Hong Kong International Airport is a major Oneworld Hub and a lounge haven. I have specifically book a super long layover during my return from the US. Together with my early landing, I had close to 11 hours to kill in HKIA! Call me crazy, but my schedule was actually pretty packed. Earlier, I have shared about The Pier First Class Lounge in this series, this time around, I am headed to The Wing. This is the other flagship first class lounge in Hong Kong International Airport and in fact the older one, it is one of the two awesome First Class Lounges that Cathay have on ground! There is two entrance to The Wing, one located near Gate 1-4 while the other is on Level 7, just after clearing security, I was there bright and early, in fact it is not even bright yet, as it is only 6am.
Despite the early hours, there is a healthy amount of people in the lounges already, given the amount of premium passengers and elites. Furthermore, weather was bad, causing delays and passenger catering extra time to the airport. I was promptly attended to and my boarding pass checked. Since I had arrive on a First Class flight, I had access to the First Class portion despite connecting only to a Business Class flight on Cathay Dragon. Access is possible for Oneworld Emeralds and same day First Class passengers. I love that there are luggage storage facility in the lounge near both entrances, it just makes things so much easier, especially when I am travelling around the airport. Seeing that I am not really hungry yet, I took the opportunity to get some pictures early, since the lounge is much quieter now.
The first thing to do when you are in The Wing is to head to get a booking for a Cabana. It is super popular and you will definitely see so why later. Furthermore there are only 5 of them in the lounge and with the amount of people having access, it is rather exclusive! Sadly, despite me being here at this ungodly hour, there was already a wait. I was number 6 in line and given a buzzer. It turn out to be more than a 2 hours wait for one. If you are looking to just get a shower suite, they are much easier. I was certainly still full and just in need of a shower after being awake for 30 hours and spending most of them in a metal tube. Another highlight of The Wing are the classy Champagne Bar that boost views of the apron and the terminal. I certainly indulge in it. it is pretty awesome to sip some Champagne while admiring the planes on a comfy couch. Furthermore there are even 3 choices on offer.
The Champagne bar is another icon of The Wing lounge, it felt like a high class drinking lounge with lush seatings and a gorgeous little table top decked with champagne glasses, while I do not know if they rotate the offering. There was Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, Thienot Brut 2008 as well as Ayala Rose. Simply having Perrier-Jouët on a free flow mode is good enough! i love that the space is super airy and have lots of natural lights. I spend more of the time here waiting for my cabana. While there, I had a nice chat with a Chinese Canadian that was seated right behind me on our flight in. Both of us were waiting for a Cabana.
I finally got my Cabana after roughly about a 2 hours wait. The Cabana is super spacious and located in a quiet room. I was shown to my Cabana which is super huge, inside you can first find the toilet near the door, then there is also a wardrobe with a bathing robe as well as some hangers for your clothes. Full set of necessity items are provided as well, including slippers, dental kit, soap. Toiletries were by Jurlique. It is like a fancy hotel toilet.
You can also find a working desk as well as a large mirror. Play around with the different lighting settings as it is meant for you to work or rest as well.
Of course, the highlight of the Cabana is definitely the lush daybed as well as the awesome bathtub. It is definitely big enough for a couple. Nothing is better than a soak in some hot soapy water after flying for 20 hours. You also have a nice rainforest shower by the side. Sadly there is not any views in the Cabana. This is why it is worth the wait! You can also bring in your drink to the Cabana and I definitely never miss up this opportunity, I took my glass as well as a bottle of Perrier-Jouët in with me. How awesome does it sound, it felt like I am the king. I had a long comfy soak together with a glass or a bottle of Champagne by my side. I did nothing to deserve this!
Won’t it be perfect if there are some views of the apron or planes? That will surely up the AVgeek moment. They should have some one way mirror installed. Please credit me Cathay if you take up my idea. I love the water pressure in the Cabana as well as the temperature control. However the water does get out of the showering area since it is very much an open space. The air conditioning was also a little too cold in the room. Given that the Cabana is so popular and demand is way more than supply, why not Cathay save it for their own Marco Polo Membership or just Cathay Premium Customer.
Now, let’s go into the seating area of the lounge, there is a lot of seating arrangement, and different area in the lounge from high table top with a view of the planes and the terminal to the iconic Cathay Solas chairs. I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking. The main few chilling place are the Champagne Bar, Solas Chair near the Bar as well as the Pantry area with some light snacks.
Further in after the bar and some seating’s is the pantry area with mostly high top seating. This place offer some light snacks and refreshments since the main dining area is a restaurant area known as The Haven, I will come back to this later on. Everything look good and fresh, I even got some macarons here as well.
You can also find a tea corner where some loose tea from Jing are on offer. This place is also manned, so you can get some tea appreciation going on. There is also a real espresso machine and they coffee made by the bartender is awesome. I had a double macchiato to get me over the tiredness. Bottled Acqua Panna water are available from the staff. Look how gorgeous this is with a view and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. I love these high top seats!
The main dining area is known as The Haven. It is located to one side and super popular. I was right there for breakfast and even had to wait for quite a bit to get a table. I don’t think that the place is very nice since it is so dark and chaotic. The place serve up a to order menu, but there is also a small line inside to complement it as well. Here you can find some selection of Dimsum, fruits, salad bar. I love the Har Gao that is on offer.
Here is a look at the breakfast menu on offer.
I got the Chinese breakfast set, which was served pretty quickly, the food is good, especially the congee. Service was good but a little less attentive, perhaps due to it being operating at maximum capacity. I tried a Cathay Delight which was refreshing and comforting.
While I did not partake in lunch here, here is the menu. It is not as comprehensive as The Pier ones. Lunch is served after 11am.
The First Class section and the Business Class section is connected. This is different from the style in The Pier. The Business Class side is much larger and take up both floors. It consists of the famous Noodle Bar, Coffee Loft as well as the Long Bar, all of this are located on the second floor, same level as first class. I will point out that the buffet items are mostly rather similar in both business class and first class section. It does seems pretty crowded.
If I only have access to the Business Class side, I will rather head in more and choose to sit at the Coffee Loft or the Noodle Bar. In fact, I really love the Coffee Loft space. You can freshly brewed coffee from an actual espresso machine. In fact it is completely empty when I am here.
Dining is also awesome, notwithstanding the buffet line, you can also order made to cook bowls of noodles and dimsum at the Noodle Bar. The selection are pretty awesome! On the day that I am here there was Chicken Congee, 3 types of noodles including Wonton Mee and 4 types of dimsum. I believe it is from the same kitchen, so the quality should be there.
While the lower level just have more seating areas, business centre as well as a watered down buffet line as well. It does get pretty packed throughout both levels.
All in all, this is definitely worth coming early to try, I will make the extra effort to head to the airport and use it even in Business Class. The F&B offerings are pretty great. I do find that it does not varies much between First and Business in terms of food. Although the Cabana and Champagne Bar is definitely standout. I will definitely classify this lounge as the best for lazing and taking a shower, if not The Pier is better. As for Business Class, I think it is 3rd best out of the 4 J Class lounge that Cathay have!
Seeing The World In Steps 