As my MLK weekend in Hong Kong came to a close it was time to head back to Hong Kong International Airport. I generally wouldn’t head to an airport 6 hours before a flight, but this trip to the airport was different. This trip to the airport was different because I had a few lounges I wanted to visit before departing.
One of those lounges is Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class lounge. I stopped in this lounge the first time I was in Hong Kong, but I didn’t have enough time within the lounge to write a proper review. For this visit I didn’t want to make the same mistake.
Accessing Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge
Gaining access to any of the Cathay Pacific departures first class lounges isn’t exactly difficult compared to other first class lounges. Any passengers traveling in first class with Cathay Pacific or another OneWorld carrier have access to the lounge. Likewise, any OneWorld Emerald elite members traveling in any cabin with Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon also have access. This includes anyone who maintains OneWorld Emerald elite status through Cathay Pacific’s Marco Polo Club. You can find a complete listing of Cathay Pacific lounge admittance guidelines here.
Cathay Pacific maintains several lounges throughout Hong Kong international airport. Within HKG airport are two Cathay Pacific First Class lounges. The first is within The Wing lounge which is very near Terminal 1’s security checkpoint. The second, The Pier, is a bit farther away near gate 63. Although it is a bit of a walk to reach The Pier, especially for US bound passengers, I find the lounge well worth the walk.
Entering Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge
After a bit of a walk to reach gate 63 I finally uncovered the entrance to Cathay Pacific’s The Pier lounge. The lounge is located beneath the main departures level (level 6) so you must take an escalator or elevator down a level to enter the lounge.
Nearby there is also The Pier Business Class lounge which features a separate entrance. As you head down the escalator you’ll want to verify you’re entering the First Class version of The Pier.
At the bottom of the escalator is a small reception area where a lounge agent will scan your boarding pass to verify admittance to the lounge.
From this area you’ll get your first glimpse of the absolutely beautiful lounge. When compared to most other airport lounges this one feels extremely warm and inviting from the moment you walk in. You don’t feel like you’re in an airport lounge, it feels more like a high-end hotel.
As the lounge sits below the departures level the entire space is essentially a long (stunning) hallway which is then divided into various rooms.
Directions are cleverly displayed along the walls of this central hall.
For the purpose of this review I’ll break each room out into it’s own section.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Dining Room
One of the most impressive features of most Cathay Pacific first class lounges are the full service dining rooms. The food served in these lounge dining rooms far exceeds anything found in a traditional airport lounge.
The Dining Room in The Pier is located toward one end of the lounge. As you enter the lounge’s central hall after checking in the dining room is to the right.
As you reach the entrance to the Dining Room there is a host who will direct you to an open seat.
The Dining Room itself is absolutely beautiful. I loved the green leather benches, the light wood, and the library style lamps. Although the Dining Room is quite large, the space does fill up during the morning rush.
Upon entering the Dining Room the host directed me to an open table near the middle of the room which faced the large Dining Room bar. This is just one of two full-service bars found within The Pier.
After taking my seat a server introduced himself and handed me the Dining Room breakfast menu. All dishes are made to order and the menu suggests allowing between 15-20 minutes for meal preparation. From my experience, the meal prep times are closer to 5-10 minutes.
I ordered the traditional eastern breakfast and a cappuccino for breakfast. The eastern breakfast came with a few different dishes and was delicious, after all who doesn’t love dumplings for breakfast.
After breakfast I left the Dining Room to explore other areas of the lounge.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge Pantry
As I walked through the lounge I stumbled upon The Pantry. The Pantry is a fairly small room where guests can grab snacks to take with them to other areas of the lounge. If you don’t have time to sit down for a full meal in the Dining Room the Pantry is a great alternative.
As you walk in you’ll immediately find a large table covered in various breads, fruits, and cheeses.
Also on the central table were a few jars of nuts, dried fruits, and most importantly cookies.
On either side of the central table were two additional countertops. The left counter was filled with more breads and pastries.
The right counter featured several beverage options. Guests could choose between still or sparking water from the tap. The tap also dispensed hot water for tea.
Near the entrance on the beverage counter were two beverage machines. The left machine is a traditional coffee machine which could produce a variety of coffee drinks. The right machine is a draft beer dispenser. If you’ve never seen one of these in action it’s well worth giving it a try. The machine produces a perfect beer pour every time.
Lastly, next to the beer machine was a large refrigerator.
The refrigerator housed several more beer choices, soft-drinks, various fruit juices, and several jared foods.
As I mentioned, the Pantry is a great room to visit if you don’t have time for a sit-down meal.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Bar
After a quick stop in the Pantry I made my way to the Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class bar for a quick pre-departure beverage. The Bar is on the complete other end of the lounge from the Dining Room. As you enter the lounge’s central hall and turn left you can’t possibly miss the beautiful horseshoe bar.
As you pass through the entryway to the bar you’ll quickly find a stunning, fully staffed, marble horseshoe bar. Although there is ample seating surrounding the bar I’ve rarely seen anyone actually sit at the bar for an extended period of time.
Located throughout the bar are a few beverage and wine menus which resemble those provided in the Dining Room.
The beverage is fairly impressive for an airport lounge. I wasn’t exactly in the mood for alcohol in the early morning hours when I visited the lounge so I instead opted for a signature Cathay Delight. The drink was fantastic and incredibly refreshing at 7AM.
