The pictures that accompany the report are here.

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting a friend of mine in Paris. It was as good an excuse as any to pop over to the city and I had an ulterior motive. I had heard that the lounge operated by Cathay Pacific is very good. Since I quite like the fact they have a noodle bar, it was part of my reason to head off on a little trip. Of course, it wasn't the only reason I went to Paris but as you may suspect, it was high on the list!!

After a weekend in Paris, I took Le Bus Direct to the airport. Unfortunately it was raining in Paris all weekend and it was the same on the last day. I managed to get to the bus stop 20 minutes before the bus (or, 10 minutes after the last bus) and did my best to keep warm in the blustery rain and wind waiting for the bus to arrive. Once it did, it was warm on board and soon enough I was at the airport.

The lounge is used by Cathay Pacific, British Airways and eligible oneworld alliance frequent flyers. It is located between Terminal 2A and Terminal 2C in the connecting building adjacent to the American Airlines Admiral’s Club.

Immediately on the left when you enter is what Cathay Pacific refer to as an IT Zone. It is a space set aside featuring six computers and a printer. Everyone is catered for as half the computers are Windows based PCs and the other half are Apple. Working would be quite pleasant here as it is cheerfully lit and nicely appointed.

Running down the left hand side of the lounge are seats of grey seats with colourful artwork on the wall above. Each pair of seats features a place to charge devices. Further along past the dining room the chairs change to black and tan with a different style of lamp. This helps to break up the areas and not have everything in one single block of colour. Along the window overlooking the apron are a line of black easy chairs which is where I decided to sit. Watching aircraft out the window in spite of the rain is great fun!

Specially designed for Cathay Pacific are the Solas chairs. These are designed so you can eat, work or relax with a little more privacy. They also face the window at CDG, behind the black chairs. My first experience with these was in Hong Kong and I sat in one for an hour or so. They are not really my cup of tea for some reason. They are comfortable but I am not a fan of them possibly due to the closed in feel.

White marble and black granite are a feature of the lounge and this carries over into the toilets. Products are from Institut Karite – well, product – there is only one. I quite like the wooden boxes for the hand towels which match the one the hand wash sits on. It just looks good. On my visit the facilities were spotless and showed no signs of wear. All bathrooms should be like this as far as I am concerned.

For a lounge covering 600 square metres and having a 120 person capacity there are certainly a lot of areas to cover. The dining room at Cathay’s CDG lounge features tables for two which are close enough together to be private or used for larger parties. Behind the tables is a taller marble table featuring stools where people can slurp their noodles on the run. It dominates the space without being intrusive and helps to signify the end of the dining area.

Overall the space is very effective and a nice clean place to eat some food before flight. Speaking of food… What really sets apart a decent lounge is the food. Here at CDG the buffet selection has something for everyone. As the lounge is run by a Hong Kong based airline there is a distinctly Asian slant to proceedings which I love. My choice was the Chicken and Cashews over some rice which was great. A glass of Baron d’Avella Champagne washed it down. I like how the Champagne is resealable to keep it fresh.

The pièce de résistance of any Cathay Pacific lounge – CDG is no exception – is the noodle bar. Here you can get freshly cooked items made to order. One of the two items I tried on this visit was the Pho Chicken. For those that don’t know, Pho is a clear soup that originates in Vietnam. My soup was just okay but that was because I had it second.

Virtually minutes after getting into the lounge I went for the highlight dish at the noodle bar. Nestled in the middle of the menu is the Dan Dan Noodles. These are Udon noodles in a peanut flavoured soup and feature in all the Cathay lounges with a noodle bar.

Out. Of. This. World. Every time I have them, I love them. Love! They are so delicious and bursting with flavour that they take your breath away. I am kicking myself that I only had the one bowl. Perfection!

Visiting Paris? I suggest you fly home via CDG to London on British Airways or via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific so you too can spend a couple of hours in this lounge. Besides being comfortable, relaxing and very clean, those who enjoy food and drink are spoiled for choice. From buffet selection to the noodle bar you won’t go hungry. Cathay Pacific get it right when it comes to lounges, they really do.

Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below!

