Throughout my lengthy journey to Abu Dhabi, I had the possibility to take a look at a few of Singapore Airways’ lounges at its Changi Airport hub. Prior to now couple of years, Singapore Airways has utterly redesigned its lounges in Terminal 3.
On this installment I wished to evaluation Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room, which is the service’s most unique lounge. Then within the subsequent installment I’ll evaluation the Singapore Airways First Class Lounge (and I additionally just lately reviewed the Singapore Airways Enterprise Class Lounge).
So, how is Singapore Airways’ finest lounge? There’s lots to love about this lounge, together with a chic design, restaurant high quality meals and drinks with desk service, nap rooms, and delightful bathe suites.
Nonetheless, the lounge isn’t excellent — except for the nap rooms, the lounge doesn’t have any particular facilities, and Singapore Airways’ top quality floor providers are in any other case missing. I believe this ranks as one of many world’s 10 finest top quality lounges, but it surely’s undoubtedly within the backside half of the listing. Let’s get into the evaluation.
Singapore Airways The Non-public Room location
Singapore Airways’ most spectacular lounges at Changi Airport are in Terminal 3, with The Non-public Room, the First Class Lounge, and the Enterprise Class Lounge, sharing one entrance. Singapore Airways’ lounges are positioned within the heart of the terminal, closest to the E gates. If you’re within the central procuring space, you’ll see an escalator main up a stage to the lounges.
The best option to determine the situation of the lounges is by the artwork glass set up, that includes Singapore Airways’ batik motif. This consists of 105 handcrafted artwork glass items, and measures 12 meters large and three.8 meters tall, so it’s onerous to overlook.
You’ll then end up within the lounge’s central reception space. The doorway to the Enterprise Class Lounge is to the appropriate, the doorway to the First Class Lounge is to the left of that, and the doorway to The Non-public Room is to the left of that.
In case you see an agent on the desk on the left, they’ll admit you to the lounge and escort you into The Non-public Room, which is down a winding, bronze hallway.
Singapore Airways The Non-public Room hours
Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room is open every day from 5:30AM till 2:30AM, so it simply closes for 3 hours every evening. This covers nearly all of Singapore Airways’ departures from Changi Airport, although it does minimize it tight for some flights.
For instance, I used to be on a 6:50AM flight from Singapore to Jakarta departing from Terminal 2. Safety is at every particular person gate, so realistically you don’t actually have time to make use of The Non-public Room within the morning previous to that flight, apart from perhaps for a couple of minutes. That’s additionally why I used the lounge the evening earlier than, since I knew I wouldn’t have time to evaluation it within the morning.
Singapore Airways The Non-public Room entry necessities
Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room is meant solely for passengers touring in Singapore Airways’ A380 Suites Class or 777 top quality. There’s no option to entry this lounge through standing or by flying top quality on a accomplice airline, and also you’re not allowed to carry any company.
To handle a couple of potential situations:
- You need to use The Non-public Room both previous to your Suites Class or top quality flight, or after it, should you’re connecting onto one other Singapore Airways flight in a decrease cabin
- Whereas this isn’t revealed anyplace, unofficially you’ll be able to even use The Non-public Room as an arrivals lounge, by simply flashing your inbound boarding move with out an onward connection
- Utilizing The Non-public Room within the calendar day previous to your flight isn’t a difficulty, in case you have an prolonged transit; for instance, I entered the lounge at round 8PM, with a flight simply earlier than 7AM the next morning
So, what makes the entry necessities of the much less unique Singapore Airways First Class Lounge totally different?
- The Singapore Airways First Class Lounge is open to PPS Solitaire members, since is the service’s prime tier standing
- The Singapore Airways First Class Lounge is a normal Star Alliance top quality lounge, so will be accessed by top quality passengers on Star Alliance accomplice airways
- The Singapore Airways First Class Lounge permits all eligible vacationers to take a visitor, whereas The Non-public Room doesn’t
As you’ll be able to inform, The Non-public Room is the true top quality lounge for Singapore Airways passengers, whereas the Singapore Airways First Class Lounge is the Star Alliance compliant lounge, for vacationers on accomplice airways and choose elite members.
Singapore Airways The Non-public Room structure & seating
Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room is 950 sq. meters (10,000+ sq. ft), with seating for almost 80 company.
