Lounge Review: Singapore Airlines The Private Room, Changi Airport Terminal 3 (2024)

In December 2024, I took Singapore Airlines SQ636 SIN-HND (Boeing 777-300ER) from Singapore (Changi Airport Terminal 2) to Tokyo, Japan (Haneda Airport Terminal 3). For my maiden voyage in cabin class F, I redeemed a First Class seat (01D) using 120,000 KrisFlyer miles. 

Whilst in Tokyo, I stayed at Janu Tokyo, the first and flagship property of the new Janu brand launched from the Aman group (behind ultra-luxury properties such as Aman Tokyo and Aman Kyoto); Shangri-La Tokyo, conveniently located next to Tokyo Station; and the popular Conrad Tokyo.

CHECKING IN AT THE FIRST CLASS PRIVATE LOUNGE

Singapore Airlines Suites and First Class passengers have exclusive use of a private check-in lounge and a dedicated immigration counter at Changi Airport Terminal 3 (“T3”). The First Class reception lounge is accessed via a private driveway located just before T3’s departure drop-off area, a left turn before Door 1. Upon check-in, you are issued your boarding pass as well as your Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque golden invitation card to The Private Room, which may be retained as a souvenir (should you wish to) after being presented to the staff at the SilverKris Lounge. Airline staff escort and stay with you the moment you walk through the doors to the lounge, all the way until you cross the iconically nondescript “SIA First Class Departure” doorway. You find yourself in the dizzying world of luxury goods, perfumes and Bacha coffee within minutes of your arrival. It is all pretty surreal.

Past immigration, you quickly spot the distinctive, flower-studded blue SQ Batik Wall behind the escalators that lead up to the SilverKris Lounge. The SilverKris Lounge (which recently underwent a $50-million upgrading project that concluded in 2022) houses the SilverKris Business Class Lounge, the SilverKris First Class Lounge as well as The Private Room.

For the uninitiated, only Suites and First Class passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight can access The Private Room. In comparison, the SilverKris First Class Lounge can be used by Solitaire PPS Club members as well as First Class passengers on both Singapore Airlines and Star Alliance flights.

SINGAPORE AIRLINES THE PRIVATE ROOM (SINGAPORE CHANGI AIRPORT TERMINAL 3)

The Private Room lies beyond a dramatic bronze-walled passageway connected to the SilverKris Lounge reception area. (In the unlikely event you are so inclined, the SilverKris First Class Lounge is located right next door.) The Private Room comprises distinct lounge and dining zones, with a capacity of 78 guests. The lounge area features a variety of seating arrangements, from single guest pods to sofa seating for groups, while the dining room offers two and four-seater tables. Universal power outlets as well as Type-A USB ports are in abundance throughout the space, ensuring your power needs are met wherever you are seated.

Designed by hospitality design firm Hirsch Bedner Associates (who also designed Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou and Shangri-La Tokyo), the lounge plays it all tastefully dim lighting, a combination of wood, marble and bronzed textures as well as glossy overhead Lalique crystal ginger flower light fixtures. In terms of facilities, the lounge offer a family room as well as four day rooms with day beds fitted with Poltrana Frau reclining chairs and, for two of the rooms, Tempur Zero Gravity beds with Tempur Firm Supreme mattresses. There are three shower suites, each decked in marble and offering rainfall showers along with COMO Shambhala shower amenities and Lalique Neroli products, but with one being particularly gargantuan – you can host Sentosa villa hotel-scale “white parties” with the size at play.

THE PRIVATE ROOM DINING MENU

Dining at The Private Room is a largely a la minute affair with table service, featuring three food presentations: breakfast from 5.30 am to 11 am; lunch from 11am to 6pm; and dinner from 6pm to 2.30am. As mine was a night flight, menu offerings included the following:

