing is that it goes into Paddington which doesn't have all that many hotels around it. So, chances are you are going to need to get a cab or a bus to your hotel. Busses are confusing for most people their first time in London and with luggage a nightmare.
So, that leaves a cab but I am not being silly when I say that the cab system at Paddington is the most hectic I have seen anywhere. Not just in the UK but in the world.
Last time I used the Heathrow Express it took me 15 minutes to get to Paddington and another hour to get into a cab and even then they made me share it with three other people - but pay full price.
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