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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
A beautiful lounge with comfortable seating, made-to-order Asian food options, a bar with drinks and barista coffee, and good facilities including showers. Together with the neighbouring Qantas lounge, these lounges push the overall Oneworld lounge experience at Heathrow T3 |
5.0
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In June 2025, before a Club Europe flight from London to Stuttgart, I visited all of the Oneworld lounges I had access to on behalf of my travel cabin class within Heathrow’s Terminal 3. One of these lounges is the airport’s Cathay Pacific lounge.
The Cathay Pacific lounge at Heathrow T3 is known to rival Qantas’ lounge as one of the airport’s best, and certainly the best Oneworld option at the airport. This was consistent with my experience. Cathay Pacific has amazing lounges across the world, and I found their Heathrow lounge to be no exception.
I really like the round-the-clock made to order options at the Cathay Pacific business class lounge at Heathrow, and I think the ambience is generally better than the neighbouring Qantas lounge, especially with the abundance of natural light and comfortable seating. However, I think that the food and beverage options are otherwise slightly weaker than the neighbouring Qantas lounge, especially when their restaurant is open. Here’s a full review of the lounge.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Access and Opening Hours
The Cathay Pacific business class lounge at Heathrow is open from 5:30 AM to 9 PM (evidently it attempts to catch more than just Cathay Pacific passengers, as the first Cathay flight leaves at 12 PM). The following passengers are able to access the lounge:
- Oneworld first and business class passengers, including Cathay Pacific and in my case, British Airways (first class passengers can use the first class lounge)
- Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members flying a Oneworld flight (Emerald passengers can use the first class lounge)
- Cathay Pacific Silver members with a lounge pass
- All China Airlines passengers with lounge access
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Location
The Cathay Pacific lounge is lounge C at Heathrow’s Terminal 3. First, follow the signage to lounges B-H after passing the duty free maze at T3.
Signage to Cathay Pacific Lounge at Heathrow Airport
The lounges are “lettered” based on walking time from security – the Qantas lounge is “B” as it’s right by the entrance passageway to the gates. The Cathay Pacific lounge is “C”, though is on the other side of the Qantas lounge to lounges D-H. You’ll be able to find the Cathay Pacific lounge right next to gate 11.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Entrance at Heathrow Airport
The lounge isn’t on the same floor as the terminal, and the only way to get up to the lounge is via lift – fortunately these didn’t take too long.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Heathrow Lift Lobby
Once you head upstairs, you’re greeted with the lounge’s signature wooden tones, as well as a friendly lounge attendant. In this case, I was promptly admitted access into the lounge.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Heathrow Entrance
While typically I review the lounge’s seating areas and food and beverage options separately, I’ll approach this review a little differently, and will detail each of the lounge’s separate sections under its own section. The lounge is one large, long, rectangular room, though it’s partitioned into separate “themed” areas based on the food and beverage options served. These areas are connected by one long, straight hallway.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Heathrow Hallway
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Noodle Bar
Right after walking into the Business Class lounge I was greeted with the Noodle Bar, a signature at most Cathay Pacific lounges. Cathay Pacific’s Heahtrow lounge features a noodle bar with an elevated reinterpretation of cha chaan teng-style booths, with a checkered pattern on the wood finishes echoing what you’d see in Hong Kong. This is a great area to grab some food and eat (and there are power ports at booths), and also a decent place to work, though perhaps not the most relaxing part of the lounge.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Noodle Bar
Food is made-to-order from the actual noodle bar, and you get a buzzer after you order.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Noodle Bar
Strangely I didn’t photograph the menu, though the small menu on offer was:
- Dan dan noodles
- Hong Kong-style wonton noodles
- Vietnamese pho noodles
- Dim sum basket
These are available round the clock. I can’t imagine this costs too much to cater, though it’s such a great value add to the lounge experience. I decided to get some delicious dan dan noodles and a dim sum basket, which were served to me after around 10 minutes.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Noodle Bar – Noodles and Dim Sum
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Bistro
Right past the Noodle Bar is a small bistro area, which is where the rest of the lounge’s food spread is located. There’s a large table full of seating here, as well as some small tables and armchairs to the side. Generally I don’t find this to be the most comfortable area for sitting, and would probably recommend just taking some food from the spread and having it at the Noodle Bar.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Bistro Area
I’d say that the food options here were moderately exciting (better than the British Airways lounge), though definitely not as appealing as the neighbouring Qantas lounge. Options included mango sago pudding, Thai red chicken curry, deep-fried cheese bites, and Mexican beef.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Food Spread
Unless you’re craving something specific, the best food options at this lounge definitely lie at the Noodle Bar.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Bar and Main Area
The last and largest part of the lounge is the bar area, located furthest from the entrance of the lounge. Apart from the bar itself, this area features the most diverse and comfortable seating, including chairs with ottomans, sofas, and other comfortable seating. I visited not too far ahead of Cathay Pacific’s two afternoon departures, so most of the chairs with ottomans were taken – these face the tarmac.
