The flagship lounge for Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong International Airport is certainly worth a look if you are ever in Hong Kong. Situated near gate 61 at the far end of the airport, it might not be the first choice for most, however, its relative isolation means its a quiet haven for business class passengers throughout the day.
The lounge is separated into two lanes. A fast lane and a slow lane. The fast lane offers all the service offerings such as the famous noodle bar, a tea room, showers and dining areas. The slow lane which runs virtually the length of the lounge faces the apron, with an abundance of seating for guests to make themselves at home. Quite literally.
The overall effect of the lounge is the epitome of residential with a variety of warm, cosy and comfortable chairs mixed with homely desks, side tables (featuring pull out charging points) and table lamps and planting.
The bar, which acts as a central point to the whole lounge is fantastically well stocked, and champagne poured into Brushwing branded flutes on demand. The warm woods and brushed velvet seating will certainly come into its own in the evening, however its incredibly light and airy during the day.
The noodle bar is huge, and while the space and effect is massive, the actual offering of DimSum and noodles is fairly limited. The Pier First Class lounge offers a much wider selection of fine dining options, but we are still a huge fan of the Dan Dan noodles, and will always indulge in them given the chance.
After a few hours of reenacting scenes from Mad Men, you might want to head to the tea bar, a Wallpaper worthy space where tea ceremonies take place. It’s the quietest of the zones, as it’s the last casual seating / dining area before heading to the shower-rooms and sleeping zone that completes the lounge space.
The lounge is not showing its age, and despite being 18 months old now, it’s still as polished and perfect as the day it opened. While the velvet furniture is now being worn in, it actually adds to the effect of a more homely space.
There is a huge attention to detail here, and while there are a wide range of VERY premium lounges in Hong Kong (perhaps one of the best airports in the world for lounges) Cathay Pacific has set the standard incredibly high. Given the chance, The Pier Business Class (or if you are lucky enough, First Class) lounge is one of the great reasons to connect through Hong Kong.
TheDesignAir 