Cathay Pacific operates a few different lounges at its hub in Hong Kong including a pair of excellent first class ones. I visited the two first class lounges for the first time back in 2017, and recently, I had a chance to re-visit both of them during my trip to New York.
About a month ago, I updated my review of the excellent The Wing first class lounge. In this article, I’ll be taking a look at the newer The Pier first class lounge.
Most of the photos are from my original visit since not much has changed in the lounge since then. However, I added some extra photos from the lounge’s a la carte restaurant as I had a chance to try some additional items from the menu during my most recent visit.
Location, Opening Hours & Access
Unlike in the case of The Wing lounges, The Pier business and first class lounges have separate entrances. The entrance into the first class lounge is located near gates 63 and 64. It’s located one floor below the main departures level.
As its name suggests, rather than being in the central part of the terminal, its in one of the “piers” that extend out of it. In fact, its almost at the end of the pier that includes gates 60 through 71. That makes it, unfortunately, quite inconvenient to access unless you happen to be departing from one of those gates.
The lounge admits Cathay Pacific’s first class passengers, as well as first class passengers traveling on other oneworld airlines. Besides that, it can also be entered by all oneworld Emerald status holders departing on oneworld flights, regardless of the class they are traveling in.
It’s open daily from 5:30AM until 12:30AM.
Lounge Tour
At the bottom of the escalator leading to the lounge, there was a reception counter where boarding passes were checked. Once through the door, there was the lounge’s hallway.
It was beautifully designed, and it connected all of the different parts of the lounge that further.
Turning left at the entrance and going all the way to the end of the hall, there was The Pantry on the left side of the hallway.
In there, one could get drinks as well as some quick bites to eat. More on that later, though.
Continuing straight down the hallway rather than turning left, there was one of the signature features of the lounge, a horseshoe-shaped bar.
Besides the bar itself and the stools around it, the area also featured some sofa chairs in a variety of different arrangements.
Finally, across from The Pantry, there was the main lounging area.
The area was equipped with quite a few sofas and sofa chairs in several “living room-like” arrangements. There was also a cart with some wine and snacks to go with it in the middle of this section.
The seats along the window in this part of the lounge offered nice views of the apron.
Separately from the entrance across The Pantry, the lounging are was connected with the hallway also through The Library.
That was, more or less as the name suggests, a small area with a bookshelf and a bench.
A few more features of the lounge – including The Bureau, The Retreat, and the restrooms – could be found along the sides of the hallway.
The Bureau was essentially a business center consisting of six semi-private work spaces.
Each of those work spaces came with an iMac, a phone, a lamp, and – of course – power outlets
The Retreat was, on the other hand, where one would go to relax. It consisted of three parts: day suites, showers, and massages.
During my first visit, the earliest time slot I could book a massage for was after my scheduled departure time. As such, I recommend you to book yourself a massage as soon as you get into the lounge. During my more recent visit, my time in the lounge was very limited so I didn’t get one either.
The day suites – of which there were about half-a-dozen or so – were offered on a first come, first served basis.
Each suite was separated from the hallway by a curtain. Inside a suite, there were a daybed, a reading light, a power outlet, and a pair of USB charging ports.
Just like the main part of the lounge, the day suites offered views of the apron. As such, they were an excellent place to relax in before taking a flight.
While I didn’t use the showers during either of my visits to the lounge, I took a brief look inside one of the ten or so shower rooms.
It was no “Cabana” but it was still very nice and functional.
The restrooms – or “The Washrooms” – were right across the hallway from The Retreat. Just like the rest of the lounge, they were beautifully designed.
Finally, at the end of the hallway was another signature feature of the lounge, its The Dining Room a la carte restaurant.
Naturally, a large part of its interior consisted of tables. They were mostly for groups of two featuring a chair on one side and a bench on the other. Besides that, there was also a bar counter with some counter-height chairs.
Food and Drinks
Getting a bite to eat was possible in The Pantry and The Dining Room. Drinks were available in both of those as well as at the bar.
Besides that, there were some bottles of wine, pralines, and dried apricots in the main lounging area.
An extensive drink menu was offered at both the bar as well as in The Dining Room.
The menu included a good selection of wines and liquor as well as of soft drinks including fresh juices and JING tea. Besides that, a variety of cocktails and mocktails was offered as well. During both of my visits, I had a glass of the airline’s excellent signature Cathay Delight mocktail.
In The Pantry, there was a selection of canned soda, bottled juices, and canned beer including Heineken, San Miguel, Carlsberg, Asahi, and Kirin.
There was also a Tsing Tao draft beer dispenser.
Besides that, there were also a coffee machine and a selection of JING tea bags.
The food offered in The Pantry consisted mainly of light items.
There were some toasts, pastries, cereals, fresh fruits, and cheese spread across a counter and the table in the middle of the room.
Separately, there were cups with salads and appetizers and some yogurts in the refrigerators.
Finally, besides the self-service items mentioned above, there was The Dining Room, an a la carte restaurant.
The first time I had a chance to visit the lounge, I went to The Dining Room during breakfast time. As such, the menu was a bit limited.
Since I had a full English breakfast in The Wing lounge before heading to The Pier, I only had a bowl of fruits in The Dining Room.
During my visit back in September 2019, I had a chance to try the all-day dining menu.
I had coconut panna cotta, a fruit plate, and a wagyu cheeseburger. Yukihiro who I was traveling with had a bowl of Cathay Pacific’s signature dan dan mien – noodles in spicy peanut sauce.
According to Yukihiro, the noodles were quite good. That cannot be said about my dishes, though. While they were all decent, I found them to be nowhere near the level of American Airlines Flagship First Dining in New York.
I also enjoyed the burger served onboard the airline’s first class more than I did the one in the lounge.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge Hong Kong Summary
Overall, The Pier first class lounge is one of the best lounges I visited to date. Now, to put that into context, it’s one of only two first class lounges that I had a chance to visit so far with the other one being the equally excellent The Wing.
I appreciated how no two seating areas in the lounge were the same, making the lounge feel more like a luxury home rather than a lounge. The food selection – and its presentation in The Pantry – was also very good.
One unfortunate thing was that I did not manage to try one of the free massages during either of my visits. But, that is more a “fault” of my short stay than of a shortcoming of the lounge itself.
As for the lounge itself, I think the most unfortunate part about it is its location. While it’s convenient for some of the departure gates, for the vast majority of gates, it’s quite a long walk away.
Because of that, if you only have limited time and your flight is not departing from the pier in which the lounge is located, I would recommend going to The Wing in the central part of the terminal instead.