After a change of job, My Krisflyer Gold status was dropped but maintained at Silver Elite which I think will be dropped to blue very soon. What I really missed about the perks that came with the Gold status was the priority boarding, selection of seats, priority baggage claim, additional baggage allowance and of course the pre-boarding lounges all over the world
For my first post-pandemic flight to Seoul, I decided to redeem business class tickets and get a chance to visit the renovated business class lounge at Changi airport terminal 3
My first impression when I stepped into the lounge is that this is an extremely huge lounge compared to the one before renovations. I think they combined some areas from the old first-class lounges to cater to the biggest crowds in the business lounge. You can see from the series of photos, there were plenty of seating options; huge sofa seats for lounging and resting, bar tables and stools for the solo traveller here for a quick meal, and proper sit-down table and chair for those who prefer a dining setting or simply capsule seats that resembles the business class seats on board for a private resting or reading time
On the right side of the lounge is the relatively quieter side as all the food options were on the left side, so for those who needed to work while waiting to board, the right side is the correct place to be located. There is also a bar on the quieter side which serves any kind of alcohol, cocktail, hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate which is freshly made by the barista upon your order
In terms of food offerings, there are endless tables of food and is almost like a full hotel buffet. There are complete sections dedicated to salads, fruits, yoghurt, cereals and granola, soups, noodles station, egg stations, sandwiches and pastries as well as toast with a variety of spreads. In terms of hot food, they had local favourites like chwee kueh, dim sum, fried rice, prata and curry. In terms of beverages, they have juices, fresh milk, fruit-infused water, canned soft drinks, beer and red wine
I usually don’t eat too much at the lounges unless there are more than 3 hours of waiting time as I will leave space in my stomach for my flight food, especially for a business class flight where I will book a cook for my inflight meals. Some of the items, I will definitely get when I am in the SQ lounge are the chwee kueh and laksa as they are even better than some of the ones you get outside. The other items like the croissant, egg omelette and dim sum are decent but not overwhelming. For airport lounge food, I would say the standards are decent. What I really loved was the variety of drinks I could stay hydrated with before the long flight
The entire lounge was extremely spacious with many different areas for people to rest, eat or lounge and you can pick which other suits your preference. There are the usual shower amenities which you can get unlocked by registering with the service counters. There is also a napping area for those with a long transit layover timing. Each sleeping pod has a good privacy section which fully covers you from others, although a door would have been perfect (a side note, they might want to prevent other things from happening)
Overall, I would grade the new lounge at least a 7 to 8 over 10 for the cleanliness, comfort, service of the staff, amenities and food offerings. It is one of the better lounges compared to other airports
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 