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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.