Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge London Heathrow T3

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Cathay Pacific offers a First and a Business Class lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 3 and both are less than 18 months old thanks to a significant renovation project which ended in November 2016. I reviewed the First Class lounge in an earlier article (I liked it) so, on my latest visit to Heathrow Terminal 3, I decided to see just how good (or bad) the Cathay Pacific T3 Business Class lounge is.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3 – Access

Opening hours:

• 05:30 to the last departure (Monday – Saturday)
• 07:30 to the last departure (Sunday)

The following passengers can access the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge:

• Travelers traveling in First Class on a oneworld airline + 1 guest
• Travelers traveling in Business Class on a oneworld airline
• Marco Polo Diamond members traveling on a oneworld airline + 2 guests
• Marco Polo Gold members traveling on a oneworld airline + 1 guest
• Marco Polo Silver members traveling on Cathay Pacific
• Oneworld Emerald members traveling on a oneworld airline + 1 guest
• Oneworld Sapphire members traveling on a oneworld airline + 1 guest

Note: all guests must be traveling on a oneworld airline on the day of entry

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3 – Location

Finding the new Cathay Pacific lounges at Terminal 3 is reasonably straightforward:

• Proceed through airport security, work your way through the shopping mall that greets you on the other side and head out of the shopping area following signs for departure gate 11.
• As you exit the shopping area you’ll come to a T-junction at which you need to turn left
• Ahead of you, on the right side of the hallway, you’ll see a sign that reads “Lounge C” and, if you look closely, you’ll see the Cathay Pacific logo on the sign too.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Both the First and Business Class lounges are located in the same area and are found one level up from the gates.

The Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow

Both Cathay Pacific lounges can be accessed using one of the two elevators you’ll find just past the “Lounge C” sign.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

As soon as you step out of the elevator on the lounge level you’ll find the lounge check-in desk directly ahead.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Following the hallway you can see in the image above leads to the Business Class lounge entrance as well as the washrooms, the spa and the showers.

The Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge is divided into 4 main areas:

As you enter the Business Class lounge you pass though a short, narrow hallway…..

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

…which leads straight into the first of the lounge’s four areas – the main dining area:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

On the left are various seating options for guests wishing to dine including booths (which were comfortable) and an elongated table with stools (which didn’t look comfortable at all):

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

To the right is the famous Cathay Pacific noodle bar complete with a sit-up bar:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Just past the main dining area and the noodle bar are a few tables and chairs overlooking the airport apron as well as the second of the lounge’s four areas – the food service area.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

This food service area is dominated by a long wooden table with benches and chairs but, although you can clearly sit around it, I suspect the lounge needs to get pretty busy before this gets used.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

On two sides of the table are work surfaces where the food options are laid out (more on those later)….

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

…and this is also where guests can help themselves to various hot and cold beverages.

Moving further into the lounge you reach the third and largest of the four lounge areas – the main seating area.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

One side of the main seating area is made up of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the airport apron with dark leather (faux leather?) armchairs facing out:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Between these armchairs are tables housing power outlets (UK variety) and USB ports too:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

The rest of this area feels very spacious and offers a variety of seating options together with a tended (and complimentary) bar which sits in the middle of the room:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Few lounges have the range of furniture this lounge offers with sofas and at least three different types of armchair scattered around the room.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

At the far end of the main seating area is a small section containing eight semi-enclosed privacy chairs:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

These are nice if you want to close your eyes for a bit while maintaining your privacy and, because they come equipped with built-in power outlets, they’re a good place to sit while you charge your devices or while you get some work done.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

The fourth and final area of the lounge is at the very end of the facility and is called “the Bureau”.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

The Bureau is Cathay Pacific’s name for a business area within one of its lounges and, in the case of this particular lounge, it isn’t very big.

There are three iMac work stations as well as printing facilities….

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

….as well as a small room (with a closable door) where guests can make calls in peace/privacy:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow T3 – Dining

This particular visit took place shortly after the lounge opened so breakfast was being served.

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow

The hot food on offer included:

• Pork sausage
• Bacon
• Scrambled eggs
• Sautéed potatoes
• Baked beans
• Plain porridge/oatmeal (almond flakes, sultanas and dried apricots were available as accompaniments)

The cold food included:

• Cornflakes
• Granola
• Muffins
• Assorted mini Danish pastries

• Cookies
• Crackers
• White and wheat toast (on request)
• Assorted jams/marmalade
• Croissants

• Pasta salad with pesto
• Seasonal fruit salad
• Mixed leaf and tomato salad

There was also a chilled cabinet containing yet more food items which included:

• Bircher muesli
• Smoked Cheddar & Red Leicester cheese
• Chicken with pickles
• Smoked ham with pickles
• Plain yoghurt
• Assorted fruit yoghurt

Hot and cold beverages are self-serve from a coffee/hot water/hot chocolate maker….

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow

….and if you like tea the lounge has you covered:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow

As you may have noticed in earlier pictures there are juices available too and a chilled cabinet containing various sodas rounds off the drinks offering:

Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow

The noodle bar wasn’t in full swing during my time in the lounge but, thanks to a previous flying visit, I can tell you that you can order the following (and possibly more):

Noodles:

• Hong Kong style Wonton Noodles in Soup
• Dan Dan Mien
• Shredded chicken with preserved vegetable rice noodles
• Rice noodles with preserved vegetables

Dim Sum:

• Custard bun
• Har Gao
• Steamed vegetable dumplings
• Deep-fried vegetable spring roll

The noodle bar is one of my favorite amenties in Cathay lounges because it gives the option of a flavorful yet light meal which is often exactly what I need before a flight.

Shower Facilities

The Business Class and First Class lounge both share the shower facilities on offer but, each time I’ve visited, I’ve been able to secure a shower without having to wait.

As I’ve come to expect with the newer Cathay Pacific lounges, the shower facilities are among the best you’ll find (especially if you’re just comparing Business Class lounges). The Aesop toiletries are anything but cheap and the shower attendants can provide just about all the amenities a guest may need.

Thoughts

Negatives:

• The seats towards the middle of the lounge aren’t within range of power outlets so relaxing/working while charging
• The hot breakfast options were ok….but just ok. I didn’t come out of the lounge thinking that breakfast was particularly good
• It would be nice if the lounge could have copied BA (I don’t get to type that often) and provided universal power outlets rather than basic uk-style outlets.

Positives:

• The noodle bar – this is one of the best features of Cathay’s lounges.
• The staff are always very friendly in this lounge and, regardless of the time of day, always seem to have a smile for guests.
• The seating is almost all very comfortable (the benches are the exception to this)
• The floor-to-ceiling windows that run down most of one side of the lounge make it a very light place to sit during daylight hours.
• The bar staff are good at making sure guests are served in a timely manner (I know this from previous visits) and they’re great at suggesting cocktails guests should try.
• The shower facilities are excellent.

Bottom Line

The Cathay Pacific Business Class lounge at London Heathrow is undoubtably a very good lounge indeed. Between the noodle bar, the friendly staff, the great shower facilities and the comfortable seating there really isn’t too much to complain about. Yes, the lounge could do with more power outlets….but the fact that that’s the worst thing I can think of to write about the lounge should tell you all you need to know.