Hotel review: Fairmont Windsor Park

The Fairmont Windsor Park is a luxury hotel stay for families like no other.  For a start it’s in a great location, set in acres of beautiful countryside on the edge of Windsor Great Park and close to attractions such as Legoland Windsor and Windsor Castle.  However there is so much to see and do at the hotel, there is no real need to leave this stunning property until you check out.

For families looking for a luxury UK staycation, there is no better option than the 5-star Fairmont Windsor Park. Let me tell you why.

Background

We have been wanting to stay at the Fairmont Windsor Park ever since it was announced the property was opening and is the third Fairmont property in the UK alongside the Savoy in London and the Fairmont St Andrews in Scotland.

So when we were looking for a special weekend retreat to celebrate a special occasion as a family, the Fairmont Windsor Park ticked all the boxes for a memorable weekend away.

We knew we had arrived somewhere very special the moment we drove through the gates of the property and into the 40 acres of manicured grounds that the hotel occupies and caught out first glimpse of the hotel. I really liked the red brick bridge that spans the large lake and water fountain.

Where this grand hotel now stands was once a private home and it’s been expertly rebuilt into a mansion-style country estate with a stunning Jacobean red brick exterior.  It looks like an 18^th century country home yet its brand new opening in 2022 after a four year build and a budget in the region of £200m.

Arrival

Your Fairmont experience starts as soon as you step out of your car at the hotel entrance, we were warmly greeted by the bellmen and instantly felt at home.

The large brass horse sculptures sitting on the front lawn and the gold Rolls Royce Fairmont golf buggy at the hotel’s entrance provided fun photo opportunities,  our luggage was whisked away by the bellmen and we couldn’t wait to get inside our home for the weekend.

If you arrive with kids what will catch their attention as you walk into the hotel is Mr Simms sweetshop, with rows upon rows of sweets to choose from set against an iconic yellow Fairmont backdrop.  This was a favourite stop for our kids especially with them stocking unique American sweets that you don’t see in many UK shops.

The lobby level of the hotel is also home to some of its bars and restaurants along with small boutique stores selling fragrances and designer watches.

The entrance lobby opens up onto the centrepiece of the hotel, its majestic triple height circular atrium.

The lobby is really impressive with its striking glass dome, stone fireplace, eye catching flower art and sculptures and the signature image of a horse made from Swarovski Crystal.

We were personally welcomed to the hotel on check-in by the staff and instantly felt at home, with the girls helping themselves to the complimentary home made lemonade.

 Check-in was fast and efficient which was just what we needed after a 3 hour journey down the busy M4 motorway and couldn’t wait to see our room.  The girls set off with key cards in hand to find our room, a Fairmont Double Double, one of the 251 rooms and suites at the hotel.

The impressive décor continued as we walked to our room, passing a plush lounge area with lots of comfortable seating and walking through a corridor of illuminated black marble archways that wouldn’t look out of place on anyone’s Instagram grid.

Rooms

Fairmont Double Double Room

We booked a Fairmont Double Double Room which at 41m2 offered more than enough space for a family of four for a weekend stay, it’s worth noting that because of the country house design of the hotel not all rooms are the same layout.

Our room had two enormous comfortable beds and lounge area complete with a huge 55” smart TV mounted above the fireplace.  Like the rest of the hotel, no expense has been spared in the bedrooms and the combination of natural stone and soft textures creates an elegant and luxurious space.

The designer wallpaper used on the feature wall behind the two huge beds and extended up and across the entire ceiling is spectacular, but everything in this hotel was luxurious.

Views from the room were over the courtyard pool below and once the girls saw this pool they couldn’t wait to get their swimming outfits on.

The luxury didn’t stop there, the lavish marble bathroom had a large walk-in shower, oversized bathtub and designer toiletries from Le Labo and Balmain.

Opposite the bathroom was another surprise as we opened the double doors.  The walk in wardrobe was large enough to be a room in its own right, with more than enough wardrobe space than we would need for a weekend break and we never travel light.

The size of this space could be a hotel room in other hotels and I really liked being able to store our luggage out of sight from the main living areas of our room.

Another plus point from the girls perspective was that in this dressing area they found the GHD hairdryer which are a standard fixture here and if designer hairdryers are your thing you will be pleased to know that there are Dyson hairdryers in the spa.

The room exceeded our expectations of the Fairmont five-star standard, with luxury bedding and furnishings creating a sense of pure relaxation, pampering and luxury during our stay.

However it wasn’t all plain sailing, we had a slight issue with our room that couldn’t be fixed and had to move rooms.

