Review: Qantas First Lounge Singapore Changi

Review: Qantas First Lounge Singapore Changi

NAME: Qantas First Lounge
Airport: SIN
DATE: December 2019
REVIEW RATING:
BEN SAYS: Qantas' newest First Lounge is spectacular, and will make you feel like you're in an amazing restaurant
19


Qantas just recently opened their First Lounge at Changi Airport, which adds some much needed lounge capacity for oneworld (and particularly Qantas) at Changi, given how overcrowded lounges here get.

This is Qantas’ fourth “true” First Lounge in the world, after their lounges in SydneyMelbourne, and Los Angeles.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Review

Let’s get right into the review of the Qantas First Lounge, including the location, hours, access requirements, layout, amenities, dining, and service.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Location

The Qantas First Lounge is located in Changi Terminal 1. It’s in the central part of the terminal, and if you’re originating in Singapore, just clear immigration and then turn left.

Changi Airport Terminal 1

You’ll then see the escalators leading up to the lounge.


Changi Airport Terminal 1

At the top of the escalator, the Qantas First Lounge will be immediately ahead and to the right.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore signage

The lounge has a sleek exterior, and is tough to miss.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore exterior

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Hours

The Qantas First Lounge Singapore is open daily from 2:30PM until 11PM. Those are limited hours, but that’s because all of Qantas’ flights (including to Brisbane, London, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney) depart in the evenings.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Access Requirements

The Qantas First Lounge is open to all oneworld first class passengers as well as oneworld Emerald members. There’s no need to be flying Qantas to use the lounge, as long as you’re departing on a oneworld airline.

Qantas fFirst Lounge Singapore reception

Do note that if you’re flying Cathay Pacific, they depart from Terminal 4, which is a bit of a pain to get to. If you want to use this lounge while flying Cathay Pacific you’ll want to clear security in Terminal 4, then take the bus to Terminal 2, and then take the train to Terminal 1.

You’ll have to do the same thing on the way back, so it’s a rather time consuming process. See this post for how much of a pain this ended up being for me.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Layout & Seating

The Qantas First Lounge Changi is just over 1,000 square meters (10,700+ square feet), and has seating for 240 guests. The lounge is basically one long rectangular room.

The highlight of Qantas First Lounges is dining, and that’s certainly taken into account with the design of this lounge, because over half of the lounge is dedicated to that.

Qantas First Lounge Changi layout


Qantas First Lounge Changi layout

Just inside the entrance to the lounge was seating designed for relaxation rather than dining. There were a bunch of semi-private seats, as well as some couches.


Qantas First Lounge Changi seating


Qantas First Lounge Changi seating


Qantas First Lounge Changi seating

I’m not sure I buy into this, but they note that this area and the shower rooms have “skylights,” which you see in the below picture. These are supposed to replicate natural daylight to help travelers adjust their body clock prior to flying to London or Australia.

Personally I doubt sitting under one of those for 20 minutes will impact whether or not you have jetlag…


Qantas First Lounge Changi seating

Also in this area is a small business center with just two seats.


Qantas First Lounge Changi business center

Further into the lounge is more seating — I love the decor of the lounge.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore seating


Qantas First Lounge Singapore seating

Then there’s the huge dining area, which is broken up into two roughly equally sized spaces.


Qantas First Lounge Changi kitchen

You can see the first area below.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area

To the side of the first dining area is the bar.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore bar

The two dining areas are separated by some high-top seating.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area

Then there’s the next dining area, which has significantly more seating, as there are also tables towards the interior of the lounge.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area


Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area


Qantas First Lounge Singapore dining area

At the far end of the lounge is the kitchen, and you can dine there as well if you want.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore kitchen

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Showers

While the Qantas First Lounge doesn’t have a spa (unlike the Melbourne and Sydney lounges), it does have shower suites.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower rooms

These are some of the most gorgeous shower rooms I’ve seen in any airport lounge. Each had a sink, toilet, and a walk-in shower.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower room


Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower


Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower toiletries

As mentioned above, they also have skylights.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore shower room light simulation

Beyond the showers, the toilets were also all individual rooms, which I appreciate.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore toilet

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Dining

The Qantas First Lounge has incredible a la carte dining, with a menu designed by Neil Perry. The menu read as follows:

When I sat