Review: Blossom Lounge Singapore T4

Now that Singapore Changi Terminal 4 is fully open, and we’ve had a chance to review the terminal itself and the new Cathay Pacific Lounge, we decided to turn our attention to the other lounge option in T4, the brand new Blossom Lounge.

Plaza Premium and SATS

The lounge was announced back in August 2017 as a ‘teamed’ offering from Plaza Premium and SATS that would be the only pay-per-use, non-affiliated lounge offering in terminal 4.

Plaza Premium is a Hong Kong-based company that offer private lounges, meet & greet services and transit hotels around the world. They already run 150+ lounges in 36 different airports across 16 countries. That represents the largest independent airport lounge network in the world – handling over 12 million passengers a year. You’ll typically see their offerings on the Priority Pass website (more on that later) and for airlines offering business class services at secondary destinations.

Their most recent opening, just a few days ago, was a Plaza Premium Lounge at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

SATS (previously Singapore Airport Terminal Services) is a ‘one-stop-shop’ service provider that offers everything from cargo services to in-flight catering. They already operate six other executive lounges in Singapore (two in each of the original Changi terminals 1, 2 and 3).

Location & design

It’s located on Level 2M, adjacent to the Cathay Pacific lounge (fully reviewed here). It’s approximately 1,100sq m (vs. 849sq m in the Cathay Pacific Lounge) and designed to cater for up to 280 seated passengers at a time (vs. 200 in the Cathay Pacific Lounge).

Entry requirements

Korean Air and Vietnam Airlines First and Business Class passengers are offered free access to the lounge. Aside from Cathay Pacific, these are the only other two full-service carriers currently operating from terminal 4, so we expected this.

SkyTeam Elite Plus (Million Miler or Morning Calm Plus for Korean, and LotusMiles Platinum for Vietnam Airlines) will also be allowed free access, even if travelling in economy.

Edit 9th December 19:00: Note that the Blossom Lounge is also accessible to Vietnam Airlines LotusMiles Gold status members travelling in economy on a Vietnam Airlines flight.

Not for Priority Pass. So far, the Blossom lounge operators have not signed a contract with Priority Pass to allow their members access to this lounge. Normally, that would be the primary way that most frequent travellers would access lounges like this, as various levels of membership are common with a variety of credit cards issued in Singapore. We spoke to Plaza Premium directly and they mentioned that it’s in the pipeline, but for now, all they will offer is a subsidised rate.

TIP: Show your Priority Pass card and you’ll get a discounted entry rate of S$30 (at the time of writing).

Update 20th December 18:20: Note that the Blossom Lounge is now a Priority Pass lounge. See our article here.

Update 24th December 17:50: Plaza Premium have now shared with us a full list of the cards you can use to access this lounge, in addition to Priority Pass. They are:

• Bank of Singapore Voyage Card
• OCBC Premier Banking Voyage Card
• OCBC Voyage Card
• OCBC Premier Private Client Voyage Card
• Bank of China Singapore Visa Infinite
• American Express Centurion Card
• American Express Platinum Charge Card
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Ascend Card (with voucher)

Normal Entry Fee: S$50

A full breakdown of the Changi T4 Blossom lounge access rates can be found here.

5-hour access is permitted, inclusive of:

• Food and beverages
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Flight Information
• TV channels
• International newspapers and magazines.

Plaza Premium and SATS also have tie-ups with a number of credit card companies. We’ve called them repeatedly but the exact details of all their affiliations are apparently “confidential” – a bit ridiculous. Hence we stood outside the lounge for 10 minutes whilst the agent scanned each of our credit cards until eventually, one of the cards allowed us entry!

For now, we know that American Express KrisFlyer Aspire and OCBC Voyage cards should allow access. If you work out which others do, please let us know in the comments section.

Lounge experience

After the initial difficulties trying to negotiate access to the lounge, we began our walk-through.

The lounge is split into 3 distinct areas, Bar, Quiet-area and Restaurant.

Bar

Just to the right of the entrance, in an area that feels as though it’s suspended above the main departure lounge is a long, manned bar. A well-designed area, with low down lounge-style seating and plentiful tall bar seats.

All areas are equipped with an abundance of ‘multi-socket’ international style power points and USB ports. Tall lamps flank most of the seats, perfect for reading. Tiger Beer was available on draught alongside a small selection of spirits. There is also a barista station for fresh coffee at the bar.

We expect this area to be a little noisier when the terminal is running at full capacity as it is suspended over departures area below, with no windows.

Quiet area

Along the walkways leading from the bar and also in banks in the quiet area are individual “pod-style” seats. Great for solo travellers, these are well designed and comfortable with enough space for your luggage. Each is also equipped with those ‘multi-socket’ international style power points and USB ports.

Sleeping facilities are also provided, and a Spa with massage services is expected to open at a later date.

Restaurant

There is a deli-style area at the beginning of the restaurant, serving the usual selection of cheese, olives, nuts and snacks.

There are two wine choices:

• Red: Wolf Blass Private Release – Shiraz – 2016 – 3.3 stars on Vivino

• White: Lindeman’s Cawarra Sémillon – Chardonnay – 2015 – 3.1 stars on Vivino

There’s a cold food section that includes an array of finger sandwiches and desserts. Followed by a small hot buffet serving a time-appropriate meal, and a chef station offering two choices of ‘live’ cooked meals. We tried their fresh cooked Laksa. It was certainly a more traditional style than the Cathay Pacific offering, and had good flavour.

On the opposite wall is a bank of fridges with beer and soft drink selections and a handsome coffee machine capable of producing a good quality cappuccino, amongst other things (but remember, the best coffee machine in this lounge is found at the bar).

Showers

A hot topic issue because, as we said in our Cathay Pacific Lounge review – CX elected not to install showers in their new T4 lounge. However, Plaza Premium has included two shower rooms (admittedly, not a lot given that there could be potentially 280 guests in the lounge).

A little on the smaller size, it’s well equipped and clean. It has a separate toilet with a Japanese style ‘smart seat’. Hairdryers and basic amenities such as body-wash, shampoo, dental and shaving kits are also provided (Ada Shop – ‘Naturals’ collection).

TIP: Our suggestion would be that if you plan to use the shower, arrive early and tell reception straight away, but be prepared to wait for your slot if the lounge is busy. Perhaps even pop across to the Cathay Pacific lounge for a glass of Moët, if you have access!

Summary

Without a doubt one of the best ‘independent’ or ‘pay-per-use’ lounges that we have tried. It helped that on the day we visited, Terminal 4 was newly opened with only two airlines operating and so the lounge was practically deserted.

Blossom lounge has thoughtful design, ample space, a manned bar and shower facilities. If you qualify for free access you certainly won’t be disappointed. However, if you are paying – it’s still a pretty penny. A pint of tiger and a bowl of laksa in the transit area may set you back S$18 – entry to this lounge will cost S$50, so that’s S$32 extra for a seat in a quiet area – probably not worth it!

Given the ample seating available in the public areas of Terminal 4 (detailed in our T4 review here) you may be better off staying in the transit area, but also you really should sign up for a credit card that gives you free access to this lounge. More on that in an upcoming article. Also we hope to hear soon that Priority Pass access to the Blossom lounge has commenced, and we’ll try to let you know as soon as this is the case, as it then becomes a no-brainer for most of our readers who hold a PP with their credit card.

Update 20th December 18:20: Note that the Blossom Lounge is now a Priority Pass lounge. See our article here.

If you a disgruntled Cathay passenger who needs a shower or appreciates draft beer, served at a proper bar – head here… Make sure you sit near the edge so you can make your fellow Cathay Pacific passengers green with envy!