While our flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur was only at 4:05PM, we arrived at the airport plenty early, as I was excited to check out Cathay Pacific’s new Pier First Class Lounge, which opened in June. While Cathay Pacific has another first class lounge, The Wing, I’ve heard nothing but stellar things about The Pier, so was excited to check it out.
We arrived at Hong Kong Airport’s gorgeous check-in hall at around 11AM.
Hong Kong Airport check-in hall
We headed to the first class check-in area. While we were only in business class to Kuala Lumpur (since there was no first class cabin), we could use the first class check-in area since I’m a oneworld Emerald member.
Hong Kong Airport Cathay Pacific first class check-in
It’s one of the uniquer check-in setups, as you basically stand across from a representative as they check you in, and then are sent on your way to security and immigration.
Hong Kong Airport Cathay Pacific first class check-in
While there are no priority queues for security or immigration, we were through in about 10 minutes, which was great. While The Wing First Class Lounge is located just past immigration to the left, this time we were headed to The Pier, which is located at the other end of the terminal.
The Pier is located between gates 61 and 63, so you’re best off taking the train to the far end of the terminal. There’s a train system within Terminal 1, though it only runs in one direction — you can take it from immigration to gates 40-80, but not the other way around.
Hong Kong Airport departures hall
The train runs every few minutes, and makes just one stop.
Hong Kong Airport train system
It lets off right where the terminal “forks,” right near The Bridge Business Class Lounge (which is also gorgeous). Then you just turn right towards gates 60-70.
Hong Kong Airport Terminal
About a third of the way down and to the left you’ll see the entrance to The Pier.
Walking towards The Pier First Class Lounge
The Pier First Class Lounge entrance
While The Wing is above the terminal and “open air,” The Pier is quite the opposite — it’s below the terminal and has substantially lower ceilings. There were two friendly associates at the bottom of the elevator who took our lounge invitations and welcomed us in.
The Pier First Class Lounge entrance
Before I review the lounge in too much detail, here’s Cathay Pacific’s promotional video about the lounge, with commentary by Cathay Pacific’s general manager of products:
I think he sums up this lounge perfectly. The design of The Pier is flawless… absolutely flawless. It feels residential with earthy tones and perhaps the most thoughtful design I’ve ever seen in a lounge.
As you enter the lounge there’s a long hallway which connects the various spaces in the lounge. Everything about the design is impressive, from the lit-up ceiling panels to the art dangling from the ceiling to the wood table to the “squiggly” couch to the plants throughout the lounge.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge entryway
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge entryway
The entire lounge, and in particular the entryway, feels like the entrance to the classiest imaginable condo building. It feels truly residential.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge entryway
On the left side of the lounge is the horseshoe-shaped bar, with high-top seating, and then more intimate areas to sit down and relax.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge bar
The room features several types of seating, from comfortable couches to stylish chairs.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge bar
I also love how the furniture arranged, allowing you to comfortably sit alone, in a group of three, four, six, etc.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge seating
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge seating
The seating design is one of the things which makes the lounge feel so residential. It’s not like other lounges, where the furniture is lined up in a single direction and feels more like a furniture warehouse. Rather it’s thoughtfully organized and not just intended to maximize lounge capacity.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge seating
Next to the bar area is another room with more seating, which perhaps is decorated a bit more like a yacht club, with warmer finishes.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge seating
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge seating
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge seating
Next to that room is an area with a selection of newspapers and magazines.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge newspapers
I can’t quite put my finger on what makes the decor of the lounge so great, but there’s something about the attention to detail and overall “residential” feeling which I love. I truly think this is the coziest lounge I’ve been to.
But it’s not just the general lounge area where you can hang out. The lounge also has about a dozen private rooms, called The Retreat.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge nap rooms
You can pull the curtain and have a totally private space overlooking the tarmac.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge nap room
The views are spectacular, especially if you’re an aviation geek.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge nap room view
If you prefer a bit more seclusion, you can lower the blinds.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge nap room
While this perhaps isn’t a place to sleep for eight hours, it’s a great place to relax, work from your laptop, take a short nap, etc.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge nap room
If you prefer to work in a more “formal” setting, there’s also a business center, which is one of the nicer ones I’ve seen in a lounge. Each station has an iMac and a comfortable office chair.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge business center
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge business center
While The Wing probably has my favorite showers of any lounge anywhere, this one isn’t far behind. The shower rooms feature Aesop amenities, and couldn’t feel “classier,” between the brass and marble finishes.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge shower rooms
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge shower rooms
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge shower rooms
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge shower rooms
The main restrooms are equally gorgeous.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge bathrooms
The relaxation doesn’t stop there. The lounge also offers complimentary 10 minute foot massages. You can select between a tonic foot massage and a foot soak with a hand treatment or neck, shoulder, and scalp massage.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge foot massage menu
If there’s not availability immediately they give you a buzzer, and then you’ll be alerted when they’re ready for you. When I was there the wait wasn’t too long.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge foot massage buzzer
While it’s not the hour-long full body massage you get in the Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok, it’s a really nice treatment which leaves you refreshed. The room in which you get a foot massage is a shared space, though there’s still some privacy between seats, and typically there’s at most one other person.
