Review: Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)

The Long Way to Abu Dhabi

More from this series:

• Introduction: The Long Way To Abu Dhabi
• The Unglamorous Reality Of My Review Trips
• Review: EVA Air Business Class Boeing 777 (IAH-TPE)
• Review: EVA Air Infinity Lounge Taipei Airport (TPE)
• Review: EVA Air Business Class Boeing 787 (TPE-HKG)
• Review: Regal Airport Hotel Hong Kong
• Review: Chase Sapphire Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
• Review: Cathay Pacific The Pier First Class Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
• Review: Cathay Pacific The Wing First Class Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
• Review: Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
• Review: Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
• Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class Airbus A350 (HKG-SIN)
• Review: Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore Airport (SIN)
• Review: Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge Singapore Airport (SIN)
• Review: Singapore Airlines First Class Boeing 777 (SIN-CGK)
• Review: Garuda Indonesia Lounge Jakarta Airport (CGK)
• Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Jakarta Airport (CGK)
• Review: Garuda Indonesia Business Class Boeing 777 (CGK-JED)
• Review: Aerotel Jeddah Airport, Saudi Arabia
• Review: Etihad Business Class Airbus A321 (JED-AUH)
• Review: Etihad Business Class Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
• Review: Etihad First Class Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
• Review: Pearl Lounge Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH)
• Review: Etihad First Class Airbus A380 (AUH-LHR)
• Review: British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow (LHR)
• Review: British Airways Galleries First Lounge London Heathrow (LHR)
• Review: British Airways First Class Airbus A380 (LHR-ORD)

During my long journey to Abu Dhabi, I had the chance to visit several lounges at Hong Kong Airport. In addition to checking out Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class Lounge and The Wing First Class Lounge, I also checked out The Pier Business Class Lounge, which I’ll be reviewing in this installment.

This is a spectacular business class lounge, among the best in the world. Much like its first class counterpart, The Pier Business Class Lounge has cozy yet luxurious decor, while offering all kinds of different zones, depending on whether you want to eat, drink, relax, etc. Let’s get into the review…

Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong location

Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge is located in Hong Kong Airport Terminal 1, near gate 65. The Hong Kong Airport airside terminal is in a “Y” shape. The terminal is first one long hall with gates on both sides, and then you can either go left or right.

To get to The Pier Business Class Lounge, you’ll need to go all the way down the main part of the terminal (you can walk with the moving sidewalks, or take the train — personally, I like to walk).

Then when you get to the end, turn right in the direction of gates 60-80.

Then walk a short distance, and on the left near gate 65, you’ll see an escalator leading down to The Pier Business Class Lounge (the entrance to The Pier First Class Lounge is near gate 63, and it’s easy to mix up the two).

When you get to the lower level where the lounge is located, you’ll be welcomed by a representative, who will scan you in with a portable device.

It’s worth noting that The Pier Business Class Lounge has a more remote location than The Wing — The Wing is located immediately past immigration and the central security checkpoint, while The Pier will require quite a bit of backtracking if you’re leaving from one of the lower gate numbers (particularly gates 1-12). As a result, I find that The Pier is consistently less busy than The Wing.

Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong hours

Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge is currently open daily from 5:30AM until 12:30AM, so that covers virtually all oneworld departures from the terminal.

Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong entry requirements

Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge is a standard oneworld Sapphire and oneworld business class lounge. In line with oneworld lounge access policies:

• The lounge can be accessed by oneworld Sapphire members traveling in any cabin on a oneworld flight
• The lounge can be accessed by any same day oneworld international business class passenger, not only on Cathay Pacific, but also on airline partners

Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong layout & seating

Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge is 3,300 square meters (35,500+ square feet), and can accommodate up to 550 guests at a time, so it’s the largest single lounge in Cathay Pacific’s network.

The Pier (both the first and business class section) has my favorite design of any lounge in the world, as it’s elegant yet comfortable, approachable, and warm. It feels more like being in a beautiful home rather than in an airport lounge.