As you enter the lounge, the very first thing that you just’ll see is a marble desk with a chandelier above it. That is the a part of the lounge that connects the varied areas, together with the doorway, nap rooms, bogs, and primary lounge space.
When it comes to structure, The Non-public Room is a really simple lounge. The lounge is in an oblong form, and what you see beneath is the whole lot of the principle lounge space. There are two walkways going all through the lounge, primarily with “three” rows of seating — it’s nearly like strolling down the aisle within the premium cabin of a large physique jet. 😉
Roughly the primary two-thirds of the lounge consists of varied seating preparations for stress-free, whereas the final one-third of the lounge consists of the restaurant space.
Within the heart row, you might have the biggest and least non-public sitting areas, which just about really feel like mini-living rooms, and so they’re in quite a lot of configurations, with some areas consisting of a sofa and two chairs.
Then alongside the appropriate facet of the lounge, you might have roughly half a dozen semi-private sitting areas, with most accommodating one to 2 folks every.
You’ll see an analogous idea on the alternative facet of the lounge, with every space having a seat and a espresso desk.
Within the above space, I respect how nearly all of the sitting areas have conveniently positioned plugs, as you’d hope for with a brand new flagship lounge that opened in 2022. After the above space, there’s a soundproof sales space, so as to make a cellphone name in non-public, with out disturbing others. In fact as I witnessed, the individuals who most want these are additionally the people who find themselves least probably to make use of these…
Then at the back of the lounge is the eating space, which options 14 eating tables, every accommodating two folks (although tables will be moved collectively for bigger events).
At the back of the eating space is a gorgeous kitchen counter sort show, although it’s largely for present — meals and drinks within the lounge aren’t self-serve, and most issues come from the kitchen.
There’s a small desk with a meals show, although I’m not even positive if company are supposed to assist themselves to this, or what.
Again close to the doorway, The Non-public Room has a play room for youths, although it’s fairly modest, and it’s actually extra of a TV room than the rest.
In case you ask me, the one main catch with The Non-public Room is that it has no pure gentle. One facet of the lounge has a panel of home windows wanting into the concourse, which I suppose is nicer in Singapore Changi than at different airports. However nonetheless, there are not any direct views outdoors from the lounge, which isn’t best. Then once more, with the busiest hour within the lounge being round midnight, maybe that’s not an enormous deal.
All-in-all, I discovered The Non-public Room to be elegantly designed. It has very comfy seating and a eating room that appears like what you’d anticipate at a really good restaurant. Nonetheless, I’d say it doesn’t really feel fairly as cozy as Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class Lounge, however slightly feels a bit extra like a conventional airport lounge.
I’d additionally say that I want there was a bit extra selection when it comes to seating choices. For instance, with all of those particular person sections, it might be good if there have been some workstations, or not less than someplace to have the ability to comfortably work on a laptop computer, apart from at a eating desk.
Singapore Airways The Non-public Room meals & drinks
Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room has an a la carte idea for each meals and drinks, and the servers within the lounge are extraordinarily attentive. Irrespective of the place you sit, you’ll be introduced with the menu. Drinks can be found in the principle lounge space, whereas meals is offered within the eating room space.
Beneath you could find The Non-public Room drink menu.
Beneath you could find The Non-public Room meals menu, together with the breakfast menu (5:30AM till 11AM), lunch menu (11AM-6PM), dinner menu (from 6PM onwards), all-day vegetarian menu, and all-day dessert menu.
Upon arriving in The Non-public Room, I first had a seat within the non-dining space, as I used to be ready for my good friend Toby to hitch me. He’d be flying with me to Jakarta, and sure, it’s that Toby. To begin, I had a nonetheless water and a flat white. To be sincere, as somebody who loves espresso, the flat white might’ve been higher. I’m undecided in the event that they’re utilizing machine espresso, or if there’s simply room for enchancment with the barista expertise.
When Toby arrived within the lounge, we had a wonderful dinner, beginning with some champagne. Many airways serve nice champagne onboard flights, however then skimp on the bottom… not Singapore Airways, although! The airline serves 2008 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, one of many three champagnes it serves onboard in top quality.
Toby additionally ordered a Singapore Sling… no remark.
