February 6
Cathay Pacific today announced the completion of their renovations to The Wing First Class Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport. I visited when renovations began in 2010 and offered a review in this post. They’ve certainly spruced things up by the looks of it.
First class, oneworld Emerald and Diamond Marco Polo guests are now greeted upon entry and treated to a drink at The Champagne Bar before heading into the main part of the lounge.
The Wing First Class Lounge Hong Kong
The furniture in the main seating area has been replaced (thankfully from the worn and tired offering when I visited), but do I see limited end tables and other laptop friendly fixtures?
The Wing First Class Lounge Hong Kong Seating
That could, of course, be negated by the generous amount of work desks and a separate business center I used during my visit in 2010, though I tend to enjoy staying put on a comfy chair or sofa. I wonder if power outlets have increased in the more loungy area?
The Haven – a first class buffet and dining area – has doubled in size, a noted improvement from my visit when tables filled to capacity rather quickly. And food options have reportedly improved with a reinvented à la carte menu complemented by recommended wine pairings.
The Haven Dining Area
Most improved by the looks of it is The Cabana – five individual rooms providing a shower, separate bathtub and day bed. I’m not certain if they’ve enclosed them fully as when I visited, the “back porch” where the day beds were previously located sat out on a communal area between the five. There were screens/walls stretching out into the rocky area separating each adjacent cabana (without fully enclosing them) and sound was an issue.
The Cabana at The Wing
Overall, it looks great and definitely more first class than the ANA Suite Lounge at Narita I reviewed yesterday.
Related posts:
Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific’s The Wing First Class Lounge Hong Kong
Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class Lounge Hong Kong
Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific’s The Arrival Lounge Hong Kong
It’s a short walk down a narrow corridor on the balcony level overlooking gate areas below and large windows facing the tarmac.
I was greeted pleasantly having surrendered my lounge invitation and was directed around the corner to the main seating area. Before making my way there I took a quick look into “The Library” immediately adjacent to reception. Only one person was in there at that time using one of the workstations, so was able to take a quick video of this relaxing section, which is included below. Then I passed the restrooms on the left and several walk-in cubbies with a vast selection of international newspapers and magazines to the right.
The main seating area had several mini sections with comfortable chairs and sofas, as well as six single-sided workstation units with plenty of seats, outlets and a computer & printer at one end. Waiters were abundant and constantly circling around asking for your beverage order.
Near the back of the lounge was another sectioned off seating area with leather chairs and side tables, and here is where you would normally be able to access the Level 7 Business Class section. It, however, is closed for renovations until early 2012, so I was unable to see Cathay’s unique The Noodle Bar and The Long Bar.
First Class passengers have access to The Haven, a buffet style restaurant, and The Cabanas, private bath, shower & relaxation suites. The restaurant was absolutely jam-packed and I waited a few minutes for them to clear off a table. It was so busy, in fact, that I felt too awkward to even snap a shot of the area with my iPhone. I did manage to take a picture of my meager food selections of a scrambled egg “boat,” some kind of processed meat (I really don’t know what it was) and watermelon.
Afterwards, I asked if a cabana was open and was directed to one of the eight total that are available. Each private room features a bathtub, separate shower room, toilet, sink area and backyard with a chaise lounge chair on one side and longer flat bench-style seating on the other. The backyard is semi-private meaning that all the other cabanas open onto the same long community row of rocks facing the frosted wall where you can see people’s silhouettes as they pass. Here, you could literally step out onto the rocks and walk the length of the cabanas if you wanted to be weird. I sat down for a bit in the chair, but a couple that had the two cabanas to my right were talking to each other constantly from their backyards so it was anything but relaxing sitting out there. I took some video and then went back to the main seating area to relax for a while.
While nice, this lounge has seen its better days and it is slated for a makeover early next year. I was hoping for something more like Lufthansa’s First Class lounge offerings in Frankfurt or Thai’s in Bangkok, but this lounge came nowhere close to that level of service and ambiance. I’d consider it more of an upgraded Business Class lounge, actually.
