Review: Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Hong Kong

Review: Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Hong Kong

NAME: The Deck
Airport: HKG
DATE: December 2019
REVIEW RATING:
BEN SAYS: Cathay Pacific is known for its incredible lounges, so by comparison this one isn't amazing
21


Since I had some extra time during my layover in Hong Kong, I decided I should check out at least one additional Cathay Pacific lounge.

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Hong Kong Review

Cathay Pacific has some exceptional lounges, and over the years I’ve visited most of their locations in Hong Kong. My favorites are their two first class lounges, The Pier and The Wing.

However, the airport also has some great business class lounges, the newest of which is The Deck, as it opened in early 2018. So, how good is this lounge?

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Location

The Deck Lounge is located near Gate 6. This is pretty close to the main security checkpoint, so if you’re originating in Hong Kong you’ll want to clear immigration, go down a level, and then hang right.

Signage towards the Deck Lounge Hong Kong

The lounge is located in the same general part of the terminal as the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge and the SkyTeam Lounge. When you’re near Gate 6 you’ll see the escalator to the lounge on the right.


Escalator to the Deck Lounge Hong Kong

The sleek exterior of the lounge is immediately at the top of the escalator, and then the entrance is just to the left.

Deck Lounge Hong Kong exterior


Deck Lounge Hong Kong entrance

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Hours

The Deck Lounge is open daily from 5:30AM until 12:30AM, so it’s open for virtually all oneworld departures from the airport.

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Access Requirements

The Deck Lounge is a standard oneworld business class lounge, meaning it’s open to all Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, and oneworld business class passengers, as well as oneworld Emerald & Sapphire members.

Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members can bring one guest traveling on a oneworld flight, while business class passengers aren’t allowed any guests.

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Layout & Seating

The Deck Lounge has seating for about 180 guests, and is 823 square meters, or about 9,000 square feet. As you might have guessed based on the name, much of the lounge is a “deck.” So while it’s not actual outdoor space, it does have views over the terminal.

The interior part of the lounge is small, and when I was there was crowded. Just inside the entrance is a small area with four seats.

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating

Then there’s a main room with maybe a dozen chairs and couches, which was tough to photograph since it was busy (and a couple of people were even trying to nap on the couches).


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating

My favorite “indoor” seating was the semi-private chairs with movable little desks, which are practical if you’re trying to work on your laptop. The lounge otherwise didn’t have a business center, so this is the closest thing you’ll find to that.


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating

Then towards the back of the lounge was an area with nearly two dozen booths, right next to the noodle bar.


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge noodle bar

A good portion of the lounge consisted of “outdoor” seating. While this area was nearly empty, I wasn’t very impressed:

  • Most of the chairs look nice but aren’t actually comfortable, and lack padding (like the ones in the pictures immediately below this)
  • Most of the seating didn’t have any power outlets nearby

For a lounge that opened in 2018, the lack of power outlets at most seats seems like a major oversight.

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating

Then there were some dining tables, as well as some communal tables with (still) not especially comfortable seating. While there were some outlets in this area, there still weren’t nearly enough.


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge seating

On the plus side, I did like the views both of the inside of the terminal, as well as of the apron in the distance.


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge view

The lounge’s bathrooms were nice, and there were also showers, though they were all occupied when I visited.

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge Food & Drinks

Cathay Pacific has pretty consistent catering across their business class lounges. The highlight of course is the noodle bar. I didn’t order anything this time around, but for a sense of what they have on offer, see my review of the Cathay Pacific Lounge Singapore.

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge noodle bar

Other than that the selection was kind of limited during my breakfast visit — there was yogurt, fruit, cold cuts, cheese, eggs, sausage, and veggies.


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge buffet


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge buffet

To drink there was self serve water, soft drinks, coffee, beer, and liquor. I didn’t see any wine and the liquor selection was limited, but that may have been a function of the time of day.


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge buffet


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge buffe


Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge buffet

Cathay Pacific Deck Lounge HKG Bottom Line

All around Cathay Pacific has excellent lounges, though the Deck Lounge Hong Kong wasn’t among my favorites. The lounge has a small inside area with a lack of comfortable seating (the limited couches and seats were mostly occupied), and while the outdoor seating looks nice, it’s mostly quite uncomfortable and lacks power outlets.