As a starter, we ordered the wagyu ribeye to share (it was listed below mains, but it surely appeared like appetizer), and it was scrumptious.
As a lover of Indian vegetarian meals, I ordered the tandoori paneer tikka masala with ghee pulao, which was tasty.
Toby ordered the poached lobster with caviar, which the menu particularly described as being an entire lobster. Whereas the dish was superbly introduced, it was a really small portion. So I’m undecided if there was a miscommunication there, in the event that they’re serving the world’s smallest lobsters, or what.
So Toby as a substitute handled that as a second appetizer, and as a substitute ordered the roasted lamb rack with lyonnaise potato and sautéed spinach, which he loved.
Then for dessert, I ordered the chocolate parfait with strawberry and granola, whereas Toby had the white fungus soup with goji berries and purple dates.
The meals high quality and presentation was glorious throughout the board, and the service was pleasant.
Singapore Airways The Non-public Room bogs & showers
Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room has bogs and showers close to the doorway to the lounge. All the pieces about these feels tremendous high-end.
The lads’s room had a couple of sinks, stalls, and urinals.
One thing I’ve by no means seen earlier than is that the toilet not solely has a sink particularly for kids, however even has a stall for kids, with a a lot smaller rest room. I don’t suppose I’ve ever seen that in any airport lounge, not to mention in a world top quality lounge that’s this unique.
The lounge was spotlessly clear and was always refreshed. There have been additionally quite a lot of facilities within the lavatory, starting from dental kits to Lalique perfume.
The Non-public Room additionally has 4 bathe suites.
The bathe suites every function a sink, a rest room, and a walk-in bathe. These are among the many nicer bathe suites you’ll discover in any airport lounge, and I discovered the air flow to be fairly good. Toiletries have been in reusable containers from COMO Shambhala.
Singapore Airways The Non-public Room nap rooms
Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room has 4 nap rooms, which can be found on a first-come, first-served foundation. I like the idea of nap rooms, because it’s essentially the most helpful amenity should you’re seeking to get some relaxation between flights.
The nap rooms can be found for a interval of two hours. Nonetheless, if there’s nobody ready to make use of one of many rooms, then you’ll be able to prolong your time within the nap room. One other factor to notice is you can even use these nap rooms whereas the lounge closes from 2:30AM till 5:30AM (The Non-public Room isn’t truly “locked,” because it opens up into the remainder of the lounge), so at the moment you’d get a minimal of a 3 hour block.
The 4 nap rooms are down a central hallway, and so they appear to be fairly comparable.
My nap room featured a twin mattress, a desk with a desk, and a snug chair, which may recline fairly a methods. Whereas the mattress may not essentially look that comfy, the mattress is extraordinarily properly padded, so I dozed off very quickly.
There’s even a blanket and a few slippers offered, for added consolation.
Whereas I like these nap rooms in concept, there are some very odd quirks to them, which I can’t fairly wrap my head round:
- The door of every nap room has a window, so there’s no privateness within the bed room and anybody can look in; that’s a bit complicated, since I’d assume that it’s advantageous to take off a few of your garments should you’re entering into mattress, however maybe that’s not the intent?
- The lights in every nap room simply activate randomly at sure intervals, and this appears to be an ongoing difficulty; this doesn’t mirror the tip of a reserved interval, however slightly the lights simply randomly activate, so get able to always be woken up
- The nap rooms don’t develop into totally darkish, however slightly there’s a vivid panel of lighting alongside the ceiling and wall
So finally these nap rooms are nonetheless place to get some relaxation, although do handle your expectations when it comes to privateness and lightweight.
Backside line
Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room is without doubt one of the world’s most unique top quality lounges. The lounge is elegant, serves restaurant high quality eating and nice wine, and presents nap rooms and splendid bathe suites.
This is a superb top quality lounge, but it surely’s not fairly the perfect on the earth. Some downsides to the lounge embody the shortage of pure gentle, the truth that there’s not a lot selection in seating, the nap rooms having some points, and there simply typically not being one other x-factor (like some superb spa, a gymnasium, and so forth.).
When you’ve got entry to The Non-public Room, undoubtedly depart a while to get pleasure from it… nevertheless, I wouldn’t depart an excessive amount of time.
What’s your tackle Singapore Airways’ The Non-public Room?
