My layover in Singapore was just over three hours, as I was arriving from Melbourne shortly before 3PM, and departing to Kuala Lumpur at 6:40PM. Thanks to the fact that I was arriving in first class, I'd have access to the Singapore Airlines Private Room, which is Singapore Airlines' most exclusive lounge. The last time…
Continue reading: Review: Singapore Airlines Private Room
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I have the exact same feeling about it. I visited it only once and was soooo excited about it, and I found it to be such a let down. There's nothing special about it besides exclusivity and the food wasn't even that good. I also found the shower situation to be quite sad for a first class lounge. It's crazy to me that an airline with such an excellent onboard product and such a prestigious image can be such a let down on the ground. I visited the Air France first class lounge several times, and I just visited Al Safwa for the first time and there isn't even a comparison.
„While this lounge doesn’t rank in my top 11 first class lounges, I’d definitely say it’s in the top 15.“
Hmm, you did rank it #10...
My wife and I were there last year. The place was pretty deserted except for us, another couple and a family with unruly children who were relocated after a while. It was pretty much as you described, except that service was really not great outside the restaurant and the restaurant food was so-so. After doing some wandering, I determined that I'd probably prefer the regular first class lounge if visiting again. Not awful overall, but frankly uninspiring.
Fly thru SIN regularly and have access to the Private Room. One and done. There’s only so much it can offer after the on board experience. I also don’t like deserted places no matter how nice they are.
@ Evan -- I would say so. When you're in a big lounge and you feel like making a phone call and talking quietly would be heard by servers on other side of the lounge, I'd describe it as such.
I spent a few hours there just before Christmas. It definitely lacks atmosphere and the WiFi is so bad it's unreal. Was unable to get much work done. Disappointing there's no spa treatments available.
Best bits were the chocolates and the Dom
Far too many photo showing well nothing much
We don’t need photos of a fruit bowl or of some nuts! A few general shots of the buffet would have sufficed.
So some judicious editing in future please!
Interesting. I could've sworn that was for Suites Passengers only. Had it a couple years back. Too exhausted and sick too eat there though.
I find I value exclusivity the most though. Don't get me wrong, I love the crowds and the atmosphere at the airport, but that Peace and Quiet in certain lounges raises a pleasing nostalgia for me.
Just had a chance for The Wing lounge at HKG, and I didn't know what the point was. All the good seats gone, a line for their special restaurant, and supposedly the best feature of the lounge was the Cabanas, which I've heard you have to arrive before the lounge even opens to get in line to reserve. Where's the "First Class" in any of that? ANA First Lounge NRT was slightly better in that regard, but my highlights so far have been Star Alliance First Lounge LAX, LH F Lounge Munich, and the Aspire Lounge JNB. Admittedly I'm far less travelled than most in the travel community.
It’s meh for what else there is to expect and appreciate from SQ. It’s biggest attribute is the lack of other travelers. Food is quite good as well as the drink. I’ll go back for sure, but do agree on your criticism.
I remember reading somewhere at least a year back that TPR was being renovated, but have heard nothing since. An update to match the new suites would be nice.
Yeah, u can sleep in the FC lounge when TPC closes, and they’ll give you blankets. Pro tip: there are actually two private rooms within TPC. You can get a pretty good sleep on in there, with the chair and ottoman together.
Shower rooms without toilets? Lost me there. I cannot fathom why designers do this, anywhere. It's like in hotels where you have to exit the toilet, in full sight of anyone in the room, to get to the shower. Take note, designers!
Personally I can’t stand TVs blaring every place, and can’t understand why people have to have noise everywhere!
Ill be stopping by this lounge in a few weeks as I am taking a suites flight out of SIN. I never really care about massages and stuff like that. What I care about is lack of crowds, good food, good drinks, comfortable environment. This lounge sounds like it will fit the bill nicely for these things. The LH first class terminal I thought was alright but I was not blown away by it. I was hoping for a complimentary cigar but they did away with that and they don't sell single cigars since I am not a smoker and just wanted to try one in the cigar room I was not about to buy an entire box. The beds were taken almost the entire time I was there so I couldn't get any sleep on a long layover. I also found the service to be quite lacking for almost all the staff there other than the woman who welcomed me to the lounge who was excellent. The rest of them seemed a bit clueless with even basic requests and it took real effort to get a hold of a server to order food. I really felt the staff was inattentive and everything was a bit of a struggle. Not a lounge I will go out of the way for in the future. The pier is my current favorite lounge. I like the design, I like the food, I like the service. Multiple times I have been to the pier and they always perform appropriately.
The Private Room feels a little like a dead zone or energy sink when I have been there. I find the adjoining first class and business class lounges to be more lively and with more interested food.
Good review Ben. The wifi can’t be as slow as it is currently at DOH where I find myself reading this review. Lol.
There in late January. Enjoyed the lamb, sea bass and champagne. Yes, it was super quiet. I was surprised the service wasn't a bit more attentive, but a very pleasant experience and meal, didn't notice the televisions when we were there.
I would agree on the TV's. I have never understood why TV's are placed in lounges. For me it is perfectly possible to wait for departure without a screaming soap on TV.