As far as food goes, Cathay’s noodle bar never disappoints, but otherwise the food selection isn’t anything to get excited about.

This is a perfectly fine lounge, but probably one of my least favorite “new style” Cathay Pacific lounge locations.

Conversations (21)
The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.
Type your response here.

If you'd like to participate in the discussion, please adhere to our commenting guidelines. Anyone can comment, and your email address will not be published. Register to save your unique username and earn special OMAAT reputation perks!

  1. Andy Guest

    While I agree with most of the sentiments here, we enjoyed our time at The Deck. The noodle bar was similar to other CX lounges, and the other food wasn't anything special. But the open balcony space was a nice place to grab a beer and work for a couple of hours. Even though it's indoors, it had a very open and airy feel.

    And it had the advantage of having sight lines to our...

    While I agree with most of the sentiments here, we enjoyed our time at The Deck. The noodle bar was similar to other CX lounges, and the other food wasn't anything special. But the open balcony space was a nice place to grab a beer and work for a couple of hours. Even though it's indoors, it had a very open and airy feel.

    And it had the advantage of having sight lines to our departure gate, so it was easy enough to just go downstairs when it was time to board our flight. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, but it's great if your gate is nearby.

  2. Ryan Guest

    Last time through HKG we went here before going to The Wing, which was closer to our gate. While this lounge isn't anything special, the wing was so insanely crowded that I'd much rather spend time at The Deck than deal with the massive crowds of the wing.

  3. Mike Guest

    You would think staff would deal with guests sleeping on the couches...

  4. JDS Guest

    @ Lisfranc

    While the TPG reviewer loved it, most comments are strongly disagreeing with him.

  5. David W Guest

    I was here last month and found it much quieter than the other business class lounges esp the one near gate 1 that is always having at night. I agree the "outdoor" area is a bit dull but it's a very consistent lounge overall and was a great place to eat and relax before a long flight to LGW.

  6. Thefoodguy1 Guest

    If you are flying out of the Cathay Dragon terminal this is the most convenient lounge, however right next door the Qantas lounge which is massive, hardly ever anyone there and the food and service is pretty decent. If you have One World status, I would suggest to stay away from the CX Deck and visit Qantas lounge next door for a better experience.

  7. Thefoodguy Guest

    If you are flying out of the Cathay Dragon terminal this is the most convenient lounge, however right next door the Qantas lounge which is massive, hardly ever anyone there and the food and service is pretty decent. If you have One World status, I would suggest to stay away from the CX Deck and visit Qantas lounge next door for a better experience.

  8. TLS Member

    The lounge is fine, but I agree, the other CX lounges are better. It's not in a convenient location either, unless you're flying from a nearby gate.
    Just one more, you also get into CX lounges as a Marco Polo silver member, but you're not allowed to bring any guests.

  9. Jr Guest

    @Lisfranc. Its called a different opinion.

  10. Leigh Diamond

    Tried out the Pier (F class) and Bridge (J class) on 2 separate trips last month.

    The Bridge buffet food offering and seating was okay, good but just okay, and it seemed crowded and buzzy, so I didn’t linger for more than a snack and went over to the the Pier...it was my first time in the Bridge, as the CX staff had previously told me to use the Pier lounge...and I can see...

    Tried out the Pier (F class) and Bridge (J class) on 2 separate trips last month.

    The Bridge buffet food offering and seating was okay, good but just okay, and it seemed crowded and buzzy, so I didn’t linger for more than a snack and went over to the the Pier...it was my first time in the Bridge, as the CX staff had previously told me to use the Pier lounge...and I can see why.

    While I don’t think the Pier worthy of over the top accolades, it’s certainly a classy and relaxing lounge. I have my favorite chairs, which are the green swivel seats at the windows in the bar section....very comfy, electric plugs and side table, so just swivel around to face the windows for privacy and watch the airplanes, work, etc...best seats in the house. Really great shower rooms at the Pier!! I also love my favorite seats so much, and have always been lucky to grab one on a visit, that I’ve never visited the dining room and it’s menu, other than to look at the decor and menu....so can’t comment on their offering.