• Pan Seared Chicken Breast with Charred Asparagus and Red Wine Jus (tender chicken breast, red wine reduction sauce)
• Dim Sum Delights (charcoal BBQ pork bun, premium pork and prawn siew mai, pan-fried yam cake with XO sauce), paired with your choice of either jasmine, oolong, pu-erh or green tea
• Dim Sum Platter (cabbage and tung oh dumpling, luohan vegetarian dumpling, olive vegetable dumpling)
• Roasted Lamb Rack with Lyonnaise Potato and Sauteed Spinach (browned crust tender, rosy lamb, red wine reduction sauce)
• Prawn Makhani Indian Set (sambar, vegetable pulao, tomato raita, tomato chutney, popadum,  gulab jamun)
• Bhindi Masala Indian Set (sambar, vegetable pulao,  tomato raita I tomato chutney,  popadum, gulab jamun)
• Mini Yam Ring with Mixed Vegetables (deep fried yam ring, sauteed vegetables and shimeji mushroom, cashew nuts, steamed jasmine rice)
• Truffle Ee Fu Noodle (mixed mushroom, vegetarian oyster sauce or truffle oil)

The headliner attraction for any The Private Room meal is their champagnes, and there were four selections during my visit: 2013 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne; 2016 Champagne Geoffroy Empreinte Millesime; Charles Heidsieck Blanc de Blancs; and Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve. While I naturally had copious amounts of the 2013 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne (citrus, creamy brioche, minerality, fine bubbles and a long finish), I actually quite enjoyed the 2016 Champagne Geoffroy Empreinte Millesime, which displayed alluring aromatics and plenty of berries. I did exercise (some) restraint, as I was pretty stoked to gorge myself silly on taste the 2015 Louis Roederer Cristal Millesime Brut which made its debut as an inflight offering just a week prior.

For completeness, the wines offered during my visit are as follows:

Red Wine

• 2016 Chateau Haut-Brisson La Grave Bordeaux (France)
• 2015 Kooyong Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir (Australia)
• 2015 Kaesler The Bogan Shiraz Barossa Valley (Australia)
• 2021 G. D. Vajra Barbera D’ Alba (Italy)

White Wine

• 2016 Bouchard Père & Fils Meursault Les Clous (France)
• 2022 Home Block Martinborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
• 2021 Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (United States)

My first food order was the Stir-Fry Beef Hor Fun with Black Bean Sauce (wok-hei style rice noodles, US beef short plate, thick black bean sauce) which, from its description, suggests a gravy-laden affair. However, what was served turned out to be a sweet and rich char kway teow-esque situation that, while enjoyable nonetheless, hit very different notes from what was expected. I also had the Wagyu Satay (lightly barbequed Wagyu ribeye cuts, onions, cucumber slices, ketupat, peanut sauce), which played like a fattier, juicier upgrade to the ubiquitous Chicken Satay everyone religiously raves about on social media. 

Other dishes I tried included the Seared Cod Fillet with Shellfish Sauce (milky cod fillet, shellfish sauce) and Poached Lobster with Caviar (fresh Boston Lobster tail, alfalfa sprouts, diced tomatoes).

Despite it being dinner service, I managed to snag a bowl of Singapore Laksa with Lobster from the breakfast menu. Also, guests can actually order dishes from the SilverKris First Class Lounge, with options such as Signature Laksa, Indian Flatbread with Fish/Chicken Curry, Wagyu Beef Slider with Twister Fries, Grilled Chicken Satay and Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee in Opeh Leaf. I had the Fried Carrot Cake, and the team duly accommodated my request for yuanyang (i.e. a mixture of black and white carrot cake) as well as for extra eggs.

The beautiful thing about The Private Room is that the physical menu is but a mere suggestion and, subject to the availability of ingredients of course, you can basically order whatever you like that the kitchen is able to whip up. I randomly thought of the delicious seafood aglio olio I enjoyed so much at TCC during my university days (the chain is now known as tcc – The Connoisseur Concerto), and asked if the kitchen could prepare a Lobster Aglio Olio. They did. Totally off menu. It was umami garlicky, they added chilli padi as requested, and the lobster was buoyant oceanic sweet. My life was complete.

CONCLUSION

I have read online commentaries that suggest The Private Room lacks the frills of other First Class lounges around the world, but I am unable to comment as Singapore Airlines SQ636 SIN-HND was the flight which de(batik)flowered my First Class virginity. As my travel patterns and habits do not involve the genuine need to shower or sleep prior to flying (tsk, such sass – Editor), I place a greater importance on the dining experience and service standards, and in this regard my The Private Room experience delivered, and then some, on both counts.

I wonder what else the kitchen could prepare for me during my next visit.

The Private Room (Changi Airport Terminal 3)
Level 3 Unit 03-MS-06 (Nearer to A Gates)
65 Airport Boulevard
Singapore 819663