HKG new lounge open

[amaroo]

Not quite rubbish but it is very boring.

I can spend ~10-15 minutes in restaurant and then ~10-15 minutes catching up on emails. Then I am bored.

Not everyone is impressed by a champagne bar or cabanas when they are travelling. To each their own.

If you get bored with quality and the finer things in life......you'd be perfect for J*

 

[Isochronous]

I think JK would like a driving range and putting green to keep him occupied.
Throw in a practice bunker and he'd miss his flight

They Admirals Club at AUS has a putting green.

 

[yohy?!]

Initial thoughts on the new QF HKG lounge after a brief stop there last night (pics to upload shortly):

-huuuuuuge amount of space, the design aesthetic is quite minimal and the lounge just seems to go on forever. ..they must be expecting to pack them in for the evening AU flights.

-bar and buffet setup seems largely identical to SIN lounge. ..no sign of bbq or dim sum at 4pm guess they start that later.

-good workbench table set up with plenty of power outlets, surprising to see Singha beer on offer which according to the lounge staff is from Singapore (!).

-many friendly and proactive staff again mirroring my experiences in SIN

-there is a rear door now towards the far gates that may actually be useful for boarding to avoid the double back to the escalators seems like it might end up where the g16 escalators are...didn't have time to check but the door was opening and closing automatically.

-the fit out has a bit of a cheap feel like the budget was cut..lots and lots of white walls and bare polished concrete floors. It feels stark and not homely or familiar, again it may have been lack of pax that exacerbated this feeling.

-went to The Bridge straight after and realized that even full of pax it is far far quieter than the qf lounge. . . The open air roof plus loud lounging music and announcements created a cacophony at one point and I believe people asked for the music to be be switched off. Not sure how cx manages to the F wing so quiet in similar locations.

Overall it's a nice lounge but it's not anywhere in the league of the cx lounges at hkg.

 

[serfty]

Well hope this new lounge is better than the first class lounges on offer before. I found the CX first class lounges in HK rubbish compared to that of Sydney. ...

That's an interesting comparison - the QF SYD & MEL First lounges are close to the best airline lounges anywhere (top 5 perhaps).

I can certainly state the CX Wing First lounge is arguably among the top 10 worldwide.

There would be 100's of airline lounges don't come even close to the quality of the wing First offering.

Every one is different - I see you find 30 minutes at the SYD QF First lounge too long.

Personally I try to allow at least 3 hours for MEL & SYD - on my last HKG journey, I Allowed 4 hours for the Wing and the QF bunker.

Back on topic - Thank goodness Qantas have moved back to their old location.

That North end exit seem like a very good idea - I severely disliked the long walk from upstairs a far north gate departure would entail.

 

[RooFlyer]

Initial thoughts on the new QF HKG lounge after a brief stop there last night (pics to upload shortly):

<snip>

-went to The Bridge straight after and realized that even full of pax it is far far quieter than the qf lounge. . . The open air roof plus loud lounging music and announcements created a cacophony at one point and I believe people asked for the music to be be switched off. Not sure how cx manages to the F wing so quiet in similar locations.

Overall it's a nice lounge but it's not anywhere in the league of the cx lounges at hkg.

Thanks yohy?! Will be interested to see the pics. Wretched polished concrete floors! In my first observation, based on the QF pics, I made the observation that (unlike SIN lounge) at least there seemed to be a ceiling at least in part, and actual floor treatments. I quickly got corrected on the first, and now on the second!

 

[Pushka]

Did you go to J Wing upstairs? I think there is plenty of room & food up there. Downstairs is pretty coughpy and the staff never told me there was J section upstairs until I asked.

I visited F last month and spent an hour in the Cabana taking a bath & relaxing. That was really good. I like both J and F there.

Yep. I was downstairs and they sent me upstairs next to F lounge. Very few seats except on the bar. Not much food offering at all. After the new QP it is a downgrade now.

I did notice those concrete floors. They do work with the timber and natural colouring. Better than a stained carpet after a few months.

I know I'm a minimalist and prefer more space than others. And keeping things minimalist means I don't have to see other people's interpretation of art which I mightn't like so much.

Anyways. I liked it.

 

[Brettmcg]

Overall it's a nice lounge but it's not anywhere in the league of the cx lounges at hkg.

Let's not forget that QF have come up with a lounge, that from all accounts, appears to be fantastic in a foreign port which they serve with only three flights a day. With that amount of traffic (+ some OW and partner traffic) I think they are deserving of some credit for going to all the effort. I wouldn't necessarily expect them to be "in the league of the CX lounges at HKG" just as the CX lounge in MEL is not a drop in the ocean on the QF F setup.

Personally I really love the new design style of the SIN (and from what I can tell from the photos HKG also) lounge(s). I have no issue with the open roof in SIN and would have no problem with polished concrete floors in HKG (so long as they are not too noisy!).

 

[JohnK]

1) A lounge being 'boring' (and 'very boring' in the case of The Wing F). What would make it 'not boring'? Jugglers? Flame eaters? Donkey rides? There are seats, a restaurant, a bar, showers, TVs, internet and a small library. What need they do to keep your interest up in an airport lounge? How about (to quote Basil Fawlty) Krakatoa erupting on the horizon?

