It’s been roughly three months since the soft opening of the brand new Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 3.
This marks the first phase of a $50 million renovation that began just before COVID. A new First Class lounge and Private Room will open by the end of Q1 2022 (in the meantime, a temporary area has been cordoned off for eligible passengers), while the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge (which temporarily stood in for the SilverKris Lounge) will undergo further refinements before reopening around the same time.
I visited the new SilverKris Lounge on opening day, and although the F&B experience was messy, the rest of the facility looked very promising indeed. You can read a detailed report below.
Review: Singapore Airlines’ new SilverKris Lounge at Changi Airport Terminal 3
No, there’s no golf simulator, video game room, beauty salon, spa, or some of the other frills you might have seen in other flagship lounges. But you should know by now that Singapore Airlines doesn’t really go in for that sort of thing. Complaining about it would be like getting mad at a cow for mooing.
Instead, the focus is quiet, dignified elegance. While I’m sure there’ll be dissenting opinions, I personally think the designers have done a great job.
The new space is blessed with much more natural light, and separate areas have been created for working, eating and relaxing. There’s productivity pods, a dining hall, a full-service bar, a (yet-to-be-opened) nap area, and individual shower suites.
I’ve since revisited the lounge a couple more times, and here’s my impressions of how things have changed, three months into operations.
A more orderly dining system
The new SilverKris Lounge has a dedicated dining hall, with live cooking stations and self-serve drinks. It’s not clear if self-serve buffets will return once the authorities allow it (I suspect they will), but in the meantime, all food is assembled to order by the lounge staff.
When I visited the SilverKris Lounge on opening day, the food ordering system was a chaotic mess.
Guests were instructed to scan a QR code on the table and place their orders through an e-menu. In theory, they’d monitor the confirmation page and head to the counter once their order was ready.
In practice, no one’s going to keep staring at that page, not when there’s Tinder to swipe and cat videos to watch.
This meant that completed food orders would clog up the window, and lounge staff would have to run to tables to tell guests their order was ready for collection (I suppose they could have saved a journey by bringing the food over to the table, though they probably didn’t want to set a precedent where everyone expected table service was the norm).
With the revised system, all but two food items (hot sandwich, and chicken nuggets with French fries) are labelled “pick up from counter directly”. This means exactly what it says: guests go to the counter, place their orders and pick up the item straight away.
I don’t mind, really. Most items are assembled in a minute or less, and it means shorter waiting times for food, plus less congestion around the collection window.
On my subsequent visits to the lounge, the collection area has been refreshingly clutter free, and the order collection screen doesn’t look like bingo night at the old folk’s home.
Festive items are back
If you were worried that the food menu at the SilverKris Lounge would fast become a case of been there ate that, the good news is that they’re serving up festive items once again.
To mark the Chinese New Year period, the following items are available:
- Yu Sheng
- A colourful shredded vegetable salad, served with smoked salmon
- Cereal Prawns
- Crunchy prawns coated with crispy cereal bits
- Fried Fish and Tofu in Sweet Chili Sauce
- Fried fish slices and egg beancurd in savoury and sweet chilli sauce
- Glutinous Rice and Sausage in Lotus Leaf
- Fragrant glutinous rice and pork sausage steamed in lotus leaf
- Longan and Red Dates Dessert Soup
- A warm dessert soup with longan and red dates
I tried the yu sheng and cereal prawns. Neither will win any culinary awards, but they were fun additions. I saw a few couples tossing the yu sheng together, a sweet little gesture to mark the occasion.
Overcrowding for now (but it’ll get better)
Despite its expanded footprint, the SilverKris Lounge can get very crowded during the early morning and evening peak hours.
I wouldn’t say it’s standing room only, but it definitely detracts from the otherwise pleasant ambiance (especially when a group of fine gentlemen decide the lounge is the best place to hold a beer party just before boarding)
However, we need to keep in mind that the current facility is playing host to everyone- First and Business Class passengers, PPS Club members, KrisFlyer Elite Golds, Star Golds, whether on Singapore Airlines or its Star Alliance partners. Even with the COVID-decimated schedules, that’d be a taxing load on any lounge.
But eventually this will ease as the new First Class and KrisFlyer Gold lounge open by the end of Q1 2022. At that point:
- First Class passengers and Solitaire PPS Club members will be redirected to the First Class lounge
- KrisFlyer Elite Gold and Star Gold members travelling in Premium Economy or Economy Class will be directed to the KrisFlyer Gold lounge
For what it’s worth, I’ve noticed that the SilverKris Lounge has eased its social distancing measures, which has helped somewhat with the capacity crunch. When I first visited, many seats had blue social distancing ribbons draped across them.
These were absent on my most recent visit.
