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Heathrow Unveils Refurbished Private Terminal – The Windsor
Heathrow has just upgraded its VIP terminal, unveiling The Windsor by Heathrow—a £3 million refurbishment. Many of us won’t ever find the opportunity to experience this, but I also imagine many of you will be like me and enjoy reading and dreaming about skipping the airport chaos and breezing from your doorstep straight to the plane door in total comfort and privacy.
What’s New?
The first phase of the three-year refurbishment brings a fresh, elegant look to the eight private lounges, an upgraded atrium, and some seriously impressive artwork—think Banksy and Warhol pieces that guests can actually buy via QR codes. The world-renowned photographer Rankin was brought in to capture the essence of this new space, adding a touch of star power to the rebrand.
Designed by Oliver Burns Studio, the interiors now feel more like a high-end private residence than an airport lounge. Bespoke furnishings, British design elements, and Axminster carpets in soft hues create an inviting and sophisticated atmosphere.
VIP Treatment from Door to Plane
One of the standout features of The Windsor is its seamless ‘door-to-plane’ service. Guests are picked up from their homes in an all-electric BMW and driven straight to the airport, where a private security, immigration, and customs service means no queues, no hassle, and no wasted time. Heathrow is the only airport offering direct drop-offs and pickups from the aircraft, making it one of the most exclusive services in the world.
Michelin-Starred Dining
Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton has curated an exclusive menu, including a new signature dessert: English butter shortbread with praline cream, Earl Grey tea ice cream, custard sauce, and charred mandarin. If you fancy something off-menu, the team is happy to whip up bespoke dishes for special occasions.
There’s also a personal shopping service, allowing guests to shop Heathrow’s high-end boutiques in complete privacy.
How Much Does It Cost?
It all sounds like a dream come true… so to bring us back down to earth, prices for The Windsor start at £3,812 (including VAT) for up to three guests. Given that Heathrow serves over 80 million passengers a year, this service remains ultra-exclusive, catering to 50,000 VIPs annually. However, I was surprised to hear that many people are using the service, especially at that price point.
Fly Business Class to New York for €1,302 (£1,084)
La Compagnie’s Valentine’s sale is back and Luxury Flight Club have found fantastic business class fares for two passengers from €1,302 return per person to New York from Paris. Standard fares are usually over €3,000 making this a really special deal. We were seeing fares pre-pandemic for €1,000 but those kinds of deals feel like a distant memory now. However, we are starting to see the super high fares soften and this is just another sign of that.
This special fare is only available when booking for two passengers together and requires a minimum stay of three days. You’ll need to book directly via La Compagnie’s promo page and choose flights on the blue coloured discounted dates to get the offer.
Here’s what you can book:
Milan (MXP) – New York (EWR) for €1,302 return per person
Paris (ORY) – New York (EWR) for €1,330 return per person
Minimum stay: 3 days
Book by: 14 February 2025
Travel dates: March – December 2025
There’s some availability in July and December, but as always with these deals, seats won’t last long. If you have flexible dates, you have a better chance of securing a great fare.
If you don’t know much about La Compagnie, it is an all-business-class boutique airline with flat-bed seats, free Wi-Fi, and high-quality dining onboard its Airbus A321neo aircraft. Michele flew with them in 2019 and you can read her review here.
Accor and Emirates Introduce New Points Conversion – Is It Worth It?
Accor Live Limitless (ALL), the loyalty programme for brands such as Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, and Novotel, has expanded its partnership with Emirates Skywards, allowing members to convert points between the two programmes in both directions.
This is a notable update, particularly for Emirates Skywards members, as Emirates miles have a strict expiry policy that cannot be extended by account activity, unlike Avios. If you have Emirates Skywards miles about to expire, transferring them to Accor could be a useful option.
How Does the Conversion Work?
The conversion rates between Accor Live Limitless and Emirates Skywards are as follows:
- 4,000 Skywards Miles = 1,000 ALL Reward Points (4:1 ratio)
- 4,000 ALL Reward Points = 2,000 Skywards Miles (2:1 ratio)
Because Accor points have a fixed redemption value of €40 per 2,000 points, this means 4,000 Emirates Skywards miles convert to €20 worth of Accor points. While this is not an optimal value (equivalent to 0.41p per mile), it is in line with other low-value Skywards redemptions such as easyJet tickets.
While the conversion ratio is not great in normal circumstances, this new feature could be useful if you have Emirates Skywards miles that are about to expire and don’t have enough to book a flight or you stay frequently at Accor hotels and would rather convert miles into hotel credits.
One interesting workaround is that Accor has a generous transfer rate with Iberia Plus. If you have 4,000 Emirates Skywards miles, you could transfer them to Accor and then onward to Iberia Plus at 1:1. While a 4:1 conversion rate from Emirates to Iberia Avios isn’t ideal, it could be an option if your Skywards miles would otherwise expire.
This new two-way transfer adds more flexibility to both loyalty programmes, but unless you’re facing expiry, the value proposition remains questionable.
