Cathay Pacific's The Wing lounge, Hong Kong. Photo / Getty Images
Cathay Pacific's The Wing lounge, Hong Kong. Photo / Getty Images
Grant Bradley samples Cathay Pacific's The Wing business class lounge during a stopover at Hong Kong airport.
The greeting: Couldn't be friendlier. Although I had been issued with a lounge pass, my onward ticket to Auckland was for Economy but one of the many efficient staff sorted out an upgradeto Business. Happy days.
What's there: The Wing is the flagship of five lounges in the airport and the Business Class entry is on the ground floor just below where you clear immigration and security checks (although might be some distance from your departure gate). The lounge is large and on two levels with at least five different spaces to relax, eat, work, drink, shower or do some plane-watching. There's a fully equipped business centre and free and easy-to-access Wi-Fi. It's understated without being cold, featuring wood, white marble and black granite. There's an even more upscale First Class space next to the Business Class section on the top level.
Eating and drinking: At the Noodle Bar you can have meals made in front of you and in other places there are a range of self-serve buffet counters, offering a variety of Asian and Western hot dishes and a selection of cold dishes. The Coffee Loft serves a full range of brews plus Haagen-Dazs icecream. The 23-metre Long Bar has a drinks menu that runs to nearly 50 different wines, beers, spirits and cocktails, plus non-alcoholic alternatives. The whisky of the month was The Glenlivet Master Distiller's Reserve and the special cocktail was a delicious melon cooler, a mixture of peach and melon liqueur, chardonnay and grenadine.
The view: Fantastic. You're in a light and airy glazed mezzanine area and perched at The Long Bar you've got a commanding view of comings and goings on the southern runway.
The showers: There's 14 of them and after an eight-hour sightseeing and shopping blitz into Kowloon on a hot, humid day, a lovely retreat. You've got your own high-pressure shower, toilet and a basin for as long as you like, within reason. There's a range of restorative lotions, toothpaste and shaving gear that was produced in an instant on request.
The lounge atmosphere: While a fair few passengers pass through every hour because of the variety of spaces, it never seemed crowded. There are no cable channels blaring out news (although plenty of TVs if you want to catch up) and food and drink is superb.
The bottom line: Do whatever you can to get in if you have a few hours in Hong Kong.
