Review: Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge, London Heathrow
After almost two years, a slice of Hong Kong is back at London Heathrow Airport. Unfortunately, it's not regular flights to the region - thanks to their strict Zero Covid policy - but even more surprisingly the reopening of the Cathay Pacific Lounges at Terminal 3. This is strange timing because flights from the UK to Hong Kong are currently banned…but I am certainly not complaining at being able to visit.
Location
After exiting the duty free shopping maze following security, follow signs towards Gate 11 and Lounge C. You'll see the Qantas and Emirates lounges initially, turn left and just a minute later the Cathay Pacific Lounge will be in sight. Use the elevator to head up to the lounge.
Access
The Cathay Pacific First Class lounge can be accessed by passengers travelling in First Class on Cathay Pacific and their oneworld partner airlines. This includes passengers on British Airways and Qantas who, despite being directed to the respective airline lounges can still go to the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge. Passengers with oneworld Emerald status, which is equivalent to British Airways Gold or Finnair Platinum (or higher), are also able to enter the lounge.
Both the First Class and Business Class sections of the lounge are open for a remarkably long time but covers the primary bank of oneworld flights departing from Terminal 3. It can be accessed from 06h00 (07h30 on Sundays) to 17h30 daily. I could only see a handful of flights departing this terminal after 17h30 so I expect you will probably leave the lounge for your flight before being asked to leave.
No proof of negative test result or Covid vaccination pass is required to be admitted into the lounge - which differs to the policy of the Singapore Airlines Lounge in Terminal 2.
Why is it open?
Although nobody has proof as to the rationale behind the lounge opening, some contributors to this FlyerTalk forum advise that it is due to renovations at the American Airlines Lounge at Heathrow. Whenever a passenger from a partner airline visits the Cathay Pacific Lounge, the partner airline has to pay a fee for the admittance. As both Finnair and American Airlines have their logos displayed alongside Cathay Pacific outside the lounge, one would assume that they have arranged and contracted for Cathay to reopen it. This makes some sense due to the volume of non-JFK flights departing from this terminal alongside Finnair. Besides, it may bring in a small amount of revenue to an airline that still is operating at 2% of pre-pandemic passenger flying levels.
TOTH: Genius1 on FlyerTalk
Design, aesthetic and functionality
Both parts of the Cathay Pacific Lounge are serviced by the same entrance and reception meaning you will get the same experience here regardless of which portion you sit in. Quickly, the experience will change as you are transported into the Cathay First Class bubble at Heathrow.
The First Class Lounge is split into two distinct zones - traditional lounging area as well as Dining Room. Immediately after entering, you can't help but be impressed by the wall to ceiling near-panoramic views of the airport grounds. It's truly an avgeek's dream to be able to relax in a lounger watching the world go by and planes from carriers across the globe move around.
Accompanied by warm lighting, these seats which line the impressive windows are comfortable and well padded but the leather is looking a little worse for wear having been installed five years ago. The cleverly designed side tables include a pull out draw with UK plug sockets and USB ports to charge your devices. I managed to nab the corner seat where the two windows met which made for a great place to relax for a few hours.
Throughout the rest of this lounging area there are several semi-partition walls which help act as a method to reduce loud noise disseminating throughout the area - but which does not work particularly well. It also acts as a method to split out different seating types from the more relaxed sofas at one end of the lounge towards regular padded chairs as you go further down. You will be served extremely well in this lounge - and I'd be surprised if you struggle to find somewhere you can't get comfortable in.
Throughout the lounge there's stylistic touches including the signature gold lamps hanging from the ceiling and the addition of healthy looking greenery to add a touch of colour to an otherwise wood-focussed design.
The Dining Room
Alongside the primary lounge, there is a dedicated dining room for passengers to frequents - which is styled along the lines of a 1960s Hong Kong Café (Cha chaan teng). With hues of green and a continuation of the wooden accents - it creates a homely environment to enjoy some breakfast or dinner. I was pleased to see that this part of the lounge is ageing very well, unlike the aforementioned chairs, and I feel that this will be a timeless part of the experience - it looks as fresh as pictures from a number of years ago.
As for the food, I stayed in the lounge from 11am through to 3pm - yes a very long time indeed but this meant I could sample both the breakfast and à la carte dinner offerings. Firstly, note that breakfast is offered in the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge from opening to 11h30 with a combination of both Western and Asian options. Naturally being lovers of Chinese food, we opted for the Chinese-based breakfast options. The full menu can be found below:
The menu, I believe, has shrunk since the lounge was last open but it was still good to see a healthy combination of options to choose from. I had to try the Dan Dan Mian again having tried them at the Cathay Lounge in Hong Kong in late-2018 and it was as good as I had back then. Unlike the Qantas Lounge I visited earlier in the day (review coming soon), the food was piping hot and full of flavour which the Wonton Noodles were the perfect stomach warmer for a cold winter's day. I am personally not a big fan of congee but you can request for a basket of dim sum without it. The Dim Sum is not the highest quality around but is similar to quality you will find in Chinatown at your average restaurant - which for me meant I ordered several during this mealtime.
Conversely to the food menu, the drinks on offer seem extremely comprehensive when compared to offerings at British Airways. The signature Cathay Delight is still available and I was pleasantly surprised by its flavour combination of coconut milk, kiwi juice and mint - I wouldn't want more than one since it was pretty heavy to drink but was quite refreshing. Ginger Forest tasted akin to a mojito sans rum but with the added Ginger whilst the Orange Dream tasted like a watered down orange juice - nothing particularly special. I declined a coffee after being advised the barista machine, which is actually located in the Business Class Lounge, was not operable on this day.
