The holy grail for travellers in transit – who hasn’t tried to talk their way into a lounge?

These are the crème de la crème, worth booking with the airline on the veracity of their lounge alone.

CATHAY PACIFIC

The Pier, Hong Kong

Refurbished to a high design aesthetic a few years back, the Cathay lounge has one of the largest footprints of a lounge, and runs in a narrow alley through different segments. The further you go in, the more privacy there is. With a capacity of 550, there’s plenty of space for travellers.

The design is constructed around the concept of Hong Kong street life and there’s a slow lane and a fast lane. In every segment there’s a food or drink bar for the fast route, while the slow route has plenty of armchairs and working areas.

There’s a coffee cart, noodle bar and relaxation room. The highlight is the tea house, decked out in black and gold, with a menu of ten plus blends. There is an interactive experience as well where the travellers can see and smell before ordering the blend to be steeped.

The First Class lounge experience at The Pier is a cut above, with day suites and foot massages.

BRITISH AIRWAYS

Heathrow Terminal Five, London

British Airways made a hefty investment in the comfort of their passengers passing through Terminal Five. The Galleries First Lounge has a gold bar, glinting and reflecting the spirits and crystal ware that is imbibed across it. Adding to the dazzle is the Swarovski chandelier. If that’s not enough booze, there’s also a wine gallery and a champagne bar.

The Concorde Room, in homage to those halcyon days of fast flight, is the highest level lounge and includes a restaurant and concierge desk for traveller’s own personal assistant at their disposal. While the emphasis is often put on departures, the arrivals lounge is something to consider.

It includes an infinity bath that replenishes water and splashes over the sides to stay fresh, much like the pool version. There’s also an Elemis travel spa with treatment rooms for facials and massages.

QANTAS

First Class Lounge, Sydney International Airport

This flagship lounge is an icon of design, with the trademark Q woven into the very balustrades of the building. Despite dating back to 2007, its futuristic vision has stood the test of time.

Based around feng shui principles, there’s even a vertical garden which has only blossomed with time, number 8400 plants that re-oxygenate the air and running for 30 metres total. And instead of a help-yourself style, there is waiter service from whichever chair you choose.

One of the biggest lures for travellers here, however, is the Aurora Spa. Offering short and sweet 20-minute treatments, there’s a signature experience as well as massages, facials and hand and foot therapies. Sydney’s signature? A back exfoliation with a bespoke enzymatic wattleseed and walnut exfoliator sealed by a white clay masque.

If you thought that couldn’t be compressed into 20 minutes, there’s more – body moisturizer as well as a foot massage. The shower is also an experience, with its own stereo system.

Overall, the lounge has recorded a 100 per cent customer satisfaction rating and is enough to make anyone accrue the frequent flyers like a maniac.

QATAR AIRWAYS

Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris

Ever been to a lounge with a roof terrace good enough to be a hot city bar? Well Qatar Airway’s brand new lounge at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) has just that. Two, just to cover all bases. From here guests can see the city of lights and even the Eiffel Tower. There is also a brasserie and deli as well as a high end dining precinct.  It clocks up more than 1000 square metres and can handle 200 travellers, with space in between.

There are accents of gold throughout, from the lighting to the finishings. What you expect from the extravagant Middle East is delivered. There is an indoor fountain, to seal the serenity as well as bathrooms with rain showers.

There’s plenty of natural light, so the emphasis is on bringing the tarmac into this sanctuary. There’s barista coffee and the smokers have their own dedicated roof terrace. This lounge is definitely the leader in CDG airport.