Round the World in F (EY A380 F, QR A380 F, CX F)
Dec 23, 2015, 11:17 am
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, mid-tier with pretty much everyone else
Posts: 873
(select images here, full images at http://andystravelblog.boardingarea....c-pier-review/)
Cathay Pacific has long been known for some wonderful lounges at Hong Kong International Airport. They have nice amenities, lots of amazing food, and creatively-designed spaces. The Wing, a First Class Lounge, has long been considered one of the aspirational lounges in the world, mainly for its private cabanas (which are great). Recently, though, Cathay Pacific re-opened the First Class side of The Pier (Business Class will follow in 2016). I’d read great things so decided to pay it a visit for a Cathay Pacific Pier review!
The lounge is located at Gate 63 at HKG. If you’re using the First Class check-in area, you should take the quick train ride over to the 60-80 gates. Like many of the lounges at HKG, there’s signage at the gate level and the actual lounge is below (you can either take an escalator or elevator).
I saw the wood-paneled logo behind the check-in desk and realized that this lounge was going to have a completely different feel to it than The Wing.
After the check-in desk I found myself in a long, carpeted hallway with enormous wooden tables (with cool light fixtures) and a serpentine couch. The marble walls complemented the carpet and decor very well.
The services available in The Pier are pretty solid: foot massages, private day rooms (with exclusive views of the tarmac), and a fantastic dining room with catering by The Peninsula hotel group, just like at The Wing.
I went over to the foot massage area, having never had an actual foot massage before.
I was handed a pager and hung around the lounge for a bit before being called into the foot massage area.
There were four or five different foot massage booths available during the crowded times, but that day I think there was only masseuse (the lounge wasn’t too busy).
The foot massage was…interesting. She used a little wooden block to really dig into my actual bones my feet and work out soreness or stress or something. She alternated between a little bit of pressure and WHOA PRESSURE I CAN’T ACTUALLY SEE ANYTHING BUT STARS RIGHT NOW and kind of giggled when I said ow. I will say, though, that at the end of the massage my feet felt great.
I made my way towards the dining room but first stopped at The Pantry, which had some coolers of soft drinks and beer then a big table full of myriad fruits, pastries, and desserts.
From the Pantry I made my over to the Dining Room, which was beautifully decorated in wood paneling and dark green leather seating. It almost seemed like a 1970’s smoker’s lounge but it totally worked. Everything was on theme and very tasteful, not gaudy at all (kind of like the comparison I made between the Qatar A380 First Class and Etihad/Emirates and their showers on the A380s).
I had a glass of champagne with my lunch and a small meal of a beautiful salmon dish and a chocolate mousse and cream dessert.
After I ate, I walked down the long hallway again to the other side of the lounge where they had the main bar area along with a wide variety and style of seating areas. The seating areas weren’t designed to cram as many people as possible into a space but be comfortable for small groups. (I didn’t get any great pictures of this space, I’m planning a return visit though so don’t worry)
This place is amazing
If you’re traveling in First Class or are a Oneworld Emerald, you need to visit this lounge. It’s one of the best lounges in the world. I’m going back soon and look forward to checking out the day rooms and getting some better pictures of the main seating areas, but honestly I actually want to contact Cathay and be able to bring in a tripod and some lighting gear, few lounges make me want to do that! I could’ve stayed and just shot detail images for days.
Cathay Pacific has long been known for some wonderful lounges at Hong Kong International Airport. They have nice amenities, lots of amazing food, and creatively-designed spaces. The Wing, a First Class Lounge, has long been considered one of the aspirational lounges in the world, mainly for its private cabanas (which are great). Recently, though, Cathay Pacific re-opened the First Class side of The Pier (Business Class will follow in 2016). I’d read great things so decided to pay it a visit for a Cathay Pacific Pier review!
The lounge is located at Gate 63 at HKG. If you’re using the First Class check-in area, you should take the quick train ride over to the 60-80 gates. Like many of the lounges at HKG, there’s signage at the gate level and the actual lounge is below (you can either take an escalator or elevator).
I saw the wood-paneled logo behind the check-in desk and realized that this lounge was going to have a completely different feel to it than The Wing.
After the check-in desk I found myself in a long, carpeted hallway with enormous wooden tables (with cool light fixtures) and a serpentine couch. The marble walls complemented the carpet and decor very well.
The services available in The Pier are pretty solid: foot massages, private day rooms (with exclusive views of the tarmac), and a fantastic dining room with catering by The Peninsula hotel group, just like at The Wing.
