Hong Kong and Bangkok – BA A380 First and CW, Cathay First and Premium Econ, W Hotels
Hong Kong and Bangkok – BA A380 First and CW, Cathay First and Premium Econ, W Hotels
December 2014 – January 2015 - matthandy
BA First, Tai O fishing village, Marvelous suite W Hotel Bangkok, Mo Man Temple Hong Kong
This Report Features The Following
Hong Kong
British Airways First Class (A380) London to Hong Kong including the Galleries First Lounge and the Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5
New Year's Eve fireworks in Wan Chai
Dragon's Back walking trail
Shek O Beach
Hong Kong Disney Land
Lantau Island and the Big Buddha
Tai O fishing village
Bangkok
Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong to Bangkok including the Wing F lounge
Marvellous Suite at the W Hotel Bangkok
Wat Arun
Cathay Pacific Premium Economy Bangkok to Hong Kong including the Cathay Pacific lounge and the Qantas lounge
Hong Kong (again)
Fantastic Suite at the W Hotel Hong Kong
Sheung Wan
Mo Man Temple, Central
Star Ferry Harbour Tour
The Hong Kong skyline
British Airways Club World (A380) including the Wing F lounge
Background
Welcome to my 28th trip report on Flyertalk!
A couple of months ago British Airways had a crash sale, two tickets in business class to most destinations around the world for £2014, an absolute bargain. Even better, for single travellers like me, it was possible to book one ticket for just £1007. I saw a thread about the sale on FT on my phone whilst waiting at the station in Munich on my way to the airport to head home. Excitement wasn't the word. I had planned time off between Christmas and the 12th of January so I decided to book almost the furthest possible distance that I could get. Hong Kong was attractive because it was on the A380, I've been several times before and I love it. Also, I had friends living there.
I originally booked to leave on the 1st of January, returning on the 9th (my membership year ends on the 9th) but after talking with my friends they were only available on the 3rd of January. I’d already booked the flights but I took advantage of the '24 hour cooling off period' and phoned up the Gold line and changed the flight to the 30th of December. That way I'd arrive in Hong Kong just in time for the New Year's celebrations.
Once I had the flights booked I chose my seats. As it was somewhat last minute I wasn't able to get the seat that I wanted, upper deck window on the A380 so settled for one of the middle seats upstairs.
BA Club World (upgraded to First Class) on the A380 – London to Hong Kong
On the day of the flight I was keen as mustard to get going. I'd been in London the previous evening, taking my sister to see Miss Saigon, which was excellent. After getting the train back home in the morning I finished packing and then jumped in the car to head to Heathrow. It normally takes about an hour to get to Terminal 5 from my home in Kent but this time around it was quicker as the traffic was good. I had to slow down as I got close to ensure that I didn't enter the car park earlier than my booking. I was two minutes over.
I parked the car and made my way to the First check in zone (a Gold card perk) located at the far south end of the terminal. No queues (there were at the Club desks) and I quickly had my bag tagged and checked in and boarding pass in hand. Security was fine, in fact the airport didn't seem very busy at all which I found surprising.
I made my way to Galleries First and found it to be reasonably empty, great. For those of you not familiar, Galleries First is for BA Gold card holders and Oneworld Emeralds. It's not actually the lounge for First class passengers, as this is the Concorde Room, opposite.
Personally, I really like Galleries First. I like the fact that the seating areas are well spaced and I actually prefer the terrace here than the Concorde Room. I think that the food and drink are pretty good, some people disagree, but I think that they are wrong 
. Judge for yourself.
Walking towards First check in
First class check in area
Decorations in the terminal
Galleries First terrace, in the early evening light
Seating on the terrace
The view – looking north
The view - looking east
The view - looking south
The first thing to be done after entering any lounge (after dropping off one's bag in a suitable spot) is to seek out Champagne. Easily done in Galleries First as there is a selection of three help yourself Champagnes on offer. I'm partial to a glass of Tattinger Rose so I went for that before heading back out to the terrace to browse the food menu.
Deciding to go for the burger I flagged down one of the staff that was clearing the tables and promptly ordered. I did also want to go and have a look at the buffet options too so I took my camera and had a quick wander around the lounge. Personally, I find the food pretty good. I despair when people call it 'slop'. Perhaps my standards are low, but I don't think so. There was a good selection and range of food available (it was around 4pm at the time) including a full selection of sandwiches and cakes for afternoon tea. Although not available this time around joints of meat are common in the buffet as well as pies which have been very good.
Back to the terrace to enjoy my burger. As it goes, it was great. The portion size was a little small but for lounge food it met my expectations.
After the burger I wanted to put my feet up so moved to a different set of seats and went to the buffet for some dessert before taking off my shoes and getting settled in. Unfortunately, a father who was out on the terrace with his 2 or 3 year old boy had other ideas. The father was having a very important phone call and seemed to not see that his child was running amok around him. I am reasonably tolerant, given that I have a young niece and nephew but after the second time that he ran up to me and took the spoon from my plate I was starting to get a bit annoyed. The father did come and shoo him away and apologised but it would have been better if he'd not ignored his son for the last 15 minutes.
Tattinger Rose on the terrace
My view
Wander around the lounge
The Gold bar
The work area
Coffee area
More seating
Wine selection
Wine and Champagne bar
Afternoon tea – sandwiches and cakes
Soup, cheese and cold meats
The salad bar
Hot food selection
Back on the terrace
Champagne
My burger arrives
Relaxing
Whilst I settled into watching a film on my iPad, sipping Champagne and eating cheesecake I checked the BA app on my phone to see if a gate had been announced. It had, but also to my surprise, my seat was showing as 4A, which is in First! Had I been upgraded? I almost spat out my Champagne and quickly jumped up to pay a visit to the customer services desk and enquired if I had indeed been upgraded. Yes, the lovely lady confirmed that I had been and printed a new boarding pass out for me. Fantastic!
I hastily returned to the terrace and collected up my belongings and made my way to the Concorde Room. As I exited Galleries First one the ladies on the desk said that I was going the wrong way. I suppose she thought that I was heading to the gate. I explained that I was heading across the corridor and she said that she hoped I enjoyed myself.
By this point, boarding was due to the start in about 30 minutes so I didn't really have time to make full use of the CCR. I did however take the opportunity for a glass of Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle which is a staple in the CCR and on board in First and I have to say is rather enjoyable.
The Concorde Room
More Champagne
A view of the CCR terrace – I actually prefer Galleries First
Overlooking the departures area
Up Next
My first experience of First on the A380 (in possibly the worst seat in the cabin!) plus the slightly disappointing tasting menu but a great breakfast.