I found this to be the most homely area of the lounge, and would find a space here if I wanted to relax.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Bar Area
Some of the airline’s signature Solo chairs are available by the far corner of the lounge, which are great for working. These were all taken at the time I was visiting. WiFi speeds across the lounge measured 64.6 Mbps down, and 46.4 Mbps up.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Solo Chairs
The actual bar is located at one side of this space, and features a few bar stools.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Bar
The bar serves up a range of beers, wines, and Cathay Pacific’s signature drinks (Cathay Delight and Orange Dream). There are classic cocktails on offer, though you can ask for any cocktail you like. There’s also barista coffee at the lounge, and there were two specialty drinks on offer.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Bar Menu and Specialty Cocktails
I decided to try out one of the specialty drinks, the pineapple and ginger mocktail. It was refreshing (and I’d had a couple of cocktails at the Qantas lounge prior, so wanted to watch my overall alcohol intake).
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Pineapple and Ginger Mocktail
The specialty cocktail selection isn’t as large as the neighbouring Qantas lounge, and I don’t recall the coffee to be as good from previous visits (I didn’t have a coffee this time round). However, this is a very strong offering, especially for an outstation lounge.
Overall, the lounge is beautiful, and there are so many different seating options, all of which are extremely comfortable. This is definitely an awesome outstation lounge for any airline, and the food and drinks are spectacular as well. I’d generally advise heading to this lounge if you wanted an Asian dining option; however, head to the Qantas lounge if you wanted something Western (especially if the restaurant is open), if you’d like a coffee, or if you’d like a drink.
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Shower Rooms
The Cathay Pacific lounge has eight shower suites, and they’re shared between the First and Business Class lounges.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Heathrow Showers
I took a shower, and while water pressure wasn’t spectacular, I found the shower room to otherwise be quite nicely appointed. Ventilation in these shower rooms was decent as well, and the room featured Bamford toiletries.
Cathay Pacific Lounge Heathrow Shower Room
I’ve never had to wait for a shower at the Cathay Pacific lounge at Heathrow Airport (perhaps because most people are originating from London, as opposed to connecting).
Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge Heathrow Service
Everyone I interacted with at this lounge was friendly, and eager to please. I will note that I visited during a busy time, and both food and drinks took a little longer than I was expecting to be delivered – the noodles and dim sum I ordered had a 10-minute turnaround, whereas the drink I ordered had a just-under 5 minute turnaround. This didn’t bother me much, though might be a differentiator between this lounge and neighbouring lounges if you’re short on time and want to grab a bite to eat.
Conclusion: Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge at London Heathrow
Cathay Pacific has an awesome lounge at Heathrow – it’s definitely one of the lounges that pushes Heathrow T3’s overall lounge game, especially if you’re flying a Oneworld carrier. Alongside the neighbouring Qantas lounge, both outstation lounges push as some of the world’s best available to business class passengers, and are significantly better than the other Oneworld lounges in the terminal.
The Cathay Pacific lounge has more capacity, and also generally features more comfortable seating and a better ambience, as well as delicious made-to-order food round the clock. However, I marginally prefer the Qantas’ lounge food and beverage offering, due to their better food spread and drinks selection, and the opportunity to experience restaurant dining at certain times. I’d generally try and visit both if I had the time.
