After arriving at London Heathrow terminal 3, checking in with American Airlines for our flight to Dallas, and clearing security we headed straight for the Cathay Pacific lounge, one floor up from the concourse level.
Cathay Pacific’s first class lounge in terminal 3 at London Heathrow is the best lounge at the airport. It easily outclasses the British Airways Concorde Room. Of course, if you’re flying BA out of Terminal 5, you have the First Wing and direct access to the Concorde Room making for a more convenient and seamless journey. But the actual BA lounge itself doesn’t compare-on lounge product quality, Cathay wins.
The aesthetic of the space, combined with excellent restaurant-style dining (Cathay’s food > BA’s) and a calmer, more polished service make this one of the best outstation first class lounges anywhere.
Of course the more directly relevant comparison is to the copious options in terminal 3 – and I’d easily choose Cathay’s first class lounge over the excellent Qantas lounge, and over the British Airways and American Airlines (and American Express) lounges as well.
The lounge is open from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and standard oneworld access rules apply. I could have visited as an economy passenger flying a oneworld airline (in this case, American) given my oenworld emerald status (Platinum Pro works but I’m an AAdvantage Executive Platinum). I wouldn’t have been able to bring my full family in, though, that way – but we all accessed the lounge as American Airlines first class passengers.
The first and business class lounges share the same entrance. First class is just past the entrance to the right.
Inside are various seating zones and lounge chairs along the windowline with excellent views.
There is a buffet (“pantry”) area with light bites though honestly nothing that struck me worth eating. There is self-service drinks as well.
The best thing about this lounge is the restaurant.
Bathrooms and showers are shared with the business class lounge, and movement between business and first class areas wasn’t restricted in any way.
The business lounge is elegant, cozy, and also with great views. It features a noodle bar as its key element.
Think of this space as a “mini-Pier.” And service in the restaurant is really good. In fact, you can think of the menu really is a list of ingredients, to create possibilities rather than define the boundaries of what you can order.
My daughter wanted scrambled eggs with smoked salmon (not on the menu, but they had eggs and salmon benedict) and she wanted sausage, but none of the other accompaniments of an English breakfast. This was not a problem.
I had the dim sum and the dan dan noodle soup, along with an extra strong flat white and non-alcoholic ‘ginger forest’.
The lounge was small, oneworld emeralds all have access when flying within the alliance, yet the lounge never got busy while I was there. Who are all those AAdvantage Executive Platinums and BA Golds using the American and British Airways lounges? Why???
Unfortunately not everyone gets to fly first or business class. Can anyone tell me about the Priority Pass Lounge in Terminal 3?
Although I am not in the “status” category, this lounge looks fantastic! Your review with pictures sounds so classy and calming before or after a flight!
If you’re actually flying oneworld F class (including AA, JL or CX) the F dining section in the BA lounge in terminal 3 is better if you value more expensive wines/champagne. It’s also never crowded.
@Omar – but then you’re eating their food
Nobody who has been to the Concorde Room believes that, sorry!
So Cathay allows admittance to passengers who are not on CX tickets? My recent travel through Terminal 3 and visiting Lounge F and H (BA & AA respectively) required me to be on a BA or AA flight. As for decor, space, food and amenities, I would rate F & H about equal.
Last year when my wife and I were flying LHR-JFK on American in first class the London agent checking us in gave us directions to the AA lounge. I mentioned that we planned on heading to the Cathay lounge and she said that we’d done our research.
One time when flying on American in their “Main Cabin Extra” as an AA Platinum at Heathrow T3, I decided to check out the Cathay Pacific Business as I had access to it due to my AA status. The lounge agent inexplicably directed me to the First lounge! I didn’t correct her. What a lovely place. I wished my flight was delayed.
As a OneWorld F flyer and Emerald member, I actually prefer the QF and BA F lounges to the CX lounge. The CX space is actually quite small, and the offerings are a bit formulaic. The BA lounge had better champagne and the QF lounge had an interesting gin selection.
I got blocked from going as a EXP due to capacity control. That was a disappointing and unexpected first for me. Usually it’s my go to lounge.
We’ve used this lounge twice in the past 12 months when flying AA J/F from LHR using our Alska 100k status. It was fine — they had sparkling water, clean toilets, acceptable wifi, and uncomfortable seats, and it was modestly crowded. It was certainly better than your typical PP lounge or the gate area, but nothing that blew me away. I do acknowledge that I have become impossible to impress.