It's probably too late for this trip but for others who have a similar question here is how we handled it. We took the Gatwick Express (buy tickets in reception hall or on train) non-stop to Victoria Station. Go upstairs and find the taxi queue and wait for a regular black taxi, not a small one for you all. Take the taxi to your hotel. Don't try to use the tube unless you have small suitcases or backpacks. It's costly compared to US prices but worth it!

Hope the trip went well and you had a great time.

Thanks, DotG. I accidently left out that we're not going til August! Any idea how far Victoria Station is from Paddington Station?

Thanks,

Jette

I am doing the exact same thing in Sept. but there'll only be 2 of us with luggage. We plan to use the Gatwick Express and then taxi to Paddington Hilton. I would not attempt to take the tube with kids and luggage, and it's definitely too far to walk with same.

That's what we'll do, also. Any idea how far Victoria Sta. is from the Hilton?

This is a wild guess, but I'd say the Hilton is maybe a 10 - 15 minute taxi ride from Victoria. This depends on traffic, of course. On the map Victoria is south of Hyde Park and Paddington Hilton is on the north side, so we'll have to drive around the park to get there. I may be totally off on the amount of time though.

The Gatwick Express has a special offer whereby 4 adults can travel for the price of 2 but these have to be bought before you get on the train, either online (www.gatwickexpress.co.uk) or at the ticket office before you get on the train. if you are flyng back out of Gatwick, you should get return tickets as this will be an additional saving.

A taxi would take about 15 minutes to Paddington but taxis will only seat 5 people so check with the taxi driver if he will take 6 plus all your luggage but it might depend on the size of the chilfren. The cost for a taxi from Victoria to Paddington would be about 10 to 12 GBP but will depend on the traffic and you would need to double that if you have 2 taxis.

The cheapest route would be to get the Circle line from Victoria to Paddington (7 stops) which is 2 GBP per adult and 0.60 GBP for children so 9.20 GBP in total. This would take about 15 minutes but the Paddington Hilton is right next door to the station. However, there will be stairs that you have to navigate at both stations.

Hope this helps but please ask if you have any further questions.

We were in London in May and we went from Days Inn Westminster to Gatwick and we called Simply Airports. It is a driver service and we spent about 30 pounds. So you might want to try that. There were four of us and four suitcases. They have minivans. When we returned from Paris we caught a shuttle and it took us to a tube station don't rmember which one but the tube is pretty easy to navigate and the people in London are helpful when you are looking really lost. Hope this helps.

Instead of taking the Gatwick Express, I chose to take a different train from Gatwick, the southern line. It ends up in the exact same place (Victoria station), but has three stops along the way, and is 4 pounds (8 dollars) cheaper per person.

I strongly suggest using the Gatwick Express rather the slightly cheaper Southern Trains alternative. You will have the train to yourself with plenty of room for luggage and comfortable seating rather than having to compete for seats and space with unhappy commuters. The two for one offer may even make it cheaper to use the GE. Suggestions have been put forward to cancel this excellent service - the less people that use it, the more chance of this happening.

With 6 of you, you will need two taxis putting the cost up. You could consider using Hotelink who meet you at Gatwick and put you on the GE for Victoria and then transfer you to your hotel. Cost is 20GBP per head if booked online and more info can be had at www.hotelink.co.uk.

Otherwise the tube shouldn't be too busy at that time of the afternoon and it would certainly be the cheapest way and the hotel is attached to the station.

Thank you for all the great suggestions. Simply Airports is charging 60 pounds for door to door service so we have decided to book with them. Will let you know how it went when we return in August.

Thanks again.