Paddington Station escorts in W2, for the moment your train pulls in

The station opened in its present form in 1854 to designs by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and the wrought iron and glass spans above the main platforms still carry his signature. Great Western trains arrive beneath them from Oxford, Bath, Bristol and Cardiff, the Heathrow Express departs every 15 minutes, and the Elizabeth line runs through a newer, deeper station along the side, linking the airport with the West End, the City and Canary Wharf.

A bronze Paddington Bear stands beneath the clock on Platform 1, and on the balcony level above the concourse the Mad Bishop and Bear pub looks out over the departure boards. None of that is where an evening begins, though. Companions do not wait on platforms or at ticket barriers; every booking starts at your hotel, either in its bar or at your door.

Here is how regular travellers use the ride in. As the train leaves the airport, send one WhatsApp or Telegram message: the companion you have in mind, or the kind of evening you want, then where you are staying, what time and for how many hours. By the time the carriages are running past Ealing, the desk has usually answered, comfortably inside the 10 to 15 minutes it promises. By the time the doors open at Paddington, you know her name, the total and when she will arrive.

The last two steps happen at the hotel. Once you have checked in, send your full name and room number to the desk, wait for the one line that says she is on her way, then shower, change and let the minutes count down.

When arrivals say the station hotel, they mean Hilton London Paddington. It began life as the Great Western Royal Hotel, forms the front of the station on Praed Street and can be reached from inside the concourse, so a guest can go from carriage to reception without stepping out into the rain. We name it as a place companions arrive at, never as a partner, and the same holds for every hotel on this page.

Within five minutes' walk of the platforms, London Street holds two smaller hotels, The Pilgrm and Hotel Indigo London Paddington, while Novotel London Paddington stands on Kingdom Street, reached from the north side of the station towards the canal. For a room with the park in the window, Royal Lancaster London is a taxi ride of about 4 minutes from the forecourt.

Flights land late and trains get held outside the station. The desk plans around both. If the plane is delayed, message as soon as the new time shows. Called off 3 hours or more ahead, a booking costs nothing, and pushing the start later is usually simple. Inside the last 2 hours before the start, half is payable, while failing to appear at all means paying the whole amount. After she sets off, a quarter hour of grace applies before the start has to shift.

An early departure the next morning is the other common case. Two hours at £500, finishing well before midnight, suits a guest with a 7am check in. If the final night in London should not be a solitary one, ten hours overnight cost £1,800 and finish in good time for a morning train back to the terminals. Staying out at the airport instead? Heathrow hotel visits run for three hours at minimum, with her journey included, with one total agreed before anything is confirmed.

Paddington station is 1 minute from the Hilton's lobby and from the taxi rank, and it gathers four Underground lines, the Elizabeth line, the mainline trains and the airport express under a single roof. The Underground here is really two separate halls: the Bakerloo, Circle and District platforms off Praed Street, and the Hammersmith and City and Circle platforms on the canal side. Allow 4 or 5 minutes to walk between them.

Everything around the station is Zone 1, so her journey to any hotel on this page is included in the fee.

Three companions live in Paddington itself. Nora enjoys arrival evenings more than most and will happily plan around a train time. Laura can take a same day request from midday, which suits an afternoon landing. Vanessa, easiest to book midweek, will also travel out for a Heathrow hotel booking under the 3 hour minimum.

From a little further away, Luna rides the Elizabeth line a single stop from Bond Street, and Liana is two stops down the Bakerloo line in Marylebone. The full lineup shows everyone else who comes to a station hotel on the same terms.

From the forecourt, Lancaster Gate and its park facing hotels are about 4 minutes by taxi, Bayswater about 5 and Edgware Road about 6. For the wider neighbourhood around the platforms, open Paddington, or see the entire postcode on W2.