The lounge is in a rectangular shape, and it’s a lot longer than it is wide. In terms of the flow of the lounge, there are two main walkways that span the length of the lounge — one walkway is near the windows, which is where most of the seating for lounging is, while the other walkway is down the more central part of the lounge, which takes you through all the food & beverage concepts. Let’s start with the part of the lounge near the windows.

Along the windows, you have endless seating arrangements, with everything from chairs with coffee tables, to chairs arranged in rows facing one another. This kind of seating spans a couple of rooms.

Then when you get to the very back of the lounge, you’ll see some cozy semi-private seats (with partitions on each side), as well as chairs with ottomans facing the windows, should you want to do some plane spotting.

Going back to the front of the lounge, if you walk down the other central walkway, you’ll find each of the distinct dining concepts. The first room has the main dining area, with several smaller cafe-style tables, as well as communal tables. The food here is largely available from behind a counter, but there’s also a smaller buffet.

The next zone is the bar area, which features a centerpiece bar, as well as a variety of seating that’s comfortable for relaxing or having a drink.

Next up is the noodle bar, with cooked to order dim sum and noodles. This area has booths, communal tables, and counter seating.

Last but not least is the tea room, which has an extensive tea selection, plus all kinds of sweet treats.

Then in the very back of the lounge, there are a couple of big couches, that typically seem to stay empty.

Immediately behind that is the relaxation area, featuring roughly a dozen chairs with ottomans. This won’t be a substitute for a real bed, but if you’re looking to relax, this is definitely where you’ll want to plop down.

What a gorgeously designed and functional space. I love how the lounge has several food and beverage concepts that are all spread out, while some other lounges put that all in one area, and then it becomes overly crowded.

Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong food & drinks

Let’s take a closer look at The Pier Business Class Lounge’s food and drink selection. In the first room is a counter with mostly Western options, including muesli, hardboiled eggs, salad, fruit, veggies, cheese, cold cuts, croissants, pastries, and more.

There’s also a small buffet selection with some eggs, sausage, and dim sum.

There’s a beverage area, with coffee machines, tea, soda, juice, water, beer, and more.

I wouldn’t recommend getting a coffee from the machine, though, but instead head over to the espresso cart in this area, where you can get a barista made coffee.

As mentioned above, the next dining area is the noodle bar, where you can get made-to-order dim sum or noodle soup. You can find the options below, but they’re extensive.

I figured I had to try something, so I had the chicken siu mai and vegetable dumplings, both of which were delicious.

Next up is the tea room, where you can choose from a selection of tea from JING.

There are also sweet treats here, including egg tarts, banana and chocolate cake, almond puffs, and more.

And then of course you have the bar area, where there’s a full selection of beer, wine, cocktails, barista coffee, and more. You certainly won’t go hungry or thirsty at The Pier Business Class Lounge.

Cathay Pacific The Pier Business Class Lounge Hong Kong bathrooms & showers

Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge has its main bathrooms in the very back of the lounge, and they’re beautifully appointed. The men’s room had a handful of sinks, stalls, and urinals, and they seemed to be constantly cleaned.

The Pier Business Class Lounge also has 14 shower suites. During peak times there might be a wait for a shower, given the number of people who potentially have access to the lounge, but during most hours you should be able to shower right away.

The shower suites are compact but nicely appointed, with a sink, a walk-in shower, a toilet, and products from Bamford.

The only thing I’d note is that the shower suites lack good ventilation, so the room can get quite warm if you take a long or hot shower.

Bottom line

Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge is one of the best business class lounges in the world. The lounge has beautiful decor, and a really thoughtful layout, whether you’re looking to relax, eat, or drink. I love how over half of the lounge’s space is dedicated to various food and beverage concepts, so you don’t have the same kind of crowding you’ll usually find in other airline lounges.

While The Pier First Class Lounge is quite a bit nicer than The Pier Business Class Lounge, this is an incredible business class lounge, and probably the best one in the world that oneworld Sapphire members have access to.

What’s your take on Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge?