QFF PLAT/Business: best lounge in Hong Kong?

[QQF]

Hi All

Thanks so much for the info about the T5 lounges. My next query is that I have 2 young children and we will be in Hong Kong terminal 1 for 4 hours! which lounge do you recommend we go to.

thx
qqf

 

[NM]

depends on your status and hence lounge entitlements. But I would be heading towards the nearest CX lounge to your departure gate if you have access.

 

[wtolmie]

If you are WP, you can access the First Class Wing Lounge near gate 64.. They have great day rooms in there too.. or there is the Business "Pier" Lounge 2 gates away.

There is also CX Wing / Pier lounges above departures level near gate 40 in the main area..

 

[Evan]

But also unless your partner is with you and also has status CX can be a bit hard on allowing more guests in than your entitled to, but if young children then you could be ok.
And for sure the CX Flounge is the nicest in HKG I have only ever used the QF one when i had only paid membership and not platinum status.

Also in HKG like SIN there is a large number of shops and restaurants, keep you busy maybe if not your children.

E

 

[Tooner]

I've not tried CX lounges with Mrs Tooner and kids in tow, but the nice folk at QF F were happy to receive Mr & Mrs Tooner and 3 yr old and 10mth old. The only thing is the F Lounge is quite small. More room in the J Lounge.

Cheers

 

[NM]

If you are WP, you can access the First Class Wing Lounge near gate 64.. They have great day rooms in there too.. or there is the Business "Pier" Lounge 2 gates away.

There is also CX Wing / Pier lounges above departures level near gate 40 in the main area..

just to clarify, CX has two lounges at HKG, each with a First Class section and a Business Class section. The lounge called The Wing is located near the immigration exit, with entry to the First Class section on the mezzanine level to the left when exiting immigration/security screening and entry to the business class section opposite Gate 2 on the departures level.

The other lounge is called The Pier and is located on the arrivals level with the entrance via a lift or escalator down from the departures level. The entrance to the First Class section of The Pier lounge is near Gate 62 and the entrance to the Business Class section of The Pier is located near gate 65.

A map of the departure gates can be found here. There is no CX lounge near gate 40.

 

[McTavish]

Both CX lounges are excellent. The Wing is close to the main duty free shopping area which can be nice to allow escape of one parent at a time. The Pier is quieter, often not so busy, and close to gate lounges. QF lounges are disappointing - business often no seats left. First a bit better but not a patch on CX.

Last time I stopped in HGK for a few hours, I had a quick shower at the Wing and left the terminal and headed into HGK on the Airport Express. The train leaves every 12 minutes and takes 25 minutes to get to Central, return trip for $100HGK (adult) $50HGK (child). You can buy an Octopus card from the in-flight duty free if traveling CX. It is very easy and a good way to kill some time with kids. There is a shopping Mall at Central station with plenty of excellent places to get a meal.

I guess that you need at least 3 hours in transit to make it worthwhile. The queues at Immigration can sometimes be a bit long, especially with tired kids.

 

[RB]

 

[serfty]

G'day McTavish, welcome to AFF.

I concur with your post about the Wing/Pier.

One quick question - How, after accessing the Wing for a shower, did you get back out through arrivals to Town? I have heard of this being done before but how to do so is not obvious.

 

[McTavish]

Hi Serfty

Desk staff at the Wing lounge were able to provide us with some transit documents.

From memory the CX Wing Lounge is on 7th floor. We went down to the 6th floor and at the "Airport Express" end of shop/retail area we caught a lift down to the 5th floor. We passed a small transit security area where our transit forms were examined. Walked out into the arrivals hall just by the CX information desks opposite the immigration line.

The whole process was very simple, I was ordering diner in Central within an hour of getting out of the shower at CX Lounge!

Hope this helps.

 

[QQF]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

Hi ALL

I wanted to thank everyone for their advice on lounges in both Hong Kong and Heathrow T5 (BA)

Thought I would share with you my feedback.

HONG KONG - I checked out the QANTAS Lounge in HK and even though the staff were very very nice, the lounge is small and nothing special. We then went to the WING lounge operated by Cathay Pacific and it was fantastic. We had access to the first class section which was not much difference to the business section. Simply another restaurant to eat in on top of the great noodle bar offered to all. The cabana-esque shower rooms are awesome, had a bath and then a short snooze on the lounge that was within your private bathroom. It was fantastic. Word of warning, give yourself time to get to the QANTAS gate - we were running to get there.

HEATHROW T5 - First Class Lounge (using platinum card) - Exceptional... Flying to HK on BA - business (codeshare with QF) This is real luxury. T5 is certainly impressive starting with checking in at the First Class section then access to the beautiful lounge. We chose to set up on the terrace (small child and baby) which meant we had a lounge space to ourselves. We were waited on for both meals from the menu and drinks. If you travel business you also can access the Spa for a massage and it was FANTASTIC. As soon as you get there go and book a massage as there is a waiting list. If you are lucky you will get a facial and chair massage but the chair massage is well worth it.

NICE AIRPORT - Airside Lounge, PLAT access, average lounge but comfortable with adequate food and drink choices (still better than any AA lounge i have been in).

So thanks for the advice and hope that this will help someone else!

 

[anat0l]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

Hi ALL

I wanted to thank everyone for their advice on lounges in both Hong Kong and Heathrow T5 (BA)

Thought I would share with you my feedback.

HONG KONG - I checked out the QANTAS Lounge in HK and even though the staff were very very nice, the lounge is small and nothing special. We then went to the WING lounge operated by Cathay Pacific and it was fantastic. We had access to the first class section which was not much difference to the business section. Simply another restaurant to eat in on top of the great noodle bar offered to all. The cabana-esque shower rooms are awesome, had a bath and then a short snooze on the lounge that was within your private bathroom. It was fantastic. Word of warning, give yourself time to get to the QANTAS gate - we were running to get there.

HEATHROW T5 - First Class Lounge (using platinum card) - Exceptional... Flying to HK on BA - business (codeshare with QF) This is real luxury. T5 is certainly impressive starting with checking in at the First Class section then access to the beautiful lounge. We chose to set up on the terrace (small child and baby) which meant we had a lounge space to ourselves. We were waited on for both meals from the menu and drinks. If you travel business you also can access the Spa for a massage and it was FANTASTIC. As soon as you get there go and book a massage as there is a waiting list. If you are lucky you will get a facial and chair massage but the chair massage is well worth it.

NICE AIRPORT - Airside Lounge, PLAT access, average lounge but comfortable with adequate food and drink choices (still better than any AA lounge i have been in).

So thanks for the advice and hope that this will help someone else!

Nice feedback.

I'm planning as long a transit in HKG for my end-of-year trip as I can so I can try both the Wing and Pier! Thank goodness HKG (and CX) have 24 hour check-in and bag drop.

 

[JohnK]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

I'm planning as long a transit in HKG for my end-of-year trip as I can so I can try both the Wing and Pier! Thank goodness HKG (and CX) have 24 hour check-in and bag drop.

Can't get much longer than a 16:30 hour transit in HKG. I will take my father to both lounges and that kills around 3 hours. There is only so much alcohol and food one man can, should, consume in such a short time....

 

[anat0l]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

Can't get much longer than a 16:30 hour transit in HKG. I will take my father to both lounges and that kills around 3 hours. There is only so much alcohol and food one man can, should, consume in such a short time....

Yes, but considerable time will be required to have a look at all 4 sublounges, as well as covering the distance between the Wing and Pier.

It appears that there is also The Arrival (lounge) at HKG for all F and OWE (or CX tier equivalent) arriving on CX or KA flights or on same day transit with > 4 hrs transit window. So there's another one to sample! (I assume VS does not have an arrivals facility at HKG.) I'm guessing that The Arrival won't be anything special, but experience for experience's sake....

 

[JohnK]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

Yes, but considerable time will be required to have a look at all 4 sublounges, as well as covering the distance between the Wing and Pier.

I still think 3 hours is about the most I want to spend in there. If I had a choice of flights I would not even be spending that long in transit.

Spending ~10 hours in the LAX Flagship Lounge a couple of years ago was a little painful. In my opinion there is only so much a person can do in a lounge. There is nothing that would fascinate me that much in a lounge and I would get bored very quickly. Now if Angelina Jolie was there it would be a different story. But I am dreaming again....

 

[Leumas]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

Yes, but considerable time will be required to have a look at all 4 sublounges, as well as covering the distance between the Wing and Pier.

It appears that there is also The Arrival (lounge) at HKG for all F and OWE (or CX tier equivalent) arriving on CX or KA flights or on same day transit with > 4 hrs transit window. So there's another one to sample! (I assume VS does not have an arrivals facility at HKG.) I'm guessing that The Arrival won't be anything special, but experience for experience's sake....

Say 1 hour for a meal at each lounge, another hour for drinking at each lounge and give you an hour for a shower/bath in each lounge, plus another hour doing whatever you want to do at each lounge (use their computer, eat some more, enjoy their cabanas and what have you). That will add up to about 8 hours, then another hour or two to look around the airport and walk off your meals and drinks, that's only 10 hours. I hope you're travelling with someone to explore 'other activities' while in the airport or lounge...!

If you've a really long transit, I'd serious consider going landside, e.g., out of the airport. Since you want to experience the Arrivals Lounge, and depending on the arrival time, you may as well go to the city or go to the big Budda... If you're lucky, you may even get some fresh air in HK... You may want to look into if they still have cheap same-day return tickets for the Airport Express.

 

[moa999]

The Arrival is small and underground (effectively under the railway tracks), however does have a la carte menu (ie like QF FL), unlike the Wing/Pier which are buffet style in First, then the noodle bar in Business.

See my trip report on it (a month after it opened)
http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...i-segment-done-part-1-a-14946.html#post197421

 

[Keith009]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

It is a crime to spend that much time in transit in HK without going landside and hanging out in one of the best cities in the world!

Say 1 hour for a meal at each lounge, another hour for drinking at each lounge and give you an hour for a shower/bath in each lounge, plus another hour doing whatever you want to do at each lounge (use their computer, eat some more, enjoy their cabanas and what have you). That will add up to about 8 hours, then another hour or two to look around the airport and walk off your meals and drinks, that's only 10 hours. I hope you're travelling with someone to explore 'other activities' while in the airport or lounge...!

If you've a really long transit, I'd serious consider going landside, e.g., out of the airport. Since you want to experience the Arrivals Lounge, and depending on the arrival time, you may as well go to the city or go to the big Budda... If you're lucky, you may even get some fresh air in HK... You may want to look into if they still have cheap same-day return tickets for the Airport Express.

 

[serfty]

Aside from anything else, be aware that while you can take the people mover from the Wing/QP end to the Pier, you have to foot it back if you flight departed from < Gate ~24.

 

[munitalP]

Re: LOUNGE FEEDBACK HONG KONG, HEATHROW T5, NICE - FRANCE

....Now if Angelina Jolie was there it would be a different story.....

I think we have finally found JK's soft spot!





Mr!