What separates five star hotels from the top-end five star hotels is the service and this was evident in the way the hotel resolved this issue.  Because of the inconvenience caused of having to move rooms, the hotel upgraded our room to one of their luxury two bedroom suites.

Luxury Two Bedroom Suite

Our original Fairmont Double Double room was luxurious but this room was on a totally different level of opulence, and it should be given its typical £1,900 a night room rate.

Their luxury two bedroom suites  are part of the Fairmont Signature Suites collection and the best way of describing this room was it was our very own luxury apartment within a five star hotel.

As we walked into the Ebony Suite the smiles on the girls faces was priceless, we have stayed at some great hotel suites during our travels but this was on a totally different level of luxury.

At 112m2 it had a large entrance hall, two spacious bedrooms both with plush ensuites, dressing area, grand dining room and an impressive living area complete with its own cocktail bar, comfortable seating, huge wall mounted smart TV with Bose sound system and stunning views over the lake and grounds of the hotel.

Both of the bedrooms in our suite were individually designed and differ from the standard hotel rooms in their interior design and wouldn’t look out of place in the pages from a designer home magazine.

The girls snapped up the bedroom off the main living area which was seriously luxurious with an enormous and super comfortable bed, comfortable seating in front of the wall mounted 55 inch TV and an enormous amount of storage space.

Their ensuite bathroom was my favourite in the suite, not only was it the largest bathroom it had a large walk in rainfall shower, oversized bathtub, marble sink and vanity and plenty of white fluffy towels and toiletries from Le Labo Rose 31.  If I could have taken the bathroom out of the hotel and dropped it into our home I would, it was so stylish!

The Bose speakers in the bathroom were also a hit with the kids as they could listen to their favourite music or television as they got ready for dinner in these impressive surroundings.

Being a brand new hotel, along with the latest audio/visual equipment in our suite and enough plugs with USB sockets to ensure that all modern tech could be charged, my favourite piece of was the control panel to operate the opening and closing of the curtains and blinds.  You’ll also find Nespresso machines, designer tea, bathrobes, slippers and GHD hairdryers as standard in your room.

Our enormous master bedroom and dressing area was a child free sanctuary at the other end of the suite with its own unique sophisticated style, the dark wood block panelling behind the bed was a real design statement which I really liked – I left with so much design inspiration for our own home after our stay here.

Our en-suite bathroom was another design statement with a double vanity, underfloor heating , large walk in rainfall shower and white fluffy bathrobes and slippers – what I really thought was a family friendly touch was that Holly had her own age appropriate child bathrobe and slippers.

It was so welcoming to return to our rooms each evening with a mat, slippers and water by our beds as part of the evening turn down service.

The beds in our suite were definitely as comfortable as they looked, with the gorgeous soft white snuggly duvet and super soft bed linen ensured that we all had a great night’s sleep so we were refreshed and ready to explore the hotel for a second day.

We loved the personal space the suite had to offer, a selection of traditional board games were available in the room and we all enjoyed playing these together in the dining area.

With the lure of just staying in this magnificent suite all evening we did contemplate making use of the dining space to order room service but we decided to explore what the hotel had to offer in terms of dining options and we made a reservation at the Moreish restaurant in the hotel.

Dining

One of the main reasons we tend to stay at luxury hotels around the world is because we spend a lot of time on property and the restaurants at the Fairmont Windsor Park did not disappoint with great child friendly  menus. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all fabulous here.

There is a choice of 7 restaurants and bars here offering something for everyone ranging from casual or formal dining to traditional afternoon tea and grab and go options.

We made an evening reservation at Moreish which offered a relaxed dining setting so looked a great choice families.   I really liked the design and it’s Middle Eastern vibe, with its marble tables, modern colour palette and large open plan kitchen.

I was a little apprehensive after making the reservation and read it had European and Middle Eastern flavours but I needn’t have worried.

It was really family friendly with a great children’s menu to choose from and the staff were so welcoming and friendly toward the girls.  Complimentary homemade bread with tomato and oregano butter was served to the table which was a nice touch before our starters arrived.

The children’s menu offered a good range of dishes even for the fussiest of eaters and the girls selected the fresh tomato and basil soup to start with, followed by build your own pizza and build your own pasta along with a side of fries each.  I thought this was a great option for children as they could design their meal tailored to their taste buds!

To start, we chose the garlic and caramelised onion flatbread which was large enough for two to share.

Moving on to mains, I couldn’t resist the North Atlantic Windsor beer battered cod and thick cut chips and my husband chose the pan-fried black angus ribeye steak served with a red vine jus, served with thick cut chips, both of which were delicious.

