Review: Singapore Airlines The Private Room Singapore Airport (SIN)

During my long journey to Abu Dhabi, I had the chance to check out some of Singapore Airlines’ lounges at its Changi Airport hub. In the past couple of years, Singapore Airlines has completely redesigned its lounges in Terminal 3.

In this installment I wanted to review Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room, which is the carrier’s most exclusive lounge. Then in the next installment I’ll review the Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge (and I also recently reviewed the Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge).

So, how is Singapore Airlines’ best lounge? There’s a lot to like about this lounge, including an elegant design, restaurant quality food and drinks with table service, nap rooms, and beautiful shower suites.

However, the lounge isn’t perfect — aside from the nap rooms, the lounge doesn’t have any special amenities, and Singapore Airlines’ first class ground services are otherwise lacking. I think this ranks as one of the world’s 10 best first class lounges, but it’s definitely in the bottom half of the list. Let’s get into the review.

Singapore Airlines The Private Room location

Singapore Airlines’ most impressive lounges at Changi Airport are in Terminal 3, with The Private Room, the First Class Lounge, and the Business Class Lounge, sharing one entrance. Singapore Airlines’ lounges are located in the center of the terminal, closest to the A gates. When you’re in the central shopping area, you’ll see an escalator leading up a level to the lounges.

The easiest way to identify the location of the lounges is by the art glass installation, featuring Singapore Airlines’ batik motif. This includes 105 handcrafted art glass pieces, and measures 12 meters wide and 3.8 meters tall, so it’s hard to miss.

You’ll then find yourself in the lounge’s central reception area. The entrance to the Business Class Lounge is to the right, the entrance to the First Class Lounge is to the left of that, and the entrance to The Private Room is to the left of that.

If you see an agent at the desk on the left, they’ll admit you to the lounge and escort you into The Private Room, which is down a winding, bronze hallway.

Singapore Airlines The Private Room hours

Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room is open daily from 5:30AM until 2:30AM, so it just closes for three hours each night. This covers virtually all of Singapore Airlines’ departures from Changi Airport, though it does cut it tight for some flights.

For example, I was on a 6:50AM flight from Singapore to Jakarta departing from Terminal 2. Security is at each individual gate, so realistically you don’t really have time to use The Private Room in the morning prior to that flight, other than maybe for a few minutes. That’s also why I used the lounge the night before, since I knew I wouldn’t have time to review it in the morning.

Singapore Airlines The Private Room entry requirements

Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room is intended exclusively for passengers traveling in Singapore Airlines’ A380 Suites Class or 777 first class. There’s no way to access this lounge via status or by flying first class on a partner airline, and you’re not allowed to bring any guests.

To address a couple of potential scenarios:

• You can use The Private Room either prior to your Suites Class or first class flight, or after it; you can use this exclusively as an arrivals lounge, or prior to connecting on another flight (even if it’s not in Suites Class or first class, and even if it’s not on Singapore Airlines)
• Using The Private Room in the calendar day prior to your flight isn’t an issue, if you have an extended transit; for example, I entered the lounge at around 8PM, with a flight just before 7AM the following morning

So, what makes the access requirements of the less exclusive Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge different?

• The Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge is open to PPS Club Solitaire members, since is the carrier’s top tier status
• The Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge is a standard Star Alliance first class lounge, so can be accessed by first class passengers on Star Alliance partner airlines
• The Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge allows all eligible travelers to take a guest, while The Private Room doesn’t

As you can tell, The Private Room is the real first class lounge for Singapore Airlines passengers, while the Singapore Airlines First Class Lounge is the Star Alliance compliant lounge, for travelers on partner airlines and select elite members.

Singapore Airlines The Private Room layout & seating

Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room is 950 square meters (10,000+ square feet), with seating for nearly 80 guests.

As you enter the lounge, the first thing that you’ll see is a marble table with a chandelier above it. This is the part of the lounge that connects the various areas, including the entrance, nap rooms, bathrooms, and main lounge area.

In terms of layout, The Private Room is a very straightforward lounge. The lounge is in a rectangular shape, and what you see below is the entirety of the main lounge area. There are two walkways going all the way through the lounge, essentially with “three” rows of seating — it’s almost like walking down the aisle in the premium cabin of a wide body jet. 😉

Roughly the first two-thirds of the lounge consists of various seating arrangements for relaxing, while the last one-third of the lounge consists of the restaurant area.

In the center row, you have the largest and least private sitting areas, which almost feel like mini-living rooms, and they’re in a variety of configurations, with some areas consisting of a couch and two chairs.

Then along the right side of the lounge, you have roughly half a dozen semi-private sitting areas, with most accommodating one to two people each.

You’ll see a similar concept on the opposite side of the lounge, with each area having a seat and a coffee table.

In the above area, I appreciate how just about all the sitting areas have conveniently located plugs, as you’d hope for with a new flagship lounge that opened in 2022. After the above area, there’s a soundproof booth, so that you can make a phone call in private, without disturbing others. Of course as I witnessed, the people who most need these are also the people who are least likely to use these…

Then in the back of the lounge is the dining area, which features 14 dining tables, each accommodating two people (though tables can be moved together for larger parties).

In the back of the dining area is a beautiful kitchen counter type display, though it’s largely for show — food and drinks in the lounge aren’t self-serve, and most things come from the kitchen.

There is a small table with a food display, though I’m not even sure if guests are intended to help themselves to this, or what.

Back near the entrance, The Private Room has a play room for kids, though it’s quite modest, and it’s really more of a TV room than anything else.

