djsflynn

They will, we've been told 1.5 hours to 2 hours. No bookings.

yoyo

my kid is waiting out side Pier now. Is it supposed to open now?

cxfan1960

Not when you posted - too early. Should be now.

yoyo

thx. She waited 10 minutes more and it opened I think she is the first visitor.

lenardl

Anyone here right now?

Lounge is quite nice

insideman

Thanks for the in depth review!

Fly Me To The Moon

I have been in the Pier First Class Lounge for two hour so far this evening (still here now, waiting to go to AKL). Got in at 5:00pm, and the Lounge was surprising quiet. Did not notice that many people here.

Went to take a shower first. The showers remind me a lot of the bathrooms in Park Hyatt Shanghai. Very nice decor and high-class. Aesop amenities abound: 500mL bottles of Hand Wash, Hand Balm, Body Wash, Shampoo, and Conditioner. 250mL bottles of Face Wash and Facial Toner. And a small "sample" pack of face cream. Surprisingly, no Body Balm. The towels are nice and fluffy. Water temperature and pressure are good. There is only one bench inside the room, which I was not sure whether it was for sitting on or as a luggage rack.

The day rooms are accessed via a corridor further behind the hallway with the showers. I haven't visited there yet. Will go there after finishing this post.

After my shower, had dinner at the Dining Room. The decor reminds me very much of the Steakhouse at InterContinental Hong Kong. Again, very elegant. There does not seem to be a buffet section here; everything is ordered a la carte. There were have a dozen starter options, two soups, half dozen mains, and four desserts. I ended up having (1) Vietnamese glass noodle salad with prawns; (2) clear vegetable soup; (3) angus beef burger; (4) panna cotta with passion fruit jelly and lemon sorbet.

Walked around for a few minutes, and noticed that there is a Pantry with a buffet selection of sandwiches, salads, and drinks.

The bar and open seating area are VERY NICE and elegant. Haven't spent any time there yet.

I used to dread having gate assignments in the 60's, but now I am looking forward to it. The Pier First Class Lounge beats the same at the Wing hands down.

iluvdoco

Thanks for your thoughts!

2 questions:

1) How is the shower stall design? Does water splash onto the floor outside like in the Wing cabanas and CX Arrival shower suites?

2) How is the a la carte food? Is it still being catered by The Peninsula? I found both the buffet and a la carte food at The Haven in the Wing lounge to be terribly disappointing.

TheDell

I spent about two hours at the Pier First Class Lounge this afternoon. I didn't use the showers or the day rooms, but I ate at the restaurant and sat in the main lounge.

The food at the restaurant was very good indeed. I ordered the Conpoy Soup (with prawn toasts), Roasted Pork Cheek with Egg Fried Rice and Mango Rice Pudding. They were of restaurant quality and, for those who have been, on par with the offerings at the Qantas First Class Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne. It was all a la carte and no buffet option was available. It took me about 40 minutes to finish the meal.

The service was much better than the Wing First Class Lounge. A waiter handed me the menu as soon as I sat down and asked what I would like to drink. When I was ready, he took my order for the appetiser and main course. The drink arrived after about two minutes and the soup arrived after about 8 minutes. As soon as I had finished the soup, the empty bowl got taken away. The main course arrived soon afterwards and, again, as soon as I had finished it, the empty plate got taken away. I was then presented with the menu again to choose the dessert.

The restaurant could probably sit around 100 but there were only about 12 to 15 people there. I suspect it will be a challenge to maintain this level of quality of food and service when news starts to spread and it gets busy.

The main lounge was very quiet and relaxing and most people had an entire "section" (a coffee table surrounded by four or five sofas and comfy chairs) to themselves. The food and drink at the pantry (beer, soft drinks, juices, bread, salads, fruit tarts, a tray of green apples, cheese, various cold meat, fruit salads and desserts in little jars) were not as impressive as those at the restaurant but still of better quality than those at the Wing First Class Lounge.

If only they would stop making those almost non-stop flight delay / boarding announcements in three languages!

Fly Me To The Moon

Shower stall design has a glass door which prevents any water from splashing out. Showerhead is either handheld or overhead rain shower.

A la carte food has already been commented on by above poster. I fully agree.

I did end up going to the day rooms (didn't notice anyone else there since all the curtains were open). I had my choice of any of the rooms. Stayed there for 20 minutes and had go get out. It was freezing. I did not see anyway to adjust the temperature of the individual cubicles. The aircon was on full blast and the vent is right above the bed section, so if you sleep or lie down there, you will get the full wind right on your face and shoulders.

jackrussellterrier

Thanks for the feedback. Sounds impressive. Am I right in thinking that another company is managing the catering and service rather than the Peninsula? If so it sounds a good move as the staff at the Wing are very hit and miss.

TheDell

I didn't ask but I am sure I had seen the manager of the restaurant somewhere - possibly at the old Pier First Class Lounge - before. Also, one of the Champagnes on offer was the Peninsula Brut Champagne NV. The chances are it is the same company.

jamienbaker

Novice question: is there any consistency to which gates flights to SIN usually depart? I've got a 1:30 connection coming from JFK this summer and would love to visit the F Pier, but not if it requires going far out of my way.

Heading home from HKG, flights to the USA are always low-number gates so I usually just bounce between QF and the F Wing.

Jamie

jackrussellterrier

As someone who flies HKG -SIN and vv regularly I would say there is absolutely no consistency. And I agree with you. I'll be through again on July 4th and if my arrival and departure is at the low gates I'll wait to sample the Pier. It deserves a proper appreciation I think

1010101

I dont know...as someone who also flies it v regularly i would say there absolutely is consistency. Think of the furthest gate you can, and you will be flying from it. I seem to spend most of my life walking to Gate 70 and back

In general the 777s tend to get the low gates, whilst the A330s go down the far end, in my experience.