Food was so excellent, it made my visit fabulous. Much better than the onboard meal. However , I started in SIN, so hit the lounge hungry.
Out of Topic,But Business Class Lounge at Changi Airport sucks! Food sucks & Service sucks.
Show them how it is done,Emirates!
SQ has always been weak in their lounge game, especially at home base when compared to CX at HKG & TG at BKK for example. Maybe they feel their onboard product is strong enough to slack off a bit on the ground
The shower rooms without toilets may be a Changi design... i actually went lounge-hopping with Priority Pass & i think only SATS Premier at T1 has showers with toilets
We have visited First Class lounges in many countries and find quite a range in the offerings, however we can always depend on SQ First lounges to be what we are hoping for....quiet, refined spaces offering comfort, relaxation, good service and a sense of warm, professional hospitality. TPR dependably provides what we look for without wasting the costs of trying to impress us with palatial spaces and ‘blingy’ side offerings. LH’s First Class Terminal was initially exciting to visit but ended up just leaving us underwhelmed by the many side offerings that we have no need of or reason to use. Warm, refined, subtle service does it for us.
This lounge is leagues behind the best in the business. I feel that it doesn't even better the AA Flangship First Dining in JFK.
That said the true reason SQ is not renovating the lounge is because they are slated to move their entire operations to the new terminal 5 once it is opened and will not invest in any of their lounges in T3.
It's there just for exclusivity. This being Singapore, the Business class lounge can get incredibly crowded, and even the First class lounge isn't spared sometimes. To have somewhere quiet to wind down is important. And of course, you get to show off to family/business partners/junior staff and get lots of "face" (which is invaluable in Asia!) Trust me, that's what my boss did many times!
Some context is necessary given the number of folks complaining about how dull and quiet and unexciting the Private Room is. Ex-SIN, one can arrive at the airport and get to the gate in under 10-15 minutes. Added to how pleasant the airport generally is, there is little incentive for most domestic (i.e. Singaporean) travellers, both status and premium cabin, to bother with lounge access. When you consider that most non-award, ex-SIN F passengers are usually VIPs - and very busy people, exciting lounge features are not first priority - exclusivity and privacy are.
Someone pointed out that The Wing at HKG can at times become overcrowded and the highlight feature, the Cabanas, practically impossible to utilise. As also pointed out by others, the First Class section of the SilverKris lounge is indeed livelier and Suites/F passengers can move freely between the areas.
I'm not saying TPR is the best First Class lounge in the world - probably far from it. But the TPR is not called the Private Room for no reason - you can't have it both ways.
@ Dt @ SQ Flyer -- All fair points, though it would also be nice if the lounge at least had functioning wifi. :p
After this review... oh and their menu available... what a let down.
Not as nice as EY’s F lounge with a la cart menu... and actually felt exclusive. This on the other hand from Lucky’s perspective isn’t Wow-able...
I like quiet. I like the Singapore Airlines first class lounge. The food is made to order and excellent. The staff don't overwhelm me.
I find SQ and LH are funny mirrors when it comes to their onboard and ground experiences. SQ is excellent in the air, both their soft and hard product, but their lounges are puzzlingly weak. LH’s hard product on board is just ok, especially in Biz, while their soft product is highly variable, but their lounges are awesome.
I haven’t been to this lounge but I agree about full-time bathroom attendants. I hate it when you just want a little private time and someone is hovering outside within earshot, waiting for you to come back out so they can offer some unnecessary service like turning the taps on for you.
My wife and I are both Solitaire Club members and are invited to the Private Room, but almost always avoid it by arriving to the airport as close to our flight time and enjoying the wonderful service and food at the Imperial Treasure.
Spot on review, Ben - sums up my impression about it too. Have been there about 5 times now and still have these weird mixed feelings about it. It's so quiet any noise is obvious - unfortunately some customers also don't think of using the private booths and end up having loud phone calls (or often Facetime sessions) into their phones that can then be heard from the other end of the lounge!
I find the Private room alright. Staff is nice, its been very calm and quiet all the times Ive been there, nice furniture etc.
The buffet is not good, but for me ala carte has been good. Ive usually stuck to soups, lamb dishes and cheese plates. But strange that the lunch menue is until 6pm. Supper menu only from that time.
The wines/champagne are great (although no Krug in the lounge, only in the air).
I dont need spa etc, so I find the lounge pretty good.
The business class and first class lounges looks pretty outdated. Like waking through a Priority pass lounge. But Ive not stayed there, only passed by.
The Private Room of Singapore Airlines is functional, not inspirational. Can’t wrap my head around why SQ won’t make it great. Ground services and lounges are indeed SQ’s weakest link. I imagine if they care to improve upon these 2 areas, SQ can be the best in their game, bar none.
Not nitpicking at all on the bathroom observations, for me the most important thing of shower room is having a private toilet. So in this regard my trustworthy United Club at IAH is better than the Private Room.
How long are we allow to stay in the private room and are we allow to order everything on the menu?
Sitting in the Private Room right now. Lucky, they seem to have heard you...there's no TV sound AND there's ambient music. Definitely improves the experience.