Folks, the Cathay Pacific The Pier Lounge in Hong Kong (HKG) may just be the best business class lounge in the world. In any case, it is a beautiful space with excellent food and beverage options, and is a pleasant environment to wait for your flight in.
Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Review (HKG)
I arrived several hours before my Cathay Pacific flight to Amsterdam to sample every Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge. After visiting The Wing and The Deck, my third stop was The Pier.
Hours + Access + Location
Access is reserved for oneworld sapphire and emerald status holders or business class passengers traveling on a oneworld carrier. You are permitted one guest if entering via status or no guests if entering via ticket class of service. Cathay Pacific Silver Status holders flying on a Cathay-marketed and operated flight also have access.
The Pier is open from 5:30 am to 12:30 am and is located near the security checkpoint and passport control in terminal 1 (level 6) near gate 65. Take the escalator down to the lounge.
Seating
This is a massive lounge with great views of parked aircraft, warm lights, and rich walnut and leather or velvet accents. I love the decor of this lounge and even at peak crowding in the late evening, I had no trouble finding a seat. Power plugs (UK style plus USB-A) were almost always within reach.
Relaxation Room
In the rear of the lounge, a relaxation room offers “resting pods” with footstools.
Food + Drinks
You won’t go hungry in this lounge. Let’s look at the many food options in this lounge.
The Food Hall
As you enter the lounge, there’s an Italian deli on the left with a respectable variety of Italian food, including pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven. I had some meatballs, lasagna, and pizza and all were delicious.
Coffee Cart
One of my favorite features of the lounge is a cool coffee cart that has a vintage La Marzocco coffee machine and delicious coffee.
The Noodle Bar
Cathay Pacific’s staple noodle bar not only features made-to-order dishes including soup, noodles, and dim sum, but also has a small buffet exclusively with Asian specialities like steamed chicken bao or spring onion noodles. There is plenty of seating here as well.
Teahouse
Further back into the lounge, a teahouse offers a wide variety of teas along with delectable sweets.
Bar
A full-service bar offers a wide variety of wines, spirits, and cocktails with very friendly bartenders. This must have been a former smoking area in the lounge because you can still smell a very faint cigar smell. Can any long-term visitors to the lounge confirm this?
Showers + Restrooms
14 shower suites are available. Restrooms were clean, with an attendant regularly cleaning counters and floors.
Computer Stations
Desktop workstations plus printers are available.
CONCLUSION
I like this lounge because it has a little bit of everything. Great food. Great drinks. Nice showers. Plenty of seating. And all of it is in a beautiful, tranquil space. The Pier First Class lounge is one of my favorite first class lounges in the world and The Pier Business Class lounge is certainly one of my favorite business class lounges in the world.
Their lounges in HKG are great, but so are their outstations! CX is like Lufthansa in that they’re very consistent no matter where you are… even the new one in SFO is good! Though maybe, just maybe, the CX lounge in MNL is a little below average for their high standards.
Sounds quite nice. I haven’t been to that particular lounge so it’s tough to rank it but one thing that’s missing is nap rooms. I know when I have several hours to connect a cold dark quiet room to sleep securely is a godsend.
Cathay really does lounges well.