You arrive in Singapore from an overnight long-haul flight. It’s 9am. What you really need is shower and maybe a couple of hours sleep in a proper bed. You have a hotel room booked in the city so…
“Why would I need an arrivals lounge?”
Well the check-in time for your hotel is 2pm. Even as a status holder – Singapore’s hotel sector is busy and competitive. You call and they say the room isn’t ready and probably won’t be until check-in time. You’ve got 5 hours to burn, your clothes smell of “Eau d’Boeing” and the jetlag is just starting to kick in.
You have two choices – head into town, walk around and make the best of it, or head to the ‘The Haven’, have a shower, 3 hours sleep, then a coffee and a late breakfast. Arrive at your hotel refreshed and ready to enjoy the rest of the day. You choose!
This is why arrivals lounges are so popular, except in Singapore. So far this is the only such facility at Changi. Sure there are airside lounges for pre-departure, there are even transit hotels for passengers with an onward journey – but nothing to help you if you are terminating in Singapore – strange.
Traveller Tip: Some passengers have reported that airside third-party departure lounges have allowed access to arriving passengers who are terminating in Singapore. This is specifically against the policy of all third-party lounges we have reviewed. It appears to be allowed on a case-by-case basis.
We have always enjoyed arriving on Cathay Pacific First Class in the morning at London Heathrow, and heading to the American Airlines Arrivals Lounge for a shower, proper coffee, good breakfast and a quick read of the newspapers before heading to the hotel (which in central London, inevitably won’t be ready early). We’ll do a full review of this lounge in July – it is one of the best out there.
The Haven by JetQuay
JetQuay is a premium services provider based at Changi Airport. They are best known for their ‘JetQuay CIP terminal’ in Singapore. If you hold any of the premium credit cards you will probably have been offered a voucher to experience it. It’s effectively a separate terminal where they can chauffer you in, check you in, allow you to relax in private facilities and then chauffeur you to your gate. No matter what class or airline (as long as it isn’t budget).
