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Review: the Singapore Airlines business class lounge at Changi Terminal 3

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A few days ago I reviewed the Singapore Airlines business class lounge at Heathrow Terminal 2.  I said that it was overcrowded, too small and the seats were too densely packed together.

I had higher hopes for my return flight from Terminal 3 at Singapore’s Changi Airport.  But guess what …. the lounge was overcrowded, too small and the seats were too densely packed together.

If these photos look a bit repetitive, it is because the lounge is repetitive.  Seats … and more seats …. and more seats.

Singapore Airlines business class lounge Changi Terminal 3

and

Singapore Airlines business class lounge Changi Terminal 3

There is no spa and very little in the way of entertainment.  The best feature is the wide array of hot and cold food available:

Singapore Airlines business class lounge Changi Terminal 3

…. although that is offset by a very poor drink selection.

There is a h-u-g-e bank of computers in an anteroom which I would normally have been keen to use, but it was 11pm at night when we arrived and I wasn’t in the mood to work!  My daughter hit You Tube.

Molly Burgess

There isn’t much more to say.  Lots and lots and lots of people as midnight approached.  We struggled to find a group of four seats together when we arrived and we had to ask someone to move up.  Given the size of the lounge, the idea that you could not find four seats in a group gives you an idea of crowded it got.

If that wasn’t bad enough, it was a very long walk to the gate when we finally boarded.  It is not an experience I am rushing to repeat, to be honest.


Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)

Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Comments (18)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Waribai says:

    I was last there in 2012. Probably around the same time of day. I don’t remember it being that crowded. Not sure if it is seeing more footfall now and they have squeezed more seats in. Also it is probably starting to show its age a little.

  • John says:

    At Changi, I really like the transit hotel. Its air side, right next to the gates. You can book a room in 6 hour blocks with up to 4 beds. Not sure of the current price.

    Also the best hidden “secret” is they have a pool (in one terminal only). For about $10us you can have a swim between flights.

    J

    • Lady London says:

      Yes the pool is outdoor and on the top floor. (not visited it myself, but heard plenty about if from regular travellers there). It;s easy to transit on the little train between terminals. I’ve met people on the long haul down to Oz who make a point of having a 5 hour break between flights in Singapore just so they can go to to the pool.

      Agree on the transit hotels. They are not just hotels with ecnomical rooms for a few hours, but also small lounges. Showers are also available and massages can be booked.

      Every time I’ve been in the SQ lounge in Changi it’s looked a lot better and I’ve been very happy with it. They also have showers and nice attendants. The food is excellent so far as main courses are concerned. The choice of main courses is is particularly good in the evenings. Dishes are replaced with new (different) dishes as soon s they start to run out. The metal containers are smaller containers kept piping hot on the counters that you can serve yourself from. None of the Terminal 5 BA Executive Lounge level of slop in big buckets here. Dishes are well spiced. Drinks not so good on the alcoholic side and choice in soft drinks more limited. But still better than any lounge I’ve ever been in in a few other countries. Around midnight the lounge fills up as so many flights go out of Sinagpore in the very early hours. There can be other times when the lounge is busier too. But what I;ve noticed is that when it’s busy that’s when the choice of wonderful food is widest.

      Singapore Airlines is also my first choice to anywhere East or Oz as they are one of the few airlines which have maintained a pleasant experience in Economy. I wish them luck and hope the onslaught of the Middle Eastern carriers are not going to cause their standards to drop. I;d far rather be in Economy on Singapore than Etihad, for instance.

  • Alan says:

    Never been a major fan of this lounge. I found if you go to the far back left it tends to be a bit quieter, but a disappointing spread of food and drink. Showers were fine though, made use of them when returning from AKL.

  • Paul says:

    To be fair Changi is the best airport in the world and there is much you can do out with the lounge.
    SQ have set theirs up for the local and regional market and its on a par with others but given their fares what is described is disappointing. They are struggling with the Middle East players as much as everyone else and many now by pass Singapore altogether now.

  • John says:

    Think the guy you paparazzied in photo two, doesn’t want his wife to know he’s in Singapore!

    Agree about the lounge, but for the airline it’s all about the software (cabin crew) rather than the hardware (metal, lounges). Perhaps they need to tweak the balance a bit for westerners, but their home customer base may instinctively feel otherwise.

  • krys_k says:

    Gotta agree with Paul. Changi is a great airport without the lounges. I used the massage chair (which was one of many, all free) for so long that I got bored. Then almost missed my flight because I was so fascinated by the butterflies in their dedicated lounge!

  • db says:

    Close your eyes a touch & looks a lot like BA’s Galleries South in LHR T5 — with similar challenges to those you note.

    • Waribai says:

      Without all due respect, the food is slightly better in Changi!

      • Lady London says:

        What do you mean,” slightly better”. The food in the SQ lounge in Changi, even just the Business Class, blows BA’s slop in bib open tanks in their so-called First Class lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 into the weeds. Plus the mode of service makes me always worry about food poisoning. The SQ lounge is scrupulous in this regard.

        • Waribai says:

          Yes, I know. I was making a classic British tongue in cheek understatement!

          • bob says:

            Got some photos somewhere of my two youngest poking their heads through those Changi sunflowers on the open deck 🙂

            On the way to NZ

  • Daftboy says:

    Agree with this assessment, quite underwhelming really.

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