Total Score: 12.7 / 15
Food 4.2 / 5
Seating 4.5 / 5
Extra Amenities 4 / 5
Location: London Heathrow Airport Terminal 3
Cathay Pacific operates some of the world’s best first class lounges at their hub in Hong Kong. The airline has newly renovated the London first and business class lounges and I was eager to find out how this lounge would compare to their flagship lounges in Hong Kong.
How to Access
To enter the lounge, you’ll need to have a same day OneWorld first class boarding pass departing from terminal 3, or be a OneWorld Emerald frequent flyer with a same day boarding pass in any class on a OneWorld carrier. I was arriving in British Airways first class and connecting to a business class flight to Barcelona, so entry is valid as well if you are only arriving in first class as well.
Lounge Layout
Lounge Entrance
Reception 
Main Hallway
After taking the elevator up one floor from the main terminal, you’ll arrive at a reception desk shared by the first and business class lounge. After scanning your boarding pass, you’ll take the first right to enter the first class lounge or you can go straight for the toilets and shower suites.
To Shower Suites 
Lounge Restroom
The first section of the lounge was “The Pantry,” a small self-serve food and drinks area. I visited the lounge in the morning, so they were serving light breakfast items there. It was a nice spread for an airport lounge, though nothing spectacular.
Lounge Map 
The Pantry
The Pantry
Continuing straight, the main lounge area has plenty of seating, the best of which were the dozen or so armchairs facing out to the tarmac.
Lounge Seating
Lounge Seating
Towards the back of the lounge is self serve bar with a nice drink selection. I helped myself to a glass of bubbly.
Wine Selection
Self-Serve Bar 
Champagne
Lastly, this lounge feature a small a la carte restaurant with seating for about 30 passengers. While not a massive space, the lounge is very well designed and I would have been happy to spend more time there.
Lounge Dining
While some lite food is available in the main seating area, the restaurant is the place to go for a full meal. When I arrived, the lounge was serving breakfast. While not the most exciting meal, I was reasonably impressed by the breakfast menu. I ordered an English Breakfast, Chinese dim sum, and a cappuccino which were all fine, though not as good as the first class lounges in Hong Kong. Considering Heathrow is not their hub airport, I was impressed with the food on offer at Cathay’s London lounge. I only wish I could have stayed to sample items from the lunch menu!
Dining Room
Shower Suites
The shower suites were located just passed the reception desk, shared by both the business and first class lounge. A woman requested to see my boarding pass and escorted me to one of the available shower rooms (of which there are about 10). These shower rooms are magnificent and identical to the ones available at The Pier lounge in Hong Kong. The room is fairly spacious and features a toilet and sink in addition to the rainfall shower. Cathay did a fantastic job designing these shower suites, and they are without a doubt one of the best I’ve experienced at any airport.
Bottom Line
I was quite pleased with this unexpected lounge visit which I only realized I could access upon landing in London. I was impressed by the lounge design, amazing showers, and impressive food selection considering this is not Cathay’s hub. While this lounge cannot compare to either of the two Cathay First Class lounges in Hong Kong, this is a great lounge and probably the best at London Heathrow’s Terminal 3.