Slumberette area yet to open
The new SilverKris Lounge has a slumberette area at the rear with 14 Rolf Benz sleeping pods, each with their own power outlets and USB charging ports. However, this facility has remained sealed off ever since the lounge opened.
In the absence of a proper rest area, it’s not uncommon to see some guests sprawling themselves out on any flat surface they can find.
I do hope the slumberettes come online soon, though the lounge staff told me there wasn’t a confirmed date yet and that there was “further work to be done” in that area.
I wonder what more they could be thinking of adding though?
All hail the new shower suites
Compared to old SilverKris Lounge’s communal bathing facilities (well not exactly, but they were all located within the common toilet), the new lounge’s 15 private shower suites are a dream come true.
Clad in handsome dark marble with oversized rain showers and TOTO bidet seats, they’d hold their own against most competitors’ (Qatar’s shower rooms in Doha are more generously sized, although to be fair they have a massive area to work with).
The water pressure is rather good too, providing a reassuring deluge of hot water that’s bound to energise any jetlagged traveller.
If I had to gripe, I will say I wish they’d sprung for concealed floor traps over the trypophobia-inducing exposed ones.
And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Singapore Airlines really needs to invest in better shower amenities. I’m not asking for Aesop or anything, but a nicer-looking bottle wouldn’t go amiss…
As a side note, I was field testing the TOTO toilet, and upon completion of said task, pressed the bidet button expecting relief. But nothing happened. No matter which button I pressed, the water flow just wouldn’t activate, leading me to wonder if I should perhaps ask the nice auntie outside for assistance.
Fortunately it didn’t come to that, as I realised these toilets had both a manual and electric bidet. Some Philistine had, inexplicably, chosen the manual over the electric, so it was a simple matter of turning on the right valve. Hopefully that helps some of you.
I’m hoping the new First Class lounge will one up these- although I suspect we won’t see soaking tubs…
Conclusion
While it doesn’t radically redefine the boundaries of what an airline lounge can be, the new SilverKris Lounge is every bit an improvement over its previous iteration.
Some of the teething issues with F&B have been sorted out (at least from what I’ve seen during my follow up visits, let me know if you’ve witnessed otherwise), and I’m hoping they won’t dally too long with the slumberette area because having guests sprawled out all over the lounge makes it feel more like a United Club.
We should be hearing news about the new First Class lounge and Private Room very soon- stay tuned.
Have you visited the new SilverKris Lounge yet? What do you make of it?
I like it. I enjoy the expanded space, airiness of the lounge and laksa. I like the dedicated bar too. Giving Qantas lounge (my other favourite) a run for their money especially with the laksa which is also catered by the same company supplyign qantas
I get the excitment and indeed the improvement from the previous one. But that’s not really a fair benchmark where every single airline is becoming way more sophisticated on their business class offerings right now.
If we are honest the lounge is not really competitive (let alone anywhere near outstanding) for a business class pax lounge in an airlines home airport in 2022. Let alone for the next decade that is supposed to last. It’s not about gimmicky features that you call out, but about the hospitality (or lack therof) the distincly mediocre F&B offerings and the lack of any real identity or SQ aesthetics. Or whatever SQ is supposed to stand for and is SQ’s unique selling point in the 2020s. The lounge really delivers in none of those categories and is mediocre at best in each one of them.
The feeling I got from it is that it could be a Plaza Premium lounge (like the one in LHR T2) – the aesthetics really remind me of that. I think it’s telling that United (!) Polaris lounges that outshine it in pretty much every single category. If United can pull a Pollaris experience we really shouldn’t be setting the bar so low for SQ lounges (it has showers! and chairs! with usb!)
It could be a lounge anywhere in the world run by insert_random_company/airline. A real shame and a missed opportunity
Many airlines only have business class as their sole premium cabin, therefore they have to pull out all the stops in their lounges since that is their only premium ground offering for their customers. SQ still offers a substantial first class offering on its A380 and 777-300ER (and in the future the 777-9) and its lounges have yet to open so I don’t think its fair to compare it this way. Service and F&B-wise I found them to be friendly and nice respectively when I visited pre-renovation so I personally do not feel that there are any soft product issues. Based on the pictures I like the new lounge and I do see consistencies with its branding philosophies, although I haven’t visited it yet.
Curious though, what exactly would you like to see be added? If you’re talking Polaris style dine on demand, it’s hard to run that when you have one lounge that’s bearing the brunt of demand (instead of like in the USA where there are multiple starting points). Even Qatar abandoned dine on demand in its business class lounge in doha. I’m trying to think of another airline which operates out of one main airport and offers dine on demand in j lounge. Cathay doesn’t, Etihad doesn’t, Emirates doesn’t…
Virgin Atlantic has dine on demand in their LHR J lounge (clubhouse), although they’re mostly a long-haul only airline.