I went over to the foot massage area, having never had an actual foot massage before.
I was handed a pager and hung around the lounge for a bit before being called into the foot massage area.
There were four or five different foot massage booths available during the crowded times, but that day I think there was only masseuse (the lounge wasn’t too busy).
The foot massage was…interesting. She used a little wooden block to really dig into my actual bones my feet and work out soreness or stress or something. She alternated between a little bit of pressure and WHOA PRESSURE I CAN’T ACTUALLY SEE ANYTHING BUT STARS RIGHT NOW and kind of giggled when I said ow. I will say, though, that at the end of the massage my feet felt great.
I made my way towards the dining room but first stopped at The Pantry, which had some coolers of soft drinks and beer then a big table full of myriad fruits, pastries, and desserts.
From the Pantry I made my over to the Dining Room, which was beautifully decorated in wood paneling and dark green leather seating. It almost seemed like a 1970’s smoker’s lounge but it totally worked. Everything was on theme and very tasteful, not gaudy at all (kind of like the comparison I made between the Qatar A380 First Class and Etihad/Emirates and their showers on the A380s).
I had a glass of champagne with my lunch and a small meal of a beautiful salmon dish and a chocolate mousse and cream dessert.
After I ate, I walked down the long hallway again to the other side of the lounge where they had the main bar area along with a wide variety and style of seating areas. The seating areas weren’t designed to cram as many people as possible into a space but be comfortable for small groups. (I didn’t get any great pictures of this space, I’m planning a return visit though so don’t worry)
This place is amazing
If you’re traveling in First Class or are a Oneworld Emerald, you need to visit this lounge. It’s one of the best lounges in the world. I’m going back soon and look forward to checking out the day rooms and getting some better pictures of the main seating areas, but honestly I actually want to contact Cathay and be able to bring in a tripod and some lighting gear, few lounges make me want to do that! I could’ve stayed and just shot detail images for days.
Last edited by bthotugigem05; Dec 26, 2015 at 10:14 pm
Dec 23, 2015, 3:36 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, mid-tier with pretty much everyone else
Posts: 873
If you have the time to enjoy it then yes. The Wing is close to most of the US-bound CX gates so it's still convenient if that's where you're heading.
The concepts are completely different but I like The Pier because it doesn't even feel like you're in an airport until you look out the window at the tarmac.
The concepts are completely different but I like The Pier because it doesn't even feel like you're in an airport until you look out the window at the tarmac.
Dec 25, 2015, 6:56 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, mid-tier with pretty much everyone else
Posts: 873
(assortment of pictures available here, the rest available at http://andystravelblog.boardingarea....-dhabi-review/)
I arrived at AUH from my incredible flight on Etihad’s A380 in their First Class Apartments in a mental fog of jetlag, having not slept too much on either of my flights so far. During the Etihad flight I used the inflight internet to make a booking at the St. Regis Abu Dhabi, as I found the cash rate to be very reasonable for such a nice property (220 USD). How did I pick the St. Regis? Well, I had heard their hotels were nice. That was my thought process. So how about a St. Regis Abu Dhabi review?
Due to the way I booked my ticket I technically had a layover in Abu Dhabi so I wasn’t eligible for Etihad’s chauffeur service, a huge bummer. I made my way into the warm Middle East night and hopped in a cab, which made its way down the empty roads towards the St. Regis. (a note: there are two St. Regis properties in Abu Dhabi, this is not the one on Saadiyat Island, rather the one on the Corniche) We pulled up to an immense entryway and I walked into the most amazing foyer I have ever seen.
The columns buttressing the staircases had to be three or four stories tall. Everything in the foyer was enormous and incredibly regal. It had the “let’s make it even bigger and better” element common to the UAE but everything was incredibly tasteful. You’ll also notice there’s a lot of symmetry (with the exception of the chandeliers), common in Islamic architecture. I was escorted over to the beautiful check-in area, also adorned in marble and decadent furnishings.
I was quickly checked in and informed that they were happy to be able to upgrade me to a suite! I love taking pictures of great hotel rooms and had a feeling the suite here would not disappoint.
I was correct.
The Suite
I was in room 3808, a Grand Deluxe Suite. I opened the door, walked in, and my jaw dropped.
The view was perfect and the room was wonderful. It felt bigger than its 700 square feet. I kept looking around.
The view from the sitting area looking back at the Corniche was absolutely amazing. I kept looking around but knew instantly that I’d want to set up my camera for a timelapse as the sun rose the next morning.
