Review: Great Western First Class lounge, Paddington Station
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This is my review of the Great Western First Class lounge at Paddington Station.
I have to be honest – I didn’t know that Great Western had a First Class Lounge. I was at university in Bath and still like to go back every few years to see what is new, but for some reason I have never used the lounge before. It is possible that I have never done the trip in First Class but that would be surprising.
It was a positive comment by a Head for Points reader in response to one our other train lounge reviews this year that made me want to take a look at this. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.
Where is the First Class lounge at Paddington Station?
The lounge is tucked away down the side of Platform 1 which is to the far left if you enter the station down the slope from Praed Street. It is a bit of a trot – you need to give yourself a few minutes to get to the train on the way out.
There are no ticket restrictions and any First Class ticket is accepted, even Advance.
There are three separate areas to the lounge but it is really in two parts. At the entrance is a desk with a pile of Financial Times and The Times newspapers stacked up on a window sill alongside. The first area you come to is what I will call the ‘modern’ half of the lounge:
As you can see, it is a large open space with modern furnishings. Food is relatively limited in the lounge – there were a few pastries, some fruit and packets of biscuits. It was only 9am so I didn’t check the fridge to see if there was any alcohol going (although, oddly, at an airport I would have got stuck in – my airport drinking rules are different).
There is a magazine rack out of shot with free copies of Wallpaper, a Jamie Oliver cookery magazine, Time Out, 1843 (The Economist spin-off) and the QP watch magazine – a pretty decent selection.
There is even a meeting room available if you need it.
Around the corner is what I would call the ‘classic’ half of the lounge. This octagonal rotunda is the most memorable area:
There is also a more laid back room off to the side – this was surprisingly quiet and it wasn’t clear why the vast majority of passengers had chosen to stay in the modern side.
Best to eat at home if you are sitting on this side:
Overall, I was surprisingly impressed by the Great Western First Class Lounge at Paddington and it is certainly worth a visit next time you are heading down to the South West.
Here is a brief video which gives a far better impression of the lounge than you get from the photos above. It is only 60 seconds long. If you can’t see it below you can access it from our You Tube channel here, where you can also subscribe to our video stream.
How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (October 2024)
Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.
You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges. Our American Express Platinum review is here.
You can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.
Additional lounge visits are charged at £24. You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.
There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus. Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network. Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.
The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer. Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard
A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review
PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.
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