Heathrow unveils its refurbished The Windsor lounge – £3812 for cash, no Priority Pass

Last week we reviewed aether, the ‘pay to use’ VIP terminal at Manchester Airport. This allows you to avoid the main terminal entirely and be driven to your aircraft for just £110 – or £230 if you want to spend some time in the lounge and enjoy a meal.

Heathrow has its own version of this. Previously known as The Windsor Suite, it has just relaunched as ‘The Windsor by Heathrow’. It costs £3812 for a group of 1-3 people so between 5x and 16x what you would pay at aether.

Let’s look at what you get.

The refurbishment of The Windsor is the start of a three year process to upgrade the ‘pay as you go’ VIP facilities at the airport.

The Windsor experience is, unlike aether, genuinely ‘door to door’. A chauffeur will collect you from your home (within a 25 mile radius) and drive you to The Windsor, which is inside Terminal 5 with its own dedicated drive-up entrance. Your group will be allocated its own room and you will be driven to your aircraft when it is time to depart.

As with aether, The Windsor has a dedicated Border Force team for inbound passengers. Like aether, it also has a celebrity chef to curate its menus – in this case, Jason Atherton.

Over £3 million has been spent on the refurbishment. To quote:

The spaces are accented with curated British design elements, including Axminster carpets in soft hues. Collaborations with luxury brands like Tom Dixon and Commune add layers of refinement, helping to evoke a ‘home away from home’ ambience, emphasising comfort and special details.

Guests will be indulged with in-lounge home fragrance products from luxury British brand AUGUST&PIERS, enhancing the guests sensory experience.

The Windsor suite doubles as a private art gallery, showcasing museum-worthy artworks from around the world. Modern British artists such as David Hockney, Tracey Emin and Francis Bacon, as well as American icons like Andy Warhol, feature on the walls. Guests can purchase them at the click of a button, through a QR code hanging next to each artwork.   

It certainly looks smart, as you can see from the photographs here. The airport hired Rankin to take these images which seems like a waste of his talent somehow ….

Jason Atherton has been overseeing the catering at The Windsor since 2016. New options include a signature dish of English butter shortbread with praline cream, Earl Grey tea ice cream, custard sauce and charred mandarin. 

Use of The Windsor / Windsor Suite has apparently doubled in the last decade. The plan is to double it again in the next three years via additional ‘ambitious transformation plans’, although it is not clear what these are.

The Windsor is, unsurprisingly, dominated by Middle Eastern clientele. The top five destinations served are Doha, Riyadh, Dubai, Los Angeles and New York.

If you think that The Windsor suite is uber-exclusive, think again. Apparently 50,000 passengers per year pass through it, which at £3,812 for a group of 1-3 people makes it a lucrative if niche sideline for the airport. You need to be flying First or business class to book but that is unlikely to be an issue for the clientele.

You can find out more at heathrowvip.com. We will be happy to do a full review if offered!

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (March 2025)

Here are the five 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

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.

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.