The welcome gift from SPG was a bowl of fruit and some chocolates.
It was then I noticed the impressive and elegant chandelier over my bed.
The restroom was of equal opulence and I was sure to get a picture of the standalone tub with the view of Breakwater Island the next morning before I left.
I thought about getting some sleep but wasn’t tired so I went back down to the lobby area to get some more pictures of the incredible space.
The Property
Even walking to the elevator was beautiful!
The elevator landing area was gorgeous as well, gorgeous enough even to make up for the weird looks I got from a couple who were kinda creeped out that I had a tripod set up to take a picture of an elevator landing area
I went back down to the main foyer area to try and better capture the enormity of the space.
Walking up the stairs to the terrace gave me an even grander sense for how large the space truly was.
I went back downstairs and found a side room off the main foyer. Even the side room was one of the most amazing spaces I’ve seen!
I want to go back
I didn’t stay at the hotel for very long, in fact I could’ve just slept for a bit at the airport. But sleeping in a beautiful bed at a beautiful property was worth the hassle of taking a taxi into town. I want to come back to Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque and revisit this amazing place. If you’re in the area, at least stop by just to see the foyer!
I arrived at AUH from my incredible flight on Etihad’s A380 in their First Class Apartments in a mental fog of jetlag, having not slept too much on either of my flights so far. During the Etihad flight I used the inflight internet to make a booking at the St. Regis Abu Dhabi, as I found the cash rate to be very reasonable for such a nice property (220 USD). How did I pick the St. Regis? Well, I had heard their hotels were nice. That was my thought process. So how about a St. Regis Abu Dhabi review?
Due to the way I booked my ticket I technically had a layover in Abu Dhabi so I wasn’t eligible for Etihad’s chauffeur service, a huge bummer. I made my way into the warm Middle East night and hopped in a cab, which made its way down the empty roads towards the St. Regis. (a note: there are two St. Regis properties in Abu Dhabi, this is not the one on Saadiyat Island, rather the one on the Corniche) We pulled up to an immense entryway and I walked into the most amazing foyer I have ever seen.
The columns buttressing the staircases had to be three or four stories tall. Everything in the foyer was enormous and incredibly regal. It had the “let’s make it even bigger and better” element common to the UAE but everything was incredibly tasteful. You’ll also notice there’s a lot of symmetry (with the exception of the chandeliers), common in Islamic architecture. I was escorted over to the beautiful check-in area, also adorned in marble and decadent furnishings.
I was quickly checked in and informed that they were happy to be able to upgrade me to a suite! I love taking pictures of great hotel rooms and had a feeling the suite here would not disappoint.
I was correct.
The Suite
I was in room 3808, a Grand Deluxe Suite. I opened the door, walked in, and my jaw dropped.
The view was perfect and the room was wonderful. It felt bigger than its 700 square feet. I kept looking around.
The view from the sitting area looking back at the Corniche was absolutely amazing. I kept looking around but knew instantly that I’d want to set up my camera for a timelapse as the sun rose the next morning.
The welcome gift from SPG was a bowl of fruit and some chocolates.
It was then I noticed the impressive and elegant chandelier over my bed.
The restroom was of equal opulence and I was sure to get a picture of the standalone tub with the view of Breakwater Island the next morning before I left.
I thought about getting some sleep but wasn’t tired so I went back down to the lobby area to get some more pictures of the incredible space.
The Property
Even walking to the elevator was beautiful!
The elevator landing area was gorgeous as well, gorgeous enough even to make up for the weird looks I got from a couple who were kinda creeped out that I had a tripod set up to take a picture of an elevator landing area
I went back down to the main foyer area to try and better capture the enormity of the space.
Walking up the stairs to the terrace gave me an even grander sense for how large the space truly was.
I went back downstairs and found a side room off the main foyer. Even the side room was one of the most amazing spaces I’ve seen!
I want to go back
I didn’t stay at the hotel for very long, in fact I could’ve just slept for a bit at the airport. But sleeping in a beautiful bed at a beautiful property was worth the hassle of taking a taxi into town. I want to come back to Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque and revisit this amazing place. If you’re in the area, at least stop by just to see the foyer!
Dec 26, 2015, 10:24 pm
#22
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, mid-tier with pretty much everyone else
Posts: 873
select images available here, the rest are at http://andystravelblog.boardingarea....c-first-class/
Why This Trip Had to End with Cathay Pacific First Class
I decided to conclude my epic and sudden Round the World trip with Cathay Pacific. With the AAdvantage award chart changes and some other potential pretty big life changes (more news to come…maybe), this may be the last international First Class trip I take for a while, so Cathay Pacific First Class it is!
