Cathay Pacific Airways has two lounges at London's Heathrow Airport, one for first class passengers, and the other for business class, with the latter also welcoming Dragonair business class guests, Gold and above Marco Polo members and certain OneWorld members. After a hectic two week trip to London, Dublin, Manchester and Liverpool, and with an overnight flight to Hong Kong looming, its doors were a welcome sight. It was also convenient for my departure gate, and provided a haven away from the evening chaos at Heathrow; to stay it was busy was an understatement.
Location:
The Business Class Lounge is located on the central concourse of Terminal 3, in Lounge area C beyond the Duty Free area.
Facilities:
This is one of the smaller lounges of the airline so I am told, but you'd never know it from first impressions. It's a large, bright space divided into multiple areas, with stark white marble walls and a black marble floor in the welcome area, and friendly staff who check you in on arrival. Having visited Cathay's The Wing lounge in HK on another trip, I can see a resemblance in styling, with plenty of white walls, soft lighting, and arrangements of easy chairs in red, silver and grey arranged around blonde wood coffee tables. It's contemporary, refreshing, and modern with areas for relaxing and eating, and computer work stations if you really need to get something done. The entire lounge has high speed Wi-Fi internet throughout, however, so you don't have to miss out on making that Skype call home if you prefer to relax in another area. Other facilities include showers for freshening up, magazines and newspapers to read, and there are flat screen TVs distributed around on low volume if you want to catch the news.
With its various zones clearly marked, this lounge is easy for travellers to head for a spot to suit their needs. For me, as I didn't have a huge amount of time before my flight was due to be called, my laptop would remain in my carry on bag as I aimed to relax and grab something light to eat. Lunchtime was hours earlier with a friend, and the chilly London air was making me constantly hungry. Drinking and dining experiences were are you'd expect; top quality, and coming with plenty of choice, with both Asian and Western dishes at a self-serve buffet. There's also an on-demand noodle bar where your dish can be customised. I opted for some dim sum and a little salad, accompanied by a glass of French Champagne, enough to keep me going until I would eventually tuck into my business class dinner on board.
The Lowdown:
As soon as you arrive, even though you're in London and not Hong Kong, you know you’re in a CX lounge. The well presented staff greet you warmly into your haven at the airport, which is welcome even if only for 45 minutes before heading to the gate, and heading to Honkers overnight on a redeye flight. It's comfortable and stylish with a relaxed atmosphere, with everything you could possibly need to await your flight and escape the hustle and bustle of Heathrow.
This Cathay Pacific lounge review has now been fully updated.....click here to read the latest version.
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