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Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Bangkok Airport (BKK) Renovated

Cathay Pacific renovated their lounge at BKK recently, and I have to say that this new lounge is a MASSIVE improvement over their old lounge. Their old lounge was tiny and crowded and had bad food options, and this renovated lounge is just so much better. It’s very similar in decor and feeling to their renovated Pier lounge at HKG, and I was such a fan of that lounge that it’s no surprise that I loved this lounge as well.

The Cathay lounge is located near the G gates, and the entrance is relatively understated.

Entrance to the lounge
Entrance to the lounge

The lounge is quite long with a variety of seating areas, a cafe-type area, and a noodle bar. To the right is where most of the lounge seating is located. There are a variety of seating options and configurations, and all of the furniture is quite comfortable and functional. There are also outlets everywhere (they’re located in the desks if you don’t see other ones), which is such a great thing to have in a lounge.

Seating area
Seating area
More seating with loungers overlooking the apron
More seating with loungers overlooking the apron
Looking down the lounge
Looking down the lounge
Computer stations
Computer stations
More seating, including the semi-private green chairs
More seating, including the semi-private green chairs

I enjoyed sitting in the loungers which face the windows so you can do some airplane spotting, as well as the semi-private green chairs which are great for getting work done.

Apron views
Apron views

The right-hand side also includes a full-service bar. I’m not a big alcohol drinker, so it’s great that Cathay offers a couple of non-alcoholic cocktails, including their signature Cathay Delight! So tasty.

Full bar
Full bar
Bar menu
Bar menu

Right in front of the entrance to the lounge (so in the middle of it lengthwise) is a cafe-type area with some standing tables, some bar seating, and a variety of lighter foods on offer. There are salads (lettuce, papaya, bean, and fruit), some snacks (mashed potatoes and some sort of macaroni), fresh fruit (including rambutan!), yogurt, sandwiches, cookies, and desserts (creme caramel and pandan cake). I love that they have rambutan on offer (even though I don’t actually like rambutan that much), as I just think it’s so great when lounges can offer local, seasonal fruits rather than just the same old melon selection. The creme caramel and pandan cake were also delicious, although I have a major sweet tooth.

Cafe food area
Cafe food area
Salads
Salads
Fresh fruit and small snacks
Fresh fruit and small snacks
Desserts, yogurt, drinks
Desserts, yogurt, drinks
Sandwiches and cookies
Sandwiches and cookies

Finally, at the other end of the lounge (or the area to the left as you enter) is the noodle bar. The noodle bar has tons of seating with both booths of varying sizes as well as some communal tables. They have the typical dan dan mien that you expect from Cathay Pacific, but they also have pad thai on the menu as well as some dim sum. I also LOVE the fact that they have a separate vegetarian menu.

Noodle bar seating
Noodle bar seating
Communal tables and booths
Communal tables and booths
Noodle bar
Noodle bar
Noodle bar menu
Noodle bar menu

I sampled the veggie pad thai, the sago dumplings, and the mushroom noodle soup. The veggie pad thai unfortunately tasted ketchup-y and lacked the wok hei (wok breath) that makes pad thai so great, but at least they had the full selection of pad thai accompaniments (peanuts, limes, sugar, chili flakes, vinegar with chilis, etc.) so you can adjust the flavoring. The sago dumplings were absolutely delicious, though, and the mushroom noodle soup was decent as well. The portions are on the smaller side, so don’t feel shy about ordering multiple portions! I saw a table of two guys put down about 10 dishes between the two of them.

Veggie pad thai and sago dumplings
Veggie pad thai and sago dumplings

I must sound like a total Cathay Pacific fanboy given how much I’ve raved about their renovated Pier lounges at HKG (both the business class and first class lounges), but I just think Cathay Pacific has done such a good job with their rebranding and lounge redesigns. This lounge is no different. I love the design, and the lounges just feel so cozy and have such solid amenities. If I have any criticisms, the wifi is a bit slow, the lounge can get a bit crowded, and the cushions in the booths have this weird thing where they’re not attached in the backs so if you sit forward too far the cushion comes up. But this is an awesome, awesome lounge, and one of my favorite non-hub airline lounges that I’ve visited.

8 Comments

  1. Awesome post! Looking forward to visiting this lounge next Feb on our trip to Koh Samui.

    Does the renovated CX lounge at BKK have showers?

  2. That is a huge improvement! The drinks they offer seem almost on par with the HKG first lounges. I loved visiting the qantas lounge in BKK but I believe that has closed so I will check this out before my Qatar flight in November. Thanks for the post!

  3. isn’t Wok hei more like Cantonese cuisine concept? Or Taiwanese borrow this word/concept from Cantonese?

  4. An upsetting update from September 17 : This lounge doesn’t offer champagne anymore. Only Chandon brut and rose

  5. Probably the worst lounge I have seen. First, its very hard to find, with no signs, unlike other carriers. Then, inside, the food and drink selection is almost incomprehensibly poor. The refreshments area had no tea bags, apparently they store them away and need to be specially requested. Then, the machine had no hot water, for this another one hundred metre walk. Back to the resfreshments, they had a small supply of poor quality cheese and processed meats…very small..but no bread. I suppose the lounge is a place to sit and wait for your flight in somewhat greater comfort than the main concourse areas, but otherwise doesn’t really count as a lounge and I would advise bringing your own food if you want to eat anything but pot noodles. Definitely the worst ive seen anywhere. Ive previously mentioned these issues to the staff, but obviously thats a waste of time. Easy problems to fix, but apparently beyond their very limited abilities and they must prefer irritating customers rather than taking some easy steps to improve their service a bit closer to the standard expected of a business class lounge.

  6. I have to add to my previous review of the Bangkok lounge, to let prospective cathay fliers know…that in addition to its abysmal refreshments and idiotic management, the toilet cubicles in this lounge couldnt be locked. Which is why, as I noticed, the disabled toilet was in high demand. Is there any limit, I wondered, to the stupidity and farcical incompetence behind the management of this pathetic excuse for a lounge, that ought really to just be closed down.

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