Notes on Changi Airport
 

Changi Airport is my favorite airport in the world. On my recent trip to Asia, I transited through Changi, as well as spening a night near the airport.

In the airport, there are now kiosks that offer FREE internet access for 15 minutes at a time. Some are on the concourse near the gate areas, some are upstairs near the airline lounges and the food outlets.

I had a several hour layover in Changi at oner point on this trip, and found a place called My Foot (near gate E6). They offer foot reflexology, pedicures, and full body massages. The prices are quite reasonable. It was a great way to kill an hour between flights.

If you are flying First Class on Singapore Air, the First Class section of their Silver Kris lounge in Changi is the best airport lounge I've ever been in (and I've seen plenty!). However, the Singapore Air first class lounges in other airports are rudimentary at best (for instance, KL).

I needed a place to stay overnight (arriving at midnight, departing at noon) near Changi. As you may know, there is a transit hotel in Changi. I've stayed there before and the rooms are clean but very basic. If my flight had been out at say, 8 am, I would have stayed in the Transit Hotel (always book ahead on the internet, at the Changi Airport website, as they consistenly are full). The Le Meridien at Changi Village has re-opened after several years of remodeling, so I booked a room there for US$98 including tax, service, full buffet breakfast, and a shuttle back to the airport (www.asiahotels.com). The hotel is nice, everyhting is new and clean. The rooms themselves are rather small, but they have very nice bathrooms. The buffet breakfast was very good, with all the usual buffet dishes (including Japanese and Chinese options as well) and an omelet station where the chef makes omelets to order with lots of options for fillings. The one downside to this hotel is that it takes almost as much time to get to this hotel (perhaps 20 minutes) as it would to get to a downtown hotel (about 30 minutes). If you have more than, say, 12 hours in Singapore, I'd go downtown.

I stayed also at Le Meridien Changi a few days back, Kathie, did your room have a 'window' into the bathroom? Rooms are quite basic and TV has few channels, rooms are far more basic than they were before the refurbishment. The free shuttle from/to the airport works well, I agree that it only takes a little longer to get to a downtown hotel as it takes to get to the Changi Village. I got it for SGD 130 ( USD 79.50 ) inc tax/service/breakfast through a Thailand booking service.

Hi, James. I just re-checked my reservation form and I had a "deluxe" room, the standard room was the same price as you paid. I thought the rooms were pretty basic. I wondered what the $20 difference was between the deluxe and the standard. There was love-seat sized seating in the room (I did see a room that had just a single built-in seat in the room, no other seating) and a very small desk area. And yes, there was a "window" from the shower/tub into the bedroom.

Kathie - Thanks for the Changi update...I, too, look forward to changing planes there if the option is available to me...

I just wanted to point out one thing that may make you "feel better" about lounges in KL.....Last time thru KL I took SQ (F class) outbound and returned on Malaysian (also F class). The flights were approximately 100 USD each as I recall...

The Malaysian Air F class lounge truly makes the SQ F lounge in SIN feel like a downtrodden sibling!! They have a brook that runs thru the Malay lounge, and the food is easily as good as the wonderful stuff one gets in the SQ Kris lounge....

Best wishes, Dave

Thanks, Dave, next trip I'll make sure to fly Malaysian Air out of KL!