I like things coming to logical conclusions with great beginning and endings.
My first ever international First Class trip was with Cathay Pacific on my way to Vietnam in 2012 so it made logical sense to wrap this period up with them as well. For fun I decided to only shoot with a different lens for this flight. Most of my plane shots are with a 16-35mm wide angle, which is amazing for taking pictures of tight spaces. The 55mm is the sharpest lens I own and I thought it’d be great for some more detail shots than I typically take.
I’ve covered Cathay pretty thoroughly in other posts (here, here, and here), so I won’t retread too much.
Today’s Flight
I really wanted to relax and enjoy this flight instead of going crazy on the pictures, although it ended up being a mega-turbulent flight. Despite 150,000 miles in the air this year I’m very much a nervous flyer so this particular flight was immensely stressful for me. Credit to Cathay and a great staff for making sure my drink was never too empty to help with my nervousness.
Anyway, after I left an amazing visit to The Pier I did the long walk back towards the US gates (gates 1-4). Above the US gates is The Wing, so I stopped by for a glass of champagne once I saw we weren’t even going through the US security War On Water precheck yet.
Eventually I saw them start lining people up for our flight to go through the security theater the US requires. I made it through with ease and then waited for boarding.
After a slight delay we were invited to board and I got to make the most amazing of left turns once again into my favorite First Class cabin. There’s just something about it that is so simple yet refined. There are only six seats so you get plenty of attention. Here’s a picture from a previous post.
This was the first time I was not sitting in a window seat, but my seat was perfectly fine.
While my flight attendant was pouring a glass of Krug for me (yes!) I fell into conversation with a very nice couple who followed some fellow miles and points bloggers. He had noticed me taking pictures of everything so he asked if I blogged as well and he even was kind enough to act like he had heard of my blog before! I value experiences and conversations more than posts and pictures so I put the camera down for a while and chatted with my new friends from San Diego. They were having a blast on their trip and I hope they see this post! It was great talking to you!
We eventually began our taxi and were in the air before too long.
The flight attendant came by and informed me that the pilots warned them about some choppy air once we approached Tokyo, so any hot drinks would need to be served before then, which gave us a few hours to complete the dinner service. My heart kind of sank when I heard that news, although I’m used to air being turbulent around Tokyo. Anyway, I soldiered on and focused on trying to take some great pictures of the meal service.
We started with a refill of my champagne glass.
This was served with a caviar starter that was both familiar and wonderful.
After caviar I was presented with a simple salad that had a nice bread pairing with it.
I skipped the soup this time and ordered the steak for my main entree. Long-time readers know I have a love-hate relationship with airplane steak, but Cathay has always done a pretty good job. Well, I’m happy to report they cooked it wonderfully!
It tasted great! I was so happy. Then, the announcement came that we were approaching turbulence and the flight attendants needed to take their seats. Eek. However, my flight attendants were great and snuck me my dessert on their way to their seats.
The next hour or two alternated between Really Turbulent and Worryingly Turbulent. In reality there was nothing to worry about and finally I just was annoyed by the turbulence instead of being afraid of it (which was actually a really massive step for me).
Eventually everything settled down enough for the flight attendants to come by and make my bed so I could try to sleep.
The turbulence that was “over Tokyo” actually ended up being over “the entire Pacific ocean” and it didn’t really settle down until we were about 2 hours away from LAX. I did get some sleep though, so that was good.
My breakfast table was set and I started with some croissants and apple juice.
Cathay Pacific makes wonderful eggs, so I had some of those as well as some sausage and bacon as our flight wrapped up.
Wrapping up the flight portion of this trip report, I can look back to one month ago (my departure date for the first flight of this trip) and be nothing but incredibly grateful. Not just for the flights that I got to take, but all the flights I enjoyed taking to earn the miles sufficient to book these flights.
I know it’s easy to want to compare these First Class flights, but I’d encourage you to take them all! Each company does it a bit differently and it’s fun to experience the best of each airline. I’m not sure when I’ll be flying First again but I imagine it just might be on Cathay when I do!
Why This Trip Had to End with Cathay Pacific First Class
I decided to conclude my epic and sudden Round the World trip with Cathay Pacific. With the AAdvantage award chart changes and some other potential pretty big life changes (more news to come…maybe), this may be the last international First Class trip I take for a while, so Cathay Pacific First Class it is!
I like things coming to logical conclusions with great beginning and endings.
