Is this the best lounge at Heathrow?
Heathrow T3 has an abundance of lounges, and if you’re flying in Business or First on a oneworld airline, then you can take your pick from many of them. The Cathay Lounge is often at the top of everyone’s list, but is it really that good, and worth your time?
Where is the Cathay Pacific Lounge?
The Cathay first-class and business-class lounges share the same entrance in Terminal 3.
When you exit security, follow the signage through the seating area, and you’ll be in a long, wide walkway that has the entrances to every lounge in the terminal. The Cathay lounges are on the second floor, and there are stairs and a lift to take you up.
Heathrow does a good job of signposting each lounge. T3 does have a lot. Follow the lounge walkway and you’ll see the Virgin, Emirates, AA, BA and Qantas lounges. On top of that, you have the Amex and No. 1. Lounges.
Who can access this lounge?
We were not flying Cathay, but instead we were flying First with BA. As a fellow oneworld member, that gives us access to this lounge, plus the AA, BA and Qantas lounges.
If you’re flying with Cathay then you can access the First lounge via a First Class ticket. If you’re travelling with a oneworld airline you can also gain access by travelling in First with BA, AA or Qantas.
Cathay do allow passengers to pay to upgrade to lounge access, but their UK lounges are not listed as part of this scheme. It is worth checking in the “manage my booking” section of their website in case the public-facing details are out of date.
First impressions
This is the most attractive lounge in T3. As you enter on the ground floor, you get a sense of the effort that has gone into making this lounge look so impressive. Moving up to the first floor, you’re in a different world. This is all about dark woods and dim lights, which is both on-brand and relaxing.
There’s no “office” style ceiling tiles or magnolia walls in here. You can immediately tell that this is a top-tier lounge, in the same way that you can feel it when you enter the Qatar First lounge. Whereas that lounge looks like a stunning museum, the Cathay space feels more like a discrete private members club.
When you enter the reception area, attendants will check your ticket and eligibility. They will then direct you towards the correct lounge. The Business Lounge is located at the far end of the corridor that leads off the reception, whereas the First Lounge is situated immediately adjacent to the entrance.
There are no checks as you enter either lounge, allowing you to walk freely between them. I am not suggesting that you do this, but I am pointing out that it is possible.
As you enter, there’s seating to your right-hand side and straight ahead of you. The famed dining room is on the left-hand side.
The First lounge isn’t huge. There’s space for maybe sixty people at a push. And it fills up fast. I was lucky to get my photos early on, as within minutes, most of the seating spots had either a person or a bag on them. Overall, both Cathay lounges occupy approximately 13,000 square feet, with First Class occupying a third of that space.
Towards the far end of the lounge, there’s a self-service bar and more seating. This space boasts the best views, featuring two windows that overlook the terminal and the airport.
At the far right of the lounge there’s a series of comfy recliners with footstools. These seats face directly towards the windows with a view of some of the T3 gates.
The first lounge is a long, narrow space that flows from the entrance way to the windows at the far end. Despite it getting busy just before we made our way to the dining room, it wasn’t too overbearing, but I can imagine that during the peak hours of the day it can be challenging to find a seat.
When we switched to the dining space, we found it to be much quieter. Only four people were in there when we sat down, and we were alone for our main courses.
Food and Drink at the Cathay Lounge
This was the part we were most excited about. Bear in mind that we were at the end of a lounge-hop, having already visited the AA First Lounge, the British Airways First and Club Lounge and the Qantas Lounge.
There are two options for dining. The self-service option and the dining room.
Self-service food
You can help yourself to food and drink from the buffet and fridges that are located on the right-hand side as you enter the lounge. This is a small space that would be busy with three people in it; however, the quality and standard of food is above any other airline’s self-service area.
It’s an attractive space, with hot and cold options. Each one is labelled, which is helpful, given that the menu rightly has an Eastern focus.
There are healthier food options in the tall fridges. Despite the compact nature of the food area, they manage to pack in a lot of choice and still present it well.
I snacked on a piece of cake and drank an orange juice. There was so much on offer in the self-service space that you could have a great meal without needing to order from the menu. For travellers who only have an hour, the food options sit somewhere between typical lounge food and a good sit down restaurant. They clearly put a lot of effort into their food.
Cathay First Dining Room
The first dining room is another beautiful, well designed space. It’s not huge, but it could easily seat 30 people without it being too uncomfortable. It’s a quieter space than the main lounge, separated by just a door.
The dark wood theme continues in here, with green leather seats and touches of black and bronze. The drinks cart in one corner of the room houses champagne and wines.
The serving staff in the dining space were attentive without being overbearing. They took our order, delivered our food, and then disappeared when they were no longer needed.
The à la Carte menu straddled East and West quite nicely. There are some popular Western dishes (Burger, Fish and Chips) and some highly rated Asian dishes.
I went all in and chose the fruit platter. It’s hard to get fresh fruit wrong, but you can also tell when it’s high quality. I wasn’t disappointed with what the Cathay lounge served me.
While my wife had the Dan Dan Mien noodles, which were delicious and some of the best she’s had in the UK.
Facilities in the lounge
There are no bathrooms in the lounge itself; they’re shared with the business class lounge and accessed by leaving the First lounge, then turning away from reception. While they’re shared, they’re absolutely beautiful.
Bamford provided the amenities. Not a brand I had come across, but the soap smelled divine.
The business and first-class lounges also share access to shower suites.
The verdict on the Cathay lounges at Heathrow
Beautifully designed, with great food options, this first-class lounge is close to perfect. Like all great lounges, it takes you outside of the airport and puts you somewhere else. For an hour or two, you can destress and unwind.
The negatives of this lounge? The size, and how busy it can get. And it can fill up very quickly. In a way, it’s a victim of its own success, as it’s widely regarded as the best lounge in T3. That means anyone who can get access will likely be heading here rather than another lounge.
Rating for the Cathay Pacific Lounge
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