    If in transit, if the security line at the main Gate 29 checkpoint is long (and it was huge on one visit last month), use the Gate 61 checkpoint (it’s not much more than a 7-10 min walk further). There were just 1 other pax using that checkpoint. The Gate 61 checkpoint is also convenient access to the Pier lounge located at Gate 63, and an easy walk to the Bridge lounge.

    When coming off an airplane, the arrival staff will always direct paxs towards Immigration and that transfer checkpoint...but I knew which transit checkpoints were more convenient for the lounge I wanted, so do your homework in advance - Gate 61 for Pier and Bridge lounges!!!

    Have never visited the Wing or Deck.

  11. glenn t Diamond

    Do I really want to stop off in a lounge resembling an upscale homeless shelter? NO!

  12. JDS Guest

    Transit, not transmit obviously.

  13. JDS Guest

    I'm transmitting HKG next month on CX. I think all being well I've have time for two lounges...think it'll be The Bridge and The Pier for me...

  14. Xtfer Guest

    I think you have to view this lounge in the context of the wider selection of lounge at HK. If you have plenty of time you can cruise off to a bigger lounge with all its amenities, this lounge is a nice stop off before you jump on a flight down that end of the terminal. It’s quiet, reasonably relaxed, and fine fire a short stop.

  15. Ivo Sio Guest

    The Chinese name of The Deck mean tiny.

  16. Lisfranc Guest

    @LYNC with a widely different opinion. TPG’s lackey thinks it’s the BEST J lounge at HKG!

  17. Eskimo Guest

    While others still praise the CX lounges in HKG, I think they aren't as good as they used to be few years ago. Mainly the food wasn't as good. Don't get me wrong, the amenities are still great, especially the F lounge retreat. I still hate that all 4 lounges have a different concept and design, not that CX is doing good job with design either. And call me ignorant but after many times flying...

    While others still praise the CX lounges in HKG, I think they aren't as good as they used to be few years ago. Mainly the food wasn't as good. Don't get me wrong, the amenities are still great, especially the F lounge retreat. I still hate that all 4 lounges have a different concept and design, not that CX is doing good job with design either. And call me ignorant but after many times flying through HKG, I know exactly where each lounge is but still can't remember each of their names. I also hate the locations of their lounges (probably not CX fault). Always had to backtrack to my gate, never once was the lounge on the way to my gate.

    CX lounge does sums up HK perfectly. Trying to look fancy outside but really a mess inside.

    @LNYC

    I guess CX and HKG is really cheap and easy to go these days, courtesy of dumb kids. I read somewhere a family redeemed 6 tickets on the same flight 2F + 4J, wow!!!!!

  18. LNYC Gold

    TPG has the same article.

  19. M Guest

    Those iron chairs with two thin cushions look stylish but don’t appear to be practical or comfortable.

  20. beyounged Guest

    To your contrary, I liked the Deck. With the noodle bar, the self-serve food selection really does not have to be extensive. And the dining seats are the place to be for working and eating. Any new style CX lounge is a good one. Still way ahead of many other lounges imho.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Andy Guest

While I agree with most of the sentiments here, we enjoyed our time at The Deck. The noodle bar was similar to other CX lounges, and the other food wasn't anything special. But the open balcony space was a nice place to grab a beer and work for a couple of hours. Even though it's indoors, it had a very open and airy feel. And it had the advantage of having sight lines to our departure gate, so it was easy enough to just go downstairs when it was time to board our flight. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, but it's great if your gate is nearby.

0
Ryan Guest

Last time through HKG we went here before going to The Wing, which was closer to our gate. While this lounge isn't anything special, the wing was so insanely crowded that I'd much rather spend time at The Deck than deal with the massive crowds of the wing.

0
Mike Guest

You would think staff would deal with guests sleeping on the couches...

0
Meet Ben Schlappig, OMAAT Founder
5,163,247 Miles Traveled

32,614,600 Words Written

35,045 Posts Published

Keep Exploring OMAAT