Vanessa, a phrasebook at Terminal 4

Bonjour, hola, buonasera, good evening. Vanessa tries a new greeting on every hotel doorman and switches back to English with a grin the moment he answers. Slim and 173 cm tall, she wears a sandy brown balayage long, and her hazel eyes turn almost green in daylight. Her style is understated coastal chic, a striped knit, wide linen trousers, white trainers traded for low heels at the door. Mid twenties, based in Paddington, sweet natured and completely at ease.

Curious is the word for Vanessa. She asks questions because she wants the answers, about your language, your city and the word for something in a dialect nobody else knows. She is learning three languages at once, slowly and happily. Fragrance collecting is her other passion, and she can talk about the difference between a cologne and an eau de parfum without ever sounding precious. She cycles everywhere in town. Her conversation happens in English, relaxed and bright, with the occasional borrowed word for flavour.

For Heathrow evenings she picks the Hilton London Heathrow Airport at Terminal 4, a big hotel joined to the terminal by a walkway, useful for anyone on an early departure. From Paddington the Elizabeth line runs straight through to Terminal 4, so she is on her way soon after confirmation. She arrives relaxed, suggests a drink in the hotel bar before anything else, and asks you to teach her one phrase from your home language. She knows the airport rule, three hours at least with her travel inside it, and makes that time feel generous rather than scheduled.

Terminal by terminal details are on the Heathrow page. Midweek suits her best; read the rates and send the desk your departure date.