My first ever international First Class trip was with Cathay Pacific on my way to Vietnam in 2012 so it made logical sense to wrap this period up with them as well. For fun I decided to only shoot with a different lens for this flight. Most of my plane shots are with a 16-35mm wide angle, which is amazing for taking pictures of tight spaces. The 55mm is the sharpest lens I own and I thought it’d be great for some more detail shots than I typically take.
I’ve covered Cathay pretty thoroughly in other posts (here, here, and here), so I won’t retread too much.
Today’s Flight
I really wanted to relax and enjoy this flight instead of going crazy on the pictures, although it ended up being a mega-turbulent flight. Despite 150,000 miles in the air this year I’m very much a nervous flyer so this particular flight was immensely stressful for me. Credit to Cathay and a great staff for making sure my drink was never too empty to help with my nervousness.
Anyway, after I left an amazing visit to The Pier I did the long walk back towards the US gates (gates 1-4). Above the US gates is The Wing, so I stopped by for a glass of champagne once I saw we weren’t even going through the US security War On Water precheck yet.
Eventually I saw them start lining people up for our flight to go through the security theater the US requires. I made it through with ease and then waited for boarding.
After a slight delay we were invited to board and I got to make the most amazing of left turns once again into my favorite First Class cabin. There’s just something about it that is so simple yet refined. There are only six seats so you get plenty of attention. Here’s a picture from a previous post.
This was the first time I was not sitting in a window seat, but my seat was perfectly fine.
While my flight attendant was pouring a glass of Krug for me (yes!) I fell into conversation with a very nice couple who followed some fellow miles and points bloggers. He had noticed me taking pictures of everything so he asked if I blogged as well and he even was kind enough to act like he had heard of my blog before! I value experiences and conversations more than posts and pictures so I put the camera down for a while and chatted with my new friends from San Diego. They were having a blast on their trip and I hope they see this post! It was great talking to you!
We eventually began our taxi and were in the air before too long.
The flight attendant came by and informed me that the pilots warned them about some choppy air once we approached Tokyo, so any hot drinks would need to be served before then, which gave us a few hours to complete the dinner service. My heart kind of sank when I heard that news, although I’m used to air being turbulent around Tokyo. Anyway, I soldiered on and focused on trying to take some great pictures of the meal service.
We started with a refill of my champagne glass.
This was served with a caviar starter that was both familiar and wonderful.
After caviar I was presented with a simple salad that had a nice bread pairing with it.
I skipped the soup this time and ordered the steak for my main entree. Long-time readers know I have a love-hate relationship with airplane steak, but Cathay has always done a pretty good job. Well, I’m happy to report they cooked it wonderfully!
It tasted great! I was so happy. Then, the announcement came that we were approaching turbulence and the flight attendants needed to take their seats. Eek. However, my flight attendants were great and snuck me my dessert on their way to their seats.
The next hour or two alternated between Really Turbulent and Worryingly Turbulent. In reality there was nothing to worry about and finally I just was annoyed by the turbulence instead of being afraid of it (which was actually a really massive step for me).
Eventually everything settled down enough for the flight attendants to come by and make my bed so I could try to sleep.
The turbulence that was “over Tokyo” actually ended up being over “the entire Pacific ocean” and it didn’t really settle down until we were about 2 hours away from LAX. I did get some sleep though, so that was good.
My breakfast table was set and I started with some croissants and apple juice.
Cathay Pacific makes wonderful eggs, so I had some of those as well as some sausage and bacon as our flight wrapped up.
Wrapping up the flight portion of this trip report, I can look back to one month ago (my departure date for the first flight of this trip) and be nothing but incredibly grateful. Not just for the flights that I got to take, but all the flights I enjoyed taking to earn the miles sufficient to book these flights.
I know it’s easy to want to compare these First Class flights, but I’d encourage you to take them all! Each company does it a bit differently and it’s fun to experience the best of each airline. I’m not sure when I’ll be flying First again but I imagine it just might be on Cathay when I do!
Dec 27, 2015, 4:52 pm
#24
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: KCH
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, KFEG
Posts: 113
Excellent pictures and I'm not saying this because we own the same camera and two lenses. I've lined up QR F from BKK to CDG for 2016 after reports here complaining AUH-CDG or LHR are just too short!
Dec 28, 2015, 1:02 pm
#25
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, mid-tier with pretty much everyone else
Posts: 873
Camera buddies! You're going to have a blast with QR, looking forward to seeing your pics, enjoy the lounge especially!