Surrounding the bar are various sitting areas which are significantly more comfortable than the bar stools provided.
The Bar is in the middle of a much larger room which explains why people rarely actually sit at the bar. Instead, I took my drink and moved to a seat near the floor to ceiling windows which overlook the gate area and apron.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Seating
I’m not exactly sure what you’d call the next section of the lounge as it is an extension of the bar which slowly becomes a Living Room. I personally love this potion of the lounge. I love it because it doesn’t “feel” like an airport lounge. The use of colors and textures make this area of the lounge feel more like a home than a lounge.
After grabbing a drink there are two large sitting areas which are perfect to accommodate larger groups.
If you’re traveling alone or with just one other person you can instead chose one of the more intimate seating areas near the huge floor to ceiling windows.
If this area of the lounge is a bit too noisy or crowed you can move to another seating area in the next section of the lounge.
In this area of the lounge you’ll find several large comfortable leather chairs in addition to the cloth chairs found in the other room. When I visited this area of the lounge also featured a bar cart with a selection of delicious chocolates and a bottle of port.
Away from the windows is a second seating area which more resembles a traditional airport lounge.
From this room you can return to the central hallway or continue to the lounge Library.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Library
Just beyond the living room you’ll find yet another room which is aptly named The Library. Sure, the library is essentially a glorified magazine rack, but it’s still another very nice space within the lounge.
Within the Library there are several copies of nearly every popular magazine for guests to borrow during their visit.
Above the magazine racks are a few books which guests could read during a stay. Also, not pictured, are benches for guests to sit and read within the Library. However, I’m not sure why anyone would sit in the Library to read given how comfortable the rest of the lounge furniture is.
After grabbing a book or magazine you can head back into the central hallway to find yet another room within the massive first class lounge.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Bureau
As you head back towards the Dining Room you’ll find a small and private room called the Bureau. This room is home to a few cubicle style workstations complete with desktop computers. This is the room you’ll want to visit if you need to get some serious work done while waiting for your flight.
Each little workstation is home to a iMac computer and a phone. I don’t know about, but I wish my cubicle at work looked this nice.
As I was in Hong Kong for fun I didn’t end up spending much time in the Bureau. Instead, I decided to head to a completely different area of the lounge to catch up on emails and relax.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Retreat
In the center of the lounge against the windows which overlook the airport’s apron you’ll find The Retreat.
The entrance to the Retreat is in the center of the lounge’s central hallway.
As you reach the entrance to the Retreat you’ll quickly realize this area of the lounge is again segmented into three different areas.
Within the Retreat are the Day Suites, the Foot Massage facilities, and the individual Shower suites. As I had showered before my visit I didn’t need to shower so I instead opted to head straight for a Day Suite.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge Day Suite
The day suites are within the same enclosed area of the lounge which houses the shower suites and massage facilities. This area of the lounge is extremely quiet. I felt extremely self-conscious as a dragged my roll aboard behind me as the wheels clicked on every seam of the tile floor.
After a short walk within the Retreat the lounge attendant directed me to my individual Day Suite.
The Day Suites are little sleeping cubicles which can be completely enclosed by a curtain and offer fantastic views of the airport.
Within the Suite is essentially a chair/chaise for guests to relax or nap for a little while during their visit. One thing that frustrated me about this suite was the lack of flat surfaces. As you can see the little shelf was just large enough to hold my coffee.
At the end of the chaise is a large shelf which is perfect to store your luggage.
On the lounge chair were two small notes from Cathay Pacific. The first notified guests of the lounge’s WiFi network name and password. The second requested guests limit their Day Suite visit to just 90 minutes.
The 90 minute limit is self regulated and at no point did I ever get the impression that I would be removed if I were to overstay my welcome.
Within the suite, under the small table, are controls which raise and lower the window shade. With the shade lowered the room doesn’t get completely dark with the shade lowered, but it does help if you wish to nap.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge Shower Suite
Although I didn’t end up using the shower suite I did poke my head in a vacant suite before leaving the Retreat.
The shower suites are quite nice. The materials used within the suites resemble those used throughout the lounge.
The showers featured large overhead rain shower and handheld shower heads. I can’t attest to the shower’s water pressure or temperature controls, but I’d imagine they are just fine.
If you don’t have time to visit one of the beautiful shower suites, don’t worry, the shared restrooms are just as nice.
Overall, the Retreat is an incredible area within the lounge. Between a foot massage, shower, and day suite you could spend quite a bit of time in this portion of the lounge alone.
Final Thoughts
WOW! I can’t say that enough. This lounge is absolutely fantastic. For starters, I personally think the lounge is beautiful. I love Cathay Pacific’s use of marble with subtle gold metal accents combined with plush textures. I just can’t think of a lounge I find more visually appealing than The Pier First Class lounge in Hong Kong.
On top of being visually appealing, I find the lounge to offer the perfect mix of amenities. It’s crazy to think that this lounge has a full-service sit down restaurant, a full-service bar, and essentially a spa among all of the other rooms found within the lounge.
Perhaps my only complaint about this lounge are the thick, soft, carpets. They make it nearly impossible to drag a roll aboard around while inside the lounge. Besides that, this lounge is nearly perfect.
While there are several lounges in Hong Kong International to choose from, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you chose to skip this one.