Onto the à la carte dinner menu and again you will see a drop in the number of dishes compared to pre-pandemic. The Signature Noodles from Breakfast remain as do the popular Burger and Fish and Chips, but more speciality options have fallen off.
I am pleased to report however that the à la carte options from the main menu were excellent when compared to other lounges in operation at Heathrow. We opted for the following:
Yakitori Chicken Skewers - which remained moist and tasty.
Thai Green Chicken Curry - a mainstay of many airport lounges, with fresh ingredients but I feel that the sea bream would have been a better option.
Another Wonton Noodles - as I didn't get to try any of the Wonton first time round!
Fish and chips - pretty decent, not on a par with any seaside fish and chips experience but they were not too oily and it was clear the food hadn't been sitting around.
Beef Burger and Chunky Chips - a high quality patty with rich cheese and a nice added touch of having the salad on the side. One of the best burgers I've had for a long time!
Clearly after all that (which I did share!) I was pretty full and satisfied from the meal. Although I did top it off with a bit of Vanilla Ice Cream, which was not a specific dessert but the staff happily arranged. My partner opted for the Apple & Blackberry Crumble which I tried a spoonful of and I can heartily say it was akin to homemade - very authentic!
Self-serve drinks and food items
If that food wasn't enough, some self-serve offerings are available near the lounge entrance. When we arrived, this consisted of breakfast pastries and yoghurts whilst later in the day it changed towards slightly poor looking, dry spring rolls and average chicken wings. Both of these are certainly the poor cousins to the Dining Room offerings but could serve some people well who are in and out of the lounge quickly.
The self-serve drinks were available extensively at a bar towards the far end of the lounge. This consisted of the drinks on the menu above and listed Grand Cru Champagne - which retails for about GBP 30 a bottle. However, Laurent Perrier Champagne was the only one I could see available at the self-serve area which was tasty (I’m by no means an expert) and retails for about GBP 42.
Cocktails could be requested from the lounge staff or whilst in the Dining Room - but I will note the Mojito was pretty poor.
A wide selection of beers and soft drinks were also available for self-service.
More interesting to me was the beautiful selection of Jing Tea. Sure, not many people would be excited about that but they featured many different flavours which can set a relaxing mood prior to a flight. Definitely give these a go if you fancy something a little different - I recommend the Jasmine Silver Needle.
Bathrooms, showers and amenities
The bathrooms and showers are shared facilities between both the First and Business Class Lounges. Don't let that fool you though, these are top tier facilities with a continuation of the classy design - instead with more cool greys around the walls and gold accents on the fixtures and fittings. Although I didn't particularly need to take a shower, it was hot and with high pressure so you can get that clean feeling during a connecting journey.
Amenities have changed since my last time in a Cathay Pacific Lounge with the move from premium Australian brand Aesop to British lifestyle company Bamford. In the shower room a selection of Bamford products including:
Hand soap
Hand and body moisturiser
Facial mist
Cleansing toner
A sachet of face moisturiser
Although these are high quality, on balance I prefer the scent of the Aesop products - but I'm sure most guests won't feel hard done by with the new options. Standard issue amenities such as toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and cotton wool are also here. Before being admitted to the bathroom, the attendant will take note of your name and boarding pass number - which I assume is a leftover of busier periods when you may have needed to wait for a shower room. There is around 10 shower rooms in the shared area, each with a private toilet, and I had no wait during my visit.
The bathrooms continue the same theme, sans the additional Bamford products besides soap and moisturiser. Again the theme is more akin to an upmarket hotel and less like the hospital-esque plastic rooms in the British Airways Lounges at Heathrow.
Staff
This lounge was certainly different when compared to a frosty reception at Qantas. Before even seeing my oneworld Emerald status, I was warmly greeted by the reception staff and was shown towards the First Class area before having a small explanation of the lounge setup. The Dining Room staff were also attentive and quicky to respond to extra orders during both our sittings whilst the staff at the shower room reception were professional if a little impersonal. Overall, the staff at the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge were a credit to the company and I never felt a time when I was not being served improperly.
Odds and ends
During my four hour visit, there was definitely an ebb and flow of passengers but my guess was the lounge never exceed 20% capacity. Most guest coalesced around the window seating thanks to its impressive views which meant it felt busier when here whilst most seemed to not take advantage of the Dining Room. During this period, it was notable when there was a few American Airlines flights as the lounge would empty of most its guests when an announcement was called for passengers (which is something most premium lounges don't seem to do).
My only annoyance was probably with fellow passengers, particularly the loud brash men who felt a need to almost shout at their phones with the speaker on. This was pretty annoying and altered the atmosphere but thankfully they were in there for no more than 20 minutes.
Finally, and disappointingly, WiFi speeds were slow at just 3-4mbps up and down speeds. Although it is enough to get work done and take a video call, but don’t expect blisteringly fast connectivity.
Verdict
It is probably no secret, but the Cathay Pacific is hands down my favourite lounge at all of Heathrow Airport - and that is unlikely to change unless Terminal 4 and Qatar Airways' Premium Lounge opens any time soon. The food is a great combination of representing Hong Kong whilst attending to other palates and the ambience is generally very peaceful making an effective place to get work done stress free. There are improvements that could be made, noticeably the wear and tear on the popular window seats, as well as improving the coffee facilities - but these are minor when compared to the high quality lounge experience.
For an airline that is barely serving London, or anywhere, anymore it is great to see they've brought their A game to its reopening. I hope the lounge keeps its doors open even after the American Airline Lounge relaunches as this is a truly great experience. I just hope that one day soon I can get to experience the Hong Kong hospitality on Cathay Pacific aircraft, not just at the Heathrow lounge. If you are at Terminal 3 soon, head straight to the Cathay Pacific Lounge - you won't be disappointed.
