Review: Intervals Sky Bar, Hong Kong Airport

In my quieter moments, I sometimes imagine myself owning an airport bar, where the lighting is soft, and the drinks flow freely.

Someone plays a wistful version of “As Time Goes By” on a baby grand while a Murakamiesque femme fatale sits in a corner, drinking herself into a stupor. A group of Japanese salarymen lurk in the shadows, hushed over a flight of whiskey, and a lone (and potentially unreliable) narrator dryly observes the transitory comings and goings of every flotsam of society. 

I’d call the bar Limbo, a little nod to the fact that it sits at the juncture between coming and going, between arrivals and departures, between statehood and statelessness.

Well, I’m not the only one with such ambitions, because the Plaza Premium Group, better known for operating traditional airport lounges, has now branched into the nebulously-defined field of airport hospitality with Intervals, a cocktail bar at Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1. 

This haven for aviation geeks opened in June 2023, and I managed to pay a visit during my recent transit through HKG.

And you know what? Sometimes, limbo is a tolerable place to be stuck.

Opening Hours & Access

Intervals is located at the Skybridge area, access to which can be found between Gates 12 & 24 at Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1. The Sky Bridge spans a taxiway 28 metres above the ground between T1 and the T1 Satellite Concourse, tall enough for an A380 to pass comfortably underneath (and they do with some frequency).

Opening hours are 7 a.m to 11.30 p.m daily, and access is available to Priority Pass, DragonPass and LoungeKey members. Do note that Intervals is classified as a restaurant, not an airport lounge, and therefore those with Priority Pass memberships issued by American Express will not be able to visit. 

Getting there is a bit of a walk, but it’s hard to miss the corridor to the Sky bridge. There are several standees advertising Intervals, so just follow them until you reach the entrance.

Lounge Overview

Intervals Sky Bar is certainly a visual spectacle, not just for what you can see outside the bar, but what it looks like inside.

Just beyond the entrance is the bar, where anyone’s free to pull up a chair and chat with the affable bartender while taking in the uninterrupted views afforded by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

In keeping with the theme, the walls are lined with pendulums, sundials and hourglasses, a reminder that time and tide (and CX36 to Osaka Kansai) wait for no man.

Further in are two semi-private seating enclaves, plus a hollowed out egg chair that looks like it’s placed there just for Instagram. These seats are reserved for customers of Plaza Premium’s VIP service, which includes a buggy service to the gate. 

Around the bend of the L is a dining hall, with a few two-tops by the window and several high tables and chairs.

The views, needless to say, are spectacular. Sure, many airports let you watch airplanes at eye-level, but how often do you get the same kind of view that the control tower gets? How often do you get to feel the vibration of a fully-loaded A380 trundling its way beneath you?

My only other comment is that Intervals gets a lot of natural light. Even though the windows have a slight tint to them, it can get uncomfortably bright at certain times of the day- like need sunglasses bright. It’s also noticeably warmer than other parts of the airport, though the overhead A/C vents do their best to keep things tolerable. If glare or temperature are issues for you, you might want to visit during sunrise or after sunset instead. 

Food and Beverage

As a restaurant first and foremost, F&B is the focus of Intervals, and you can expect a carefully curated selection of cocktails paired with tapas-style food.

Here’s how Plaza Premium puts it:

Intervals’ drinks programme showcases a series of miniature sips, known appropriately as a ‘flights of cocktails’, that have been tailored to how much time a guest has to spare ranging from a 15 minutes to a 45 minutes experience.

The shortest ‘flight of cocktails’ is the 15 minutes experience which offers two beverages including To Dream, made with Tequila, chamomile-vanilla tea, bianco vermouth, and sparkling wine; and To Wake, a blend of nitro-brewed coffee, Cognac, and topped with a tofu-hazelnut cream.

For those with 30 minutes to spare, a longer experience includes a four-cocktail ‘flight,’ while those with 45 minutes may want to experience a flight of six, which include To Begin, a frozen cocktail made with Nigori sake, honeydew, and galangal, and To Maturity, featuring a Calvados, sweet wine, and topped with wheat beer.

Unfortunately, Priority Pass members aren’t going to be downing cocktails all day long, because their selection is a bit more restricted. Each visit entitles you to one main and a cocktail or mocktail of your choice.

I visited during the breakfast window, but saw no reason why that should hold me back. I mean, Five O’ Clock Somewhere might as well have been written with the transit area in mind. And so I went with the Yuzu Spritz, made with yuzu, basil, pineapple, grapefruit bitters and vodka. It was a lovely morning eye-opener, and some complimentary orange juice was served too.

For my main I went with the French toast, served with bacon and bananas. It was tasty enough, though I would really have liked to try the tapas menu instead.

The full food and drinks menu can be found online, and some of the items sound really enticing. Be warned though, because the prices are steep. Pinchos are charged per piece, and each will set you back at least HKD48 (~$8). 

Cocktails are similarly imaginative, organised around timeframes relating to the traveller’s schedule. If you just have time for a quickie, then a 15-minute flight can be arranged. If you want to stay and linger, then a 60-minute safari lets you explore the full range of libations available.

Also available are some classics, for those who just can’t do without. 

My main complaint here is that I wish Priority Pass would offer a dining credit instead of a set meal, giving you free reign over the menu. 

Power and Productivity

Intervals is built as a restaurant, not a lounge, so don’t expect workstations or productivity pods. 

That said, you can connect to the airport’s Wi-Fi network, and power outlets (Singapore-style Type G plugs, not universal ones) can be found beneath the bar counter, together with USB Type-A ports. 

Toilets

Intervals technically doesn’t have its own bathrooms, but just out the rear door are a pair of men’s and women’s restrooms, which are so hidden from the public that they might as well be for Intervals guests only. 

Conclusion

Intervals isn’t just another airport bar that’s been pulled up by the roots and haphazardly plonked in the middle of the departures concourse. Instead, it’s an airport bar, something that’s been painstakingly conceptualised and fits so organically into its surroundings one wonders why no one else tried it before.

A must-visit during your next trip through HKG, if you ask me.