And also- a much smaller one. They can do things in a more boutique way
Qatar – last time I flew with them in Dec 2021 were still offering dine on demand in Doha. And even apart from dine on demand, there’s obviously no comparsion between SQ T3 lounge and Al Mourjan, right? Even when you take off the ‘frills’ as you mention of QR, TK and others (which many times is not just flashy things but can help you have a much more enjoyable layover?)… there really isn’t any comparison where SQ’s lounge excels. Re having a ‘higher’ class than J, they’re solving that with multiple lounges at 3 levels (Star Alliance Gold, J, F) so of course we’re gonna compare this with other J lounges 🙂
And I guess that’s my main point – there is nothing really here in the lounge that is ‘best in class’ (not even talking about ‘leading’) in every single category. From FnB to rest/sleep pods, to showers, to hospitality, to entertainment, to different (themed?) areas, to views, to design to business/work features to…whatever you consider important on your lounge experience. It’s a fine, forgetable experience, a lounge that could have been build by any airline/lounge operator.
If ‘fine’/decent was what they were aiming for (or an improvement of the previous lounges) they sure hit that goal. I just thought SQ would be aiming higher, at least best in class if not leading such an important part of the ground experience (both of business and leisure J pax). Let alone for their flagship J lounge that was just renovated and is supposed to last at least 10 years. This is not gonna age well
What I am getting from your perspective on this lounge is that you’re having a bone to pick because this lounge… is a lounge. Just because they are SQ doesn’t mean they have to “raise the bar” on everything. More often than not improving on what’s already working is more than enough. I can’t think of something that SQ could have done to this lounge that would be innovative enough to appease customers with far-flung expectations yet original enough so that they are not accused of being copycats. Moreover, lounges are incredibly subjective as it is an extension of the airline’s offerings in the air so I wouldn’t say there is such thing as a “best in class” lounge. Every lounge is unique to the airline.
Well, from the pics, it does a fine job of being a biz class lounge. Going to visit in a couple weeks & we shall see. Sometimes, it’s the small details that count.
I was surprised by the excellent service provided by the contract lounge JL uses – dnata, if memory serves. Just a month ago, I was heading to the lounge with enough time just for a quick drink, and when checking in, she saw that I don’t have much time – and personally got up and ensured what got what I needed from the bar. Even offered hot food. Had time for fruits and a drink.
Well, from the pics, it does a fine job of being a biz class lounge. Going to visit in a couple weeks & we shall see. Sometimes, it’s the small details that count.
I was surprised by the excellent service provided by the contract lounge JL uses – dnata, if memory serves. I was heading to the lounge with enough time just for a quick drink, and when checking in, she saw that I don’t have much time – and personally got up and ensured what got what I needed from the bar. Even offered hot food. Had time for fruits and a drink.
Interesting… When I flew them in 2019 they’d scrapped that. Good to hear it’s back. I’m actually not a fan of the doha lounge because I find it too big and impersonal. It’s certainly spacious, but it feels like a cave in some parts. I’m sure there are those who love it precisely for that reason, but goes to show how subjective these things can be!
I flew SQ first in Dec to Frankfurt and on Swiss biz to Zurich in Jan.
I must say the lounge is a major let down and was crowded on both these visits. And considering the passenger load in T3, I dare say the public section is emptier than the lounge.
Food was bleh and there was no service in the First class section at all.
But in comparison better than Lufthansa Senator lounge in FRA, but worse than the Swiss lounge A in Zurich.
As far as Business Class lounges go, I think TBITs star alliance lounge is better. Even SFOs polaris lounge is better.
I do miss the Private Room…I hope it doesn’t disappoint. Already booked for SQ12 in Oct
Visited it in December. Loved it. The bar was fantastic and the bartender was absolutely wonderful. Drank fancy cocktails until I was silly.
The showers were amazing too.
“We should be hearing news about the new First Class lounge and Private Room very soon- stay tuned.” Is this expressed as a hope statement or you actually know something already? I have a flight on 8 Mar on First, hoping I get to try out the new Private Room. Any chance you think?
a bit of both. don’t take it as gospel. I think 8 march might be a bit too early though.
Sq quite far behind in this regard. Most Cathay lounges globally come standard with Aesop.
Any rough idea when will the private room be accessable ? My flight to FRA on F is mid of March 🙁
can still drown sorrows in champagne at least!
we were there in April and it was dreadful. No seats. We walked round about 3 times but there was nothing. We went to the desk and they gave us an opportunity to go to a lounge nearby which we accepted. The facilities were dreadful but at least we got a seat. Singapore airlines should be ashamed.
Am curious if th Singapore Lounge in Singapore airport currently have their slumberettes open? Do they take reservations? Flying there in April, 2023, stopping for 8 hours on way to Sydney.