I try Cathay’s cabana suites in The Wing First lounge in Hong Kong

My quest to try airport lounge baths continues ….

On my last trip to Hong Kong in October, also with Cathay Pacific, I made an effort to review as many of Cathay’s five lounges in Hong Kong as I could. This included The Pier Business (review here), The Pier First (review here) and The Wing First (review here).

What I did not get around to trying was one of the five cabana suites on offer as part of The Wing First lounge. This is something I managed to rectify on my recent visit to see the Hong Kong Sevens and the new Cathay Pacific premium economy seat, courtesy of Cathay.

The cabanas are located inside The Wing First lounge, which is located by Gate 1. Just turn left down the balcony as soon as you exit security.

What are the cabanas in the Cathay Pacific The Wing First lounge?

As you’ll see, these are highly impressive private rooms available to use for up to 90 minutes per visit. Each features a shower, bath, day bed and desk.

They are not to be confused with the Day Suites in Cathay’s other first class lounge in Hong Kong, The Pier First. The biggest difference is that the cabanas feature a shower and bath, and are substantially larger than their cousins over in The Pier First.

The Wing First cabana access and booking

Anyone with access to The Wing First lounge can use the cabanas – there’s no additional eligibility requirements. That means you must have:

• A same-day First Class ticket on Cathay Pacific or another oneworld airline
• oneworld Emerald (British Airways Gold or equivalent) status
• Cathay Pacific Diamond members

Note that if you are entering the lounge based on your status you will need to be flying Cathay Pacific or another oneworld airline to qualify.

The cabanas are available on a first-come-first-served basis and cannot be booked in advance. That said, when I arrived around 5pm, I was shown straight in by the attendant. There may be a longer wait in the evenings, before the primary bank of European and North American flights around midnight.

Inside Cathay Pacific’s cabana suites

People rave about the cabanas, so I was expecting them to be nice. What I did not realise, however, was just how big they were:

They are larger than most standard rooms in London hotels. It’s all the more impressive when you consider that these are inside an airport, where space is at a premium.

The entire cabana is clad in beautiful red wood or Italian travertine stone.

You get your own dedicated toilet, as well as a row of wardrobes. One of these offers a complimentary steaming and pressing service. Simple hang your clothing in the wardrobe closest to the door and press the call button and someone will discreetly access it from the other side without having to enter your cabana.

On the right is a wash basin with free-hanging mirror as well as a range of amenities including dental kit, shower cap and more.

Toiletries throughout the cabana are the same Bamford ones as you’ll find in Cathay lounges globally.

Behind the vanity is a leather sofa and coffee table:

On the left is a loooooong wooden desk set against a huge mirror. There are plenty of plug sockets here.

The shower and bath tub are at the far end. The bath is vast but fills up quickly with hot water. There’s no bubble bath but I used the Bamford shower gel and that seemed to work just great!

The shower is next to the bath and features a waterfall stream, a rainfall shower head as well as a handheld wand.

Conclusion

As you can see, Cathay Pacific’s First Class cabanas live up to the hype and the travertine and hardwood finishes wouldn’t look out of place in the best luxury hotels.

There are just two – very minor – things I would change: adding a couple bottles of water to the room and offering some bath salts or even a bath bomb.

Regardless, these are without a doubt some of the most luxurious private rooms you’ll find at any airport lounge. They are well worth trying if you ever find yourself at Hong Kong International Airport with 90 minutes to kill.