Review: To London and Paris – The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong

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Introduction
The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific The Wing Business Class Lounge Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific The Bridge Lounge Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific 239 777-300ER Business Class Hong Kong to London Heathrow
Hotel Indigo London Kensington
Eurostar 9018 E300/British Rail Class 373 Standard Premier London St. Pancras to Paris Gares du Nord
L’Empire Paris
Cathay Pacific Lounge Paris Charles de Gaulle
Cathay Pacific 260 777-300ER Business Class Paris Charles de Gaulle to Hong Kong


I had a lot to do airside in Hong Kong Airport (wave off some friends who were departing on the same day, etc.), so arrived three hours before my flight, deciding to do a little lounge run before the flight. Immigration was virtually empty, so I got through, deciding to check out the Qantas lounge before anything else (a lounge I decided I would DEFINITELY visit during the wait).

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Entrance

I was promptly admitted, and when asked if I could access the Wing or the Bridge later (as I was planning to check out the lounge closest to my gate), the lounge attendant just gave me my lounge invitation back, saying that I could use it there while accessing this lounge spotlessly. Hooray!

The lounge is a beautifully decorated long room in shades of blue, white, grey, black and Qantas red. It featured a bar, seating, a food spread, seating, seating and seating (gives you an idea of how much seating there is at the lounge).

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

An attendant immediately came and said hi, and upon being asked he allowed me to take as many pictures as I could, as the lounge was basically empty.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

The bar had a lovely, energetic bartender who welcomed me into the lounge. The bar itself was very nicely decorated and well lighted, though I didn’t use it much during my stay.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Bar

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong WiFi and Bar

Past the bar was more seating. Interestingly there was communal seating as well – including the staff, we really wouldn’t need all those seats if we all sat at a communal table. And that’s everyone in the whole lounge at the time.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

The lounge was still sparkling and (literally) shiny.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

loved how the finishes were new and used more vibrant touches instead of marble, which makes lounges feel old (especially the beige kind – bleh).

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

There was actually a lot more seating, but unfortunately it was roped off. Apparently the area is roped off until food is served there in the afternoon, which worked for me (the lounge was big enough to be).

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Roped Off Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Roped Off Seating

There was even an enclosed nook of sorts which was lighted to create a sort of ambience that was relaxing and cosy. I opted to sit next to the buffet instead as it had better views of the terminal, but that looked like a nice place to sit.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Seating

I sat across the buffet, and checked the buffet out.

The buffet wasn’t really big, but holy crap, it was high quality. It featured an herb roasted tomato with balsamic, an amazingly fragrant pork sausage, scrambled eggs and something else I can’t quite remember (but looked pretty nice), along with lots of fresh pastries that would have rivalled some of Paris’s best bakeries (you can’t argue with me regarding that, as I’ve literally just been to Paris). It was more of a breakfast spread, but was good nonetheless.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Breakfast Spread

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Breakfast Spread

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Breakfast Spread

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Breakfast Spread

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Breakfast Spread

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Breakfast Spread Pastries

I had the tomato, the sausage and a chocolate croissant, all of which I enjoyed. The lounge attendant asked if I would like anything, to which I ordered a glass of milk.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Breakfast

I visited the bathroom, which reminded me a lot of Gordon Ramsay’s The Bread Street here in Hong Kong (for security purposes I refrained from picturing the toilet, but the sinks are a work of art in themselves).

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Lavatory

I also asked to take a picture of the shower, and upon being asked I told the shower attendant that I was trying to prove how good Qantas was, down to the toilets. I then revealed that I was a travel writer.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Shower Rooms

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Shower Rooms

The shower featured ASPAR amenities (though the shower attendant was outside the door, and it felt weird if I took a picture of the amenities, so I just zoomed in, which means that the picture quality was rough, my apologies).

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Shower Rooms Amenities

The shower attendant was really interested in the site (or may have just wanted to increase morale so there’d be a better review), so she came and talked to me, asked where I was flying and on what airline, and asked about the site. She said she had also owned a travel blog, but soon gave up. Guess the industry isn’t that easy…

After breakfast I moved to one of the window seats, which featured power ports and a view of the tarmac, which the lounge features decent views of.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Power Ports

A downside of having an open air lounge at Hong Kong Airport is the fact that the tarmac views are slightly obstructed, which kind of sucks for pictures.

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Views of Tarmac

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The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong Views of Tarmac

I asked for a bottle of water from the bartender, which he gladly gave to me (along with the signature bartender “here you go”).

At this point, my friends (which I wouldn’t be seeing again) said that they had cleared immigration, so I decided to hang out in the terminal with them for a while. I thought I would be able to revisit the lounge, so said goodbye to the bartender and the lounge attendants, but I ended up choosing to lounge run instead (which meant I didn’t return to the lounge).

Bottom line on the Qantas Lounge Hong Kong

The Qantas Lounge Hong Kong is easily the best oneworld lounge at Hong Kong. It’s modern, it’s spacious, the food is awesome, but it’s the staff that sets the lounge apart. I’ve never had service so personalised in a business class lounge, and really, it felt like home.

I’d return in a heartbeat, especially after checking out all of the lounges in the oneworld system in Hong Kong which are considered “good”, given the chance, though I still want to check out the Dragonair G16 lounge or the new The Pier business class lounge given the chance.

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