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge foot massage room
Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge foot massage
Now let’s talk a bit about the food & drinks in the lounge. There are Peninsula-trained servers roaming the lounge constantly, so regardless of where you sit you should be offered drinks.
The beverage and wine list read as follows:
There’s also a selection of signature cocktails:
I ordered a glass of the rose champagne and the specialty coffee, which was a chilled hazelnut grass jelly coffee. The coffee was out-of-this-world good.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge rose champagne & specialty coffee
If you’re looking to just have a light snack, the lounge has The Pantry, which is basically a self service area with snacks, drinks etc.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry
In the morning there was cereal, fruit, cake, muffins, etc.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry
As the day progressed the selection got even sweeter.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry
Then there was also a fridge with beer, soft drinks, water, yogurt, muesli, etc.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry drinks
There was an espresso machine and beer machine, along with a water filtration system for both still and sparkling water.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry espresso & beer machine
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry
Then there was a station where you could make a vodka mandarin, with Absolut Mandarin Vodka and mandarin juice.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry vodka mandarin
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge The Pantry vodka mandarin
If you’re looking for a more substantial dining option, there’s the Dining Room.
Cathay Pacific Pier First Class Lounge Dining Room
It’s gorgeous, and sort of feels like an old-school cigar bar meets yacht club in terms of the design.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room
You can sit at a table, or otherwise sit at the bar, where there’s also an espresso machine and the full selection of liquor.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room espresso machine
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room liquor selection
The Wing First Class Lounge also has a restaurant which has both a buffet and a limited a la carte menu. In the case of The Pier, you have a full a la carte menu without a buffet (which is my preference).
The a la carte menu read as follows:
We met some friends in the lounge, so were able to sample quite a few of the options. The selection was fantastic across the board.
For the starter I had the prawn salad, which was excellent.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room appetizer — prawn salad
My friends had the seared tuna and fragrant chicken.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room appetizer — black pepper seared tuna
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room appetizer — fragrant chicken
For the main course I had the salmon, which was crispy yet flavorful.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room main course — pan fried salmon
Ford had the burger, which he quite enjoyed, and another friend had the chicken clay pot, which looked good as well.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room main course — Angus beef burger
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room main course — clay pot chicken
For dessert Ford and I shared the crumble with ice cream, which was incredible (and a huge portion).
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room dessert — baked fruit with oat crumble
Our friends had the cheese board and mango sticky rice.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room dessert — cheese board
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room dessert — mango sticky rice
To finish off the meal I had a Hong Kong milk tea.
Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge Dining Room — Hong Kong style milk tea
At 3:20PM it was time to head to the departure gate for our flight to Kuala Lumpur, after an all too short stay in the lounge (even though it spanned several hours!).
Bottom line
I was expecting to be impressed by The Pier, but even with my high expectations I was blown away. What was so great about the lounge?
- The decor and sense of “home” — it’s tough to describe, but the lounge really brings the comforts of home to an airport; I really felt like I was in a super high-end home and not in an airport lounge, which is a feeling I don’t usually otherwise get, even in the world’s best lounges
- The Retreat — I loved these rooms for the privacy and the views; when you’re between long flights it’s nice to be able to pull a curtain and have some privacy
- The Dining Room — the a la carte menu in the lounge was fantastic, among the best meals I’ve had in a lounge
- The foot massages — while not the longest massage, they’re such a nice treat between flights
I far prefer this lounge to The Wing, and would even go out of my way to visit it in the future, even though it’s not that convenient if you’re leaving from the “lower” gates.
I actually also think this ranks among my five favorite lounges in the world — along with the Air France First Class Lounge Paris, Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt, Qantas First Class Lounge Sydney, and Thai Airways First Class Lounge & Spa Bangkok.
Kudos to Cathay Pacific on this spectacular lounge, which I find to be the most aesthetically pleasing out there. I can’t wait to return. This really cements The Pier on my list of best airline lounges in the world.
If you’ve visited Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class Lounge, what was your experience like?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.