My previous Trip Reports -

British Airways Club Europe LHR-DUB - Champagne all the way!
Soaring above the clouds on the upper deck of a British Airways A380 in Club World
Cathay Pacific's Majestic First Class Lounge At Hong Kong - The Pier - The Lounge With It All
Champagne and Being Stepped On - Overnight Adventures on a British Airways 787-9 Dreamliner from BWI-LHR in Club World
Qantas International First Class Lounge Sydney - The Best First Class Lounge In The World?
Three Flights in Qantas Domestic Business Class - Lie-Flat A330 Seats and Boeing 737. SYD-BNE-CNS and BNE-SYD
A Volcanic Eruption in the Toilet - British Airways Club Europe Athens to London Heathrow
Concorde Room: British Airways 777 First LHR-IAD
Concorde Dining: British Airways 380 First IAD-LHR
Oops! I Missed My Flight! American First DFW-BOS
Phoenix Rising? American A321 First Class BOS-PHX
Speedbird From Sweden: British Airways Club Europe
Aer Lingus Business Class Review Part 2 - BOS-DUB
Aer Lingus Business Class Review Part 1 - DUB-BOS
British Airways Club World London City Review
American Airlines First Class - JFK-DCA-JFK A321
Mm Scones! British Airways Club Europe DUB-LHR-DUB
To Sydney On BA WT Plus - QF HKG Lounge And More
The Details About Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy
New Pre-Order Meals On Aer Lingus (DUB-CDG)
Three Flights In First Class On American Airlines
Destination Washington - BA World Traveller Plus
Aer Lingus - DUB-LHR-DUB - Lounges, Food, Flying!
Aer Lingus Business Class - JFK-DUB
Aer Lingus Economy Class - DUB-JFK
Champagne Across The Atlantic - BA 772 Club World
Extremely Disappointing - AA - MCO-MIA-MCO
Perfect Day For Flight - Aer Lingus LGW-DUB
Random Happenings... Easyjet A319 LGW-SXF
A Perfect Flight - Cathay Pacific Business
Aer Lingus: They Upgraded The Lounge At Last
Hello A380! Qantas Premium Economy SYD-LHR
Qantas Premium Economy! Yes! LHR-SYD B744
EI - DUB-SNN-DUB - The Lounges Make Me Cry
Royal Jordanian And Malev Business
Crown Class On Royal Jordanian
Slumming It Down In Economy On BA
1100km/h In A Qantas Skybed?! Wow!
The Midnight A310 To Bangkok!
Flying Royal Jordanian's Baby Zay!
Struck By The Upgrade Fairy! Yes!
Basic Lounges? Welcome To Aer Lingus!
DUB-LHR-JFK / QE2 / LGW-DUB Y/WT+/J

My previous Trip Reports (with airliners.net pictures only) -

I Broke The MD11! - Finnair J - SIN-BKK-HEL-LHR
BA Club Europe - London To Istanbul
AtlasJet - IST-JMK (Istanbul To Mykonos)

My previous Trip Reports (no pictures) -

Two X Economy - Qantas SYD-LAX, Aer Lingus LAX-DUB
Alaska Airlines First Class - YVR-LAX
American Airlines First - LAX - ORD & SFO - JFK
British Airways Club World - LHR To LAX
DUB-LHR On Aer Lingus
British Airways Club Europe - London To Russia
DUB-LHR-DUB - Detailed Report On Aer Lingus
HKG-LHR Qantas Business Class
LHR-KEF-LHR On Icelandair Economy Class
LGW-AMS On British Airways Economy
AMS-HEL-DUB - Finnair Business / Economy
PEK-HKG - Cathay Pacific Business Class
KIX-TPE-HKG-PEK - Cathay Pacific Business Class
HKG - NRT - Cathay Pacific Business Class
SYD - HKG - Qantas Business Class
Qantas Domestic - SYD-BNE-SYD
Qantas Transcontinental - SYD-PER-SYD
Avalon Hell! - Jetstar Experience - SYD-AVV-SYD
SYD - MCY - SYD On East-West Airlines - May 1985

iclcy wrote:

Flogging your blog again. Boring

Bon Chance

Thanks for actually commenting on the report that I generously wrote and shared.

I am really glad you enjoyed it