For dessert, the girls chose the build your own cookie! This was not only really tasty it was also great fun for them with an ingredients list of hot chocolate sauce, sprinkles, jellybeans and cereal balls to decorate their large double chocolate cookie.

Breakfast is served at Moreish, the next morning and was delightful.  I was a little surprised breakfast wasn’t an a la carte service but the breakfast buffet here was impressive, with a wide selection with hot and cold items from fruit, yoghurts, cakes ,pastries and fresh honeycomb to a full English breakfast.

We dined at the 1215 bar for a light lunch before checking out and the art deco feel here is  strikingly beautiful especially the ceiling.  There is no way you will be able to resist not taking a selfie in front of its iconic bar.

There was a good range of lunch options available , the girls enjoyed their fresh bowls of tomato and basil soup from the children’s menu and our club sandwiches were really tasty.

Other choices at the hotel include the fine dining option at the 1215 restaurant named after the year the Magna Carta was signed in nearby Runnymede or enjoy afternoon tea in the gorgeous setting of the Orchid Tea room.

Facilities

The biggest attraction of the hotel (from the kids’ perspective) are its swimming pools, which was one of the main reasons we chose the Fairmont Windsor Park.

The girls loved changing into their robes and taking the lift down from our room to the basement where the spa and wellness facilities were located.

The indoor pool offered family-friendly swim times of a morning session between 09:30 – 11:00  and in the afternoons between 15:30 – 17:00.

The large indoor pool is gorgeous with heated marble beds submerged in the water along with comfortable day beds at poolside which offered a great place to relax and unwind whilst the girls had fun in the pool.

At one end of the pool was the hot tub at the other was an iconic Japanese cherry blossom tree.  This was one of my favourite areas of the spa where the Japanese foot spa, steam room and sauna was located, unfortunately during our stay the  rainforest-themed experience showers were out of action.

What makes the spa stand out however is its incredible heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool, which according to the girls was so ‘aesthetic’ and I’d have to agree with them.

Set in a courtyard location, with faux flowers and fairy lights intertwined in the pergolas surrounding the pool with hanging egg chairs to relax.

The bubbling message jets and bubble beds were my personal favourites of the spa and with the water heated to 39 °C meant that even in the chilly weather when we visited the pool temperature was perfect.  The only disappointment for us was that this stunning outdoor pool was not for families even during family swim times.

Overlooking this courtyard pool is the Himalayan salt room with several heated marble beds and walls made out of pink Himalayan salt, which it is said to help purify the air and provide health benefits and offered a perfect place to switch off for a few moments and relax.

To complete after our spa visits we would stop off at Greens Café at the entrance to the Spa, which was as Instagrammable as the rest of the spa and enjoyed complimentary hot drinks and fresh fruit.

We didn’t have a chance to use the gym but we did check it out and for a hotel gym, this is on a totally different level – its massive with a huge range workout choices including some of the latest Technogym equipment on offer.

Along with the impressive leisure facilities, the Fairmont Windsor Park offers lots more to keep all of the family entertained.

The tennis and padel courts are a pleasant 5-10 minute walk through the hotels grounds from the main building, but I highly recommend you take the opportunity to get a lift in the iconic Fairmont golf buggy like we did – how often do you get a chance to ride in a Rolls Royce!

Next to the tennis courts was an outdoor gym but younger kids will enjoy the wooden play park here.  We did plan on using the complimentary bikes from the hotel to explore the hotel grounds and nearby Windsor Great Park but with so much to keep us busy we ran out of time.

For younger children, the kids club is a bright and fun area next to Moreish restaurant.  It’s open to children twelve and under and had lots of activities on offer from Playstations and Lego to arts and crafts to hopscotch.  It’s a shame there was no similar area for tweens and teens at the hotel.

There were beautiful communal spaces to relax in, including the atmospheric wood panelled Library off the lobby with lots of comfortable seating with board games set up to play. This was a hit with the girls as they challenged each other at draughts – it was so nice to see them away from their iPads and technology.

Overall and is it family friendly?

Yes, the Fairmont Windsor Park is luxurious but with families at its heart.  It really is the ideal destination for parents who not only want quality but also a hotel that offers so much for children and close to popular family attractions such as Legoland Windsor.

You certainly won’t hear the word “I’m bored” from your children during your stay here, there is so much for them to see and do.

If you are looking for a luxury family friendly hotel then the Fairmont Windsor Park will be very hard to beat, the levels of service and quality here were extraordinary. We can’t wait to return.