You join me at Singapore Changi Airport having just arrived from Manila on Singapore Airlines’ excellent regional A350 Business Class (reviewed here). With several hours to wait at the world’s best airport for my Suites Class flight to Frankfurt, I could avail the complex of Singapore Airlines’ lounges in Terminal 3. Here’s my review of The Private Room, Singapore Airlines’ “proper” First Class lounge.
In this post:
Who can get in?
For British Airways loyalists, the closest equivalent is The Concorde Room at Terminal 5 – but more exclusive. First and Suites Class passengers can access the lounge when at Changi. No amount of status, even PPS Solitaire, will get you in – they instead are sent to the First Class Lounge
Interestingly, both departing and arriving First or Suites Class passengers can use the facility, which is quite unique. This is made possible because the two types of passengers co-mingle at Changi, which could be interesting as you get access even on the shortest First Class flights.
For a review of the Business Class lounge located next door, read here.
How’s the space?
The Private Room is a very well designed space, which is constrained by where it is located in the terminal. Starting with the positives, there were plenty of seats available during my entire connection that lasted about six hours.
Singapore’s flag carrier have thoughtfully designed it so that it caters well for solo travellers, couples or groups with different types of private seating areas – rather than rows upon rows of communal seating. This means that you can meaningfully have a secluded space for you or your group, creating the illusion of privacy. The focus on areas for solo travellers was particularly appreciated, since this is all too often overlooked by airlines.
Clever design elements were included such as the slatted panels, frosted glass and dividers that weren’t too high, which ensured the space did not feel claustrophobic.
Towards the far end of the lounge is the dining area where equally there was sufficient options for sitting during a meal.
While I generally liked the space and its design, the biggest limiting factor is simply the lack of natural lighting. Unlike the Business Class lounge which has sweeping views of the apron, the only views here are of the shopping mall inside the terminal. I’m surprised Singapore Airlines took this decision when they made this complex of lounges from scratch just a few years ago. Likewise the First Class Lounge also does not have natural light, something I appreciate especially on a longer visit.
Food and beverages
Premium wine and champagne lovers will rejoice at the excellent selection of beverages at this lounge. This included the exceptional Taittinger Comtes de Champagne which was perfectly chilled and was a perfect way to refresh following a sweaty transfer from my previous flight out of Manila.
The full selection of wines and champagne could be seen in the pantry area, although it is not technically self-serve. Barista coffee and TWG Tea was also available on request, the former was well produced as I have found in all my previous Singapore Airlines lounge visits at Changi and London.
The Dinner service was exceptionally good and freshly made to order, with not a buffet area in sight. My order consisted primarily of Singaporean and Asian items, such as the tasty Satay Chicken and Wagyu Satay, Tandoori Paneer and Dim Sum. It was all piping hot and was well produced, so much so I ordered at least three plats of the Wagyu Satay because of how well it was cooked.
While I wouldn’t usually take much note of the glasses, plates and cutlery, the weight and quality of the latter (including the metal-ended chopsticks) show how much care and attention to detail Singapore Airlines puts into this space.
The full menu, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, all day and drinks, can be seen below.
Amenities
There’s not much getting away from the fact that this lounge isn’t particularly large with it being a rectangular room for up to 78 guests, albeit with excellent design. This means that some of the facilities are shared with the First Class lounge. The first being the resting rooms. I didn’t use this in my stay, and neither was I able to pop in to grab a photo, but they don’t look massively comfortable and certainly not a patch on Qatar Airways’ Al Safwa.
The showers are much more akin to the best in class reputation Singapore Airlines has. Again, these along with the bathrooms, are shared with First Class lounge guests with them being sparkling clean and excellently designed. They featured both waterfall and handheld showers with excellent pressure, ultra-premium Como Shambhala body wash, shampoo and conditioner, and to top it all off they installed Toto Washlets – Japanese-style bidet toilets. They are a really nice place to cool off and clean yourself before a long-haul flight.
The bathrooms were equally well appointed and kept clean consistently throughout the stay – no hospital style toilets here!
Throughout the lounge, connectivity was excellent. This included speedy WiFi that I didn’t notice slowdown at all as well as the international power outlets. The outlets are often a bugbear of mine in many lounges as too many only use the local outlet type.
Bonus: First Class Lounge next door
This is not a full review as I didn’t spend sufficient time there, though I did pop into the standard First Class lounge next door. This is open 24/7 unlike the Private Room, which is open around 18 hours per day. It’s available for Singapore Airlines most elite PPS Solitaire status holders and is the default lounge for other Star Alliance First Class passengers from Changi Airport, namely the likes of Lufthansa and Swiss.
The design is similar; however I’d say that the Private Room feels brighter and a bit less dingy than the First Class lounge. The key difference is that most of the food is served buffet-style and there is a dedicated bar area. Of course, you still get access to the same bathrooms, showers and sleeping rooms as the Private Room too.
Is it worth visiting?
If you’re flying Singapore Airlines in Suites or First Class, yes it is completely worth visiting especially when combined with the world leading Suites on the A380. That being said is it the world’s best First Class lounge? No. It’s an excellent space that is well designed with great food but there’s so much good competition in long-haul First Class lounges that this wouldn’t even rank in my top five.
Cathay Pacific have the best lounges in the world, bar none, whether that’s in Hong Kong or London. Qatar Airways have their enormous Al Safwa art gallery turned lounge in Doha. Air France have their chic gastronomic experiences at the Salon La Premiere at Charles de Gaulle. British Airways…let’s not go there. With tough competition like that, Singapore Airlines was going to struggle to meet those expectations. It’s still incredible though unlike those three, the lounge itself isn’t a key selling point of the overall First Class experience in the same way.
