Best lounge in PEK T3E?

[ChrisFlyer]

Just trying to plan ahead as to which lounge we should use when departing PEK on CX. Currently, as both a OWE and a PP member, I could access any of the following in T3E:

* CX/KA Lounge (opp. E21)
* CA F lounge
* CA J lounge
* BGS Premier Lounge
* Business Travellers Lounge

Judging from the photos, it looks like it will probably be one of the first three. Does anyone have any experience with these lounges, specifically the food, drinks (is alcohol free in the CA lounges, and does the CA F lounge have champagne?), wi-fi speed, tarmac views, and seating comfort? Not too concerned with the availability of business services (photocopying, fax etc), showers, reading materials etc etc on this visit.

If it makes any difference, I'll be at the airport at around lunchtime on a Friday.

As to tarmac views, a couple of photos that I've seen suggest that the CX/KA and CA J lounge both have views, but how about the CA F?

Many thanks!

 

[seanpodge]

Spent a few evening hours in the CA J lounge last month. Not bad, although given that I was on a midnight flight, it was a bit on the quiet side. Booze is free and is made up of the standard spirits, I assume some baijiu (I've been trying to block it out :shock a couple of Chinese beers and some Chinese made western style wine. Food was a bit meh even if you like Chinese food. I did eventually however manage to see that they were making beef noodle soup, which was the best I've had. The mushrooms were divine! But if you were really hungry, you might be better off going elsewhere and get a proper meal. Lots of sofa style individual chairs, usually set up in pairs, in the lounge which are very comfortable. There's also some dining tables and chairs near the food areas which are more practical for eating.

The lounge is actually located on an upstairs level of the departure area and in effect is a large balcony. So while there are views of outside, they are the same as everyone else's. There are no actual windows or walls, just a glass fence so you don't fall over the edge. This means that the lounge could get a bit noisy if downstairs is crowded, although I think it is a bit away from gates and large food courts, so most of the noise would still be from the lounge itself. Wifi is pretty good with a decent speed even when crowded (I was in the much more crowded domestic J lounge a week ago and they use the same system). There is an annoying registration system (there's a machine next to the lounge's front desk) but besides that, the wifi words fine, even when using a VPN (not that I'd know what one of those are, of course! ).

Just to add, even though you weren't all that interested in it, the showers are pretty good, a little compact but they were very welcome after a 10 hour train trip to the airport itself. There's a bunch of Chinese newspapers and magazines, along with an English edition of China Daily. Didn't really notice any business facilities, although I wasn't really looking for any either so they may exist somewhere.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Wow - very detailed. Thanks very much! Glad to hear that the drinks in the CA lounge are free - often very hit-and-miss with some of the Priority Pass lounges! I'm thinking that we may even try both lounges (the CA F and KA/CX lounge), as I have PP Prestige (unlimited access), and my partner's PP card still had 2 entries remaining on it (from the 10 that I purchased for her - basic membership). Happy to review both on here after the trip if anyone is interested!

As to VPNs in China, that's something I'll definitely have to look into (mostly for Facebook haha)... I used to be able to access a free VPN through my university login, but that isn't available to me anymore. Is there a certain company that you'd recommend, or do you use one through your work? I understand if you'd rather PM that instead of posting it on the forum of course!

I'll make a note of the showers you mentioned, as on the next air trip I'm planning to China (planned for 3-24 months after returning from this one, excluding Shenzhen of course! ), I was thinking of perhaps routing PEK-PVG-SYD-BNE for the flight home, if I wasn't wanting to travel through HKG or another asian port before returning home.

Thanks again!

 

[b8b]

Howdy,
This is literally the only thread in the world I could find (so far) that mentions all the PP lounges in PEK. I've been to the CA FCL and it's pretty lame (relative to most FCL's in the world).

Still curious... I don't have but a little time my next trip so I was hoping to hit the best lounge. Anyone been to the others?

TIA!

 

[ChrisFlyer]

I just realised that I hadn't replied to this thread to give my feedback - how rude of me!!

I had hoped to do a bit of a lounge crawl, but ended up having a busy morning, and only had ~30 mins of lounge time before the flight. As such, we went to the CX/KA oneworld lounge, which had self-pour spirits, some hot food items (rice, pork buns etc), and a number of snacks and nibbles. It wasn't hard to find a seat either.

It was to originally be a visit before my 100th flight, but due to a last-minute booking before the trip, my 100th flight happened to be SYD-HKG (with the QF F lounge beforehand).

Sorry that I can't comment on the PP lounges though, and welcome to AFF!

 

[b8b]

No worries m8!

Thanks for checking back in.

I will likely end up in the F or J CA lounge then, not enough time for a lounge crawl

 

[ChrisFlyer]

No worries m8!

Thanks for checking back in.

I will likely end up in the F or J CA lounge then, not enough time for a lounge crawl

Go for the F lounge (provided that the location suits)... I can't imagine that the J lounge would be better than the F!