Update, October 2026: The Private Room was rebuilt
Singapore Airlines opened a new Private Room at Changi Terminal 3 on May 31, 2022, with an à la carte dining room and waiter service. Access is for Suites and First Class passengers departing on a Singapore Airlines flight, with no guests allowed (The Milelion), so the looser access I describe below is history, and so is the room in these 2014 photos.
Around the world in First Class (2014)
The Private Room is a somewhat special lounge in that access is restricted to passengers flying on Singapore Airlines First Class only. As you saw from my last review, a separate First Class Lounge exists for passengers flying in Star Alliance or other partner First Class cabins, or those with KrisFlyer status. The Private Room access used to be limited to those flying revenue First Class tickets, but has since loosened entry requirements to those on any First Class ticket. I was flying on an award redemption, so thankfully that was enough to grant me access.
Note that I received access even though my next flight was in Business Class because the flight I got off of was Suites Class. I flew LAX-NRT-SIN-BKK, and on the final segment there is no First Class.
The Lounge
Even with the loosened requirements, the Private Room was empty. You won’t be able to tell from my pictures but there were only a couple of others in the lounge with me. The lounge itself is nicer than most but not really over-the-top great, except for in one specific category that I’ll discuss later.
One thing I find to be funny about this lounge is that within it, there are several actual private rooms. Yes, there are private rooms inside the Private Room. It’s like the “Inception” of Private Rooms.
The bathroom was nothing special…basically the same as the First Class Lounge (which was essentially the same as the Business Class Lounge). Shower rooms had the same amenities as well.
The Dining Room
The real star of this lounge, and the thing that I think separates it from most other lounges, is the dining service. There is a proper restaurant-style seating area with waiter service and a menu. The menu doesn’t really change, but the selection is always good in my opinion. Drinks are, of course, always free.
I was still feeling very full from all the food from both segments of my Suites Class flights, so I “only” ordered one item: The Wok Fried Lobster with Braised Wanton Noodles.
The lobster shell/body is there only for decoration – the pieces of lobster were actually already cut into bite-sized pieces, cooked, then placed back into the shell for plating purposes. And let me say – they were delicious. I’d order this same dish again in a heartbeat. The satay seemed like a great option as well, as did the Tahu Goreng (fried rice), but I’ll save those for next time!
If it wasn’t for the restaurant-style dining, I’d say this lounge is ordinary aside from the fact that it’s extremely quiet. The food, and the fact that it’s all made on-demand, makes it a top five First Class lounge in my opinion. The Lufthansa First Class Terminal is pretty special, and the Thai First Class Lounge is also great (and I’m reviewing them in this series too, btw), but this lounge is definitely worth a visit. Perhaps not worth getting to the airport 5 hours early for, but I definitely recommend having a meal here.
Next up, Thai Airways Business Class from Bangkok to Lahore, Pakistan!
← Previous: KrisFlyer First Class lounge, Singapore
Leave a Reply