Nice views. Character.

2) And about not being 'impressed by champagne bars or cabanas'. I use a cabana to have a shower (or a bath if I'm so minded) and I use a champagne bar to have a glass or two of champagne; if they manage those, I'm happy. What else do these facilities need to offer to impress you?

If I have had a shower at the hotel in the morning I do not need to have another shower in the lounge. If I have transitted the airport overnight then a shower could be on the cards in the morning.

Champage? Big deal.

The waiters have no personality. They keep forgetting my difficult drink order of a Carlsberg or Vodka and orange. I would rather be able to order drilnk at bar and walk away with drink rather than waiting for someone to deliver it when they are ready.

The restaurant buffet is quite nice and I can usually have some real food like roast lamb, beef or portk or steak or lamb chops along with salmon.

Personally I would rather walk and visit 3-4 lounges than stay in the same stuffy lounge. But to each their own.

 

[Brettmcg]

The restaurant buffet is quite nice and I can usually have some real food like roast lamb, beef or portk or steak or lamb chops along with salmon.

What exactly constitutes "real food"?

 

[Aussie_flyer]

What exactly constitutes "real food"?

seems to be big hunks of meat

 

[zainman]

Let's not forget that QF have come up with a lounge, that from all accounts, appears to be fantastic in a foreign port which they serve with only three flights a day. With that amount of traffic (+ some OW and partner traffic) I think they are deserving of some credit for going to all the effort. I wouldn't necessarily expect them to be "in the league of the CX lounges at HKG" just as the CX lounge in MEL is not a drop in the ocean on the QF F setup.

Personally I really love the new design style of the SIN (and from what I can tell from the photos HKG also) lounge(s). I have no issue with the open roof in SIN and would have no problem with polished concrete floors in HKG (so long as they are not too noisy!).

Maybe they opened these lounges in preparation of leaving OW?

 

[RooFlyer]

1) A lounge being 'boring' (and 'very boring' in the case of The Wing F). What would make it 'not boring'? Jugglers? Flame eaters? Donkey rides? There are seats, a restaurant, a bar, showers, TVs, internet and a small library. What need they do to keep your interest up in an airport lounge? How about (to quote Basil Fawlty) Krakatoa erupting on the horizon?

Nice views. Character.


<snip>.

Great to see that you are getting into the Basil Fawlty spirit From about 1 minute: A room with a view - Fawlty Towers - BBC - YouTube

Of course from an airport lounge you wouldn't expect to see the Sydney Opera House or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, or herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the tarmac.

 

[Pushka]

Just found a picture of the concrete floor. Works I think.

 

[triple7]

I was there last week. Good food, nice atmosphere and pleasant staff. A good addition to the QF network.

 

[RooFlyer]

What exactly constitutes "real food"?

The restaurant buffet is quite nice and I can usually have some real food like roast lamb, beef or portk or steak or lamb chops along with salmon.

Seems I have to add some extra text.

 

[RooFlyer]

<snip>

I did notice those concrete floors. They do work with the timber and natural colouring. Better than a stained carpet after a few months.

<snip>

Concrete floors to me says 'cheap' are either used in industrial areas or where the patrons are expected to cause a mess. There was a 'famous' bar in Darwin many years ago called the 'Animal Bar'. Concrete floor, everything bolted down. The concrete floor allowed them to hose the place out every morning (or so I was told!).

Tiles are nice in a high wear and/or spills environment.

I can't recall polished concrete being featured in any other lounge I've been in. Qantas are obviously design leaders.

 

[Pushka]

I understand what JohnK means when he talks of real food. (Edit - or maybe I don't. ). It's not finger food but food that has bulk. I think the HK club had these with items like large hot baked potatoes and trimmings. Curry vegetables. Large pasta dishes.

The food in the club lounge at Langham Place one night had Lamb Chops. You really felt like you you eating something. Sadly the next night it disappointed.

Concrete floors are fashionable now. You either like or loathe them. Personally I'd rather see them in high traffic areas than stained carpet. Because accidents happen.

 

[dmitri]

Concrete floors to me says 'cheap' are either used in industrial areas or where the patrons are expected to cause a mess. There was a 'famous' bar in Darwin many years ago called the 'Animal Bar'. Concrete floor, everything bolted down. The concrete floor allowed them to hose the place out every morning (or so I was told!).

Tiles are nice in a high wear and/or spills environment.

I can't recall polished concrete being featured in any other lounge I've been in. Qantas are obviously design leaders.

Polished concrete can be quite expensive to get done. You can pay upwards of $100 sq/m to get it done if you want a colour added. It is an easily maintainable flooring, possibly why the used it as it is great in heavy traffic areas.

 

[JohnK]

What exactly constitutes "real food"?

Something that everyone can eat and is not dumped in spices, curry and chillies for weeks, months and years.

 

[Pushka]

Something that everyone can eat and is not dumped in spices, curry and chillies for weeks, months and years.

It's not the spices JohnK. Maybe I don't know what you mean after all?