The Wing and Pier - Cathay Lounges in HKG

Flying into Hong Kong in Cathay first granted me access to their first class lounges upon arrival.  I made a stop at both the Wing and the Pier; two separate lounges located on either end of the airport.  Even being delayed, I still had 5 hours to kill before my flight to Cairns.  I stopped by the Wing first and then planned to spend most of my time at the Pier.

The Wing, while nice, was a bit disappointing.  For as hyped up as this lounge is, to me it felt almost sterile and just like many other airport lounges.  Don't get me wrong, it was a nice lounge but perhaps my expectations were a bit high based on what I'd heard.  There was a nice spread of food and booze, but to me it lacked any character.  I also didn't like how it was situated.  Its basically on the floor above the terminal and its not enclosed, so you could peer over the edge and look down on the gates below, which was kinda neat, but to me made it feel like just another part of the bustling airport, and not really a special or relaxing place.  Sorry, call me as snob. That was my read!  I didn't spend much time there, but did snap a few photos.

Below is the dining area next to the buffet followed by the main seating areas:

There is also a full bar and a separate champagne bar.  I do think the champagne bar seating was pretty nice, but no one was using it.  Again, I feel like the look they were going for would go better in an enclosed room with soft lighting, not over looking the entire airport.

There was a full buffet spread and also a private dining room.  Though I'd already decided I was going to do my dining in the Pier, so I just snapped a couple quick photos of the buffet:

To be fair, the Wing also has a few other nooks and nice private showers and cabanas where you can take a full bath.  Though I'd seen enough and went for a walk across the airport to the Pier.  Of course I took some photos of airplanes along the way.  There really were so many different aircraft from all over the world to check out!

Yay planes!

Can you tell I'm excited?  Haha.  So after about a 15 minute walk I entered the Pier.  Very different vibe here.  The lounge is completely enclosed and feels so much more calm and peaceful.  I've read this in other places, but I really think its a good descriptor to say that it feels like a nicely furnished home as opposed to an airline lounge.  There are lots of nice little touches throughout that aren't really all that functional, but they add to the ambiance:

There are several comfortable seating areas, here's an example of one.  If you look closely you can see a little cocktail table set up just above the lamp in the lower left:

There is also a full bar as well as some buffet dining:

Though I had my meal in the sit down dining room. Unlike the AA Flagship Lounge at JFK, this dining option was open to all guests of the lounge and as you can see a lot more people were using it, though it wasn't crowded:

I loved the look of the dining room.  It reminded me of a classy restaurant you'd find in downtown DC or anywhere really.  Below is copy of the menu and my selections.  I decided to try two starters.  I went with the duck breast and the wild mushroom dumpling, oh and a glass of champagne.

Here are a few more shots of the swanky restrooms and some workstation cubicles.

There are also private showers as well as secluded day suites where you can nap on a little day bed.  All in all I was very impressed with this lounge.  Certainly preferred it to The Wing.

Ok, enough with the airplanes and the airport lounges, my next post will be about some of the sights of Cairns!