If you ask me, the one major catch with The Private Room is that it has no natural light. One side of the lounge has a panel of windows looking into the concourse, which I suppose is nicer in Singapore Changi than at other airports. But still, there are no direct views outside from the lounge, which isn’t ideal. Then again, with the busiest hour in the lounge being around midnight, perhaps that’s not a huge deal.

All-in-all, I found The Private Room to be elegantly designed. It has very comfortable seating and a dining room that looks like what you’d expect at a very nice restaurant. However, I’d say it doesn’t feel quite as cozy as Cathay Pacific’s The Pier First Class Lounge, but rather feels a bit more like a traditional airport lounge.

I’d also say that I wish there was a bit more variety in terms of seating options. For example, with all of these individual sections, it would be nice if there were some workstations, or at least somewhere to be able to comfortably work on a laptop, other than at a dining table.

Singapore Airlines The Private Room food & drinks

Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room has an a la carte concept for both food and drinks, and the servers in the lounge are extremely attentive. No matter where you sit, you’ll be presented with the menu. Drinks are available in the main lounge area, while food is available in the dining room area.

Below you can find The Private Room drink menu.

Below you can find The Private Room food menu, including the breakfast menu (5:30AM until 11AM), lunch menu (11AM-6PM), dinner menu (from 6PM onwards), all-day vegetarian menu, and all-day dessert menu.

Upon arriving in The Private Room, I first had a seat in the non-dining area, as I was waiting for my friend Toby to join me. He’d be flying with me to Jakarta, and yes, it’s that Toby. To start, I had a still water and a flat white. To be honest, as someone who loves coffee, the flat white could’ve been better. I’m not sure if they’re using machine coffee, or if there’s just room for improvement with the barista skills.

When Toby arrived in the lounge, we had an excellent dinner, starting with some champagne. Many airlines serve great champagne onboard flights, but then skimp on the ground… not Singapore Airlines, though! The airline serves 2008 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, one of the three champagnes it serves onboard in first class.

Toby also ordered a Singapore Sling… no comment.

As a starter, we ordered the wagyu ribeye to share (it was listed under mains, but it seemed like a good appetizer), and it was delicious.

As a lover of Indian vegetarian food, I ordered the tandoori paneer tikka masala with ghee pulao, which was tasty.

Toby ordered the poached lobster with caviar, which the menu specifically described as being a whole lobster. While the dish was beautifully presented, it was a very small portion. So I’m not sure if there was a miscommunication there, if they’re serving the world’s smallest lobsters, or what.

So Toby instead treated that as a second appetizer, and instead ordered the roasted lamb rack with lyonnaise potato and sautéed spinach, which he enjoyed.

Then for dessert, I ordered the chocolate parfait with strawberry and granola, while Toby had the white fungus soup with goji berries and red dates.

The food quality and presentation was excellent across the board, and the service was friendly.

Singapore Airlines The Private Room bathrooms & showers

Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room has bathrooms and showers near the entrance to the lounge. Everything about these feels super high-end.

The men’s room had a few sinks, stalls, and urinals.

Something I’ve never seen before is that the bathroom not only has a sink specifically for children, but even has a stall for children, with a much smaller toilet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in any airport lounge, let alone in an international first class lounge that’s this exclusive.

The lounge was spotlessly clean and was constantly refreshed. There were also a variety of amenities in the bathroom, ranging from dental kits to Lalique fragrance.

The Private Room also has four shower suites.

The shower suites each feature a sink, a toilet, and a walk-in shower. These are among the nicer shower suites you’ll find in any airport lounge, and I found the ventilation to be quite good. Toiletries were in reusable containers from COMO Shambhala.

Singapore Airlines The Private Room nap rooms

Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room has four nap rooms, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis. I love the concept of nap rooms, as it’s the most useful amenity if you’re looking to get some rest between flights.

The nap rooms are available for a period of two hours. However, if there’s no one waiting to use one of the rooms, then you can extend your time in the nap room. Another thing to note is that you can even use these nap rooms while the lounge closes from 2:30AM until 5:30AM (The Private Room isn’t actually “locked,” since it opens up into the rest of the lounge), so at that time you’d get a minimum of a three hour block.

The four nap rooms are down a central hallway, and they seem to be quite similar.

My nap room featured a twin bed, a desk with a table, and a comfortable chair, which can recline quite a ways. While the bed might not necessarily look that comfortable, the mattress is extremely well padded, so I dozed off in no time.

There’s even a blanket and some slippers provided, for added comfort.

While I love these nap rooms in theory, there are some very odd quirks to them, which I can’t quite wrap my head around:

• The door of each nap room has a window, so there’s no privacy in the bedroom and anyone can look in; that’s a bit confusing, since I’d assume that it’s fine to take off some of your clothes if you’re getting into bed, but perhaps that’s not the intent?
• The lights in each nap room just turn on randomly at certain intervals, and this seems to be an ongoing issue; this doesn’t reflect the end of a reserved period, but rather the lights just randomly turn on, so get ready to constantly be woken up
• The nap rooms don’t become fully dark, but rather there’s a bright panel of lighting along the ceiling and wall

So ultimately these nap rooms are still a good place to get some rest, though do manage your expectations in terms of privacy and light.

Bottom line

Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room is one of the world’s most exclusive first class lounges. The lounge is elegant, serves restaurant quality dining and great wine, and offers nap rooms and luxurious shower suites.

This is an excellent first class lounge, but it’s not quite the best in the world. Some downsides to the lounge include the lack of natural light, the fact that there’s not much variety in seating, the nap rooms having some issues, and there just generally not being another x-factor (like some amazing spa, a gym, etc.).

If you have access to The Private Room, definitely leave some time to enjoy it… however, I wouldn’t leave too much time.

What’s your take on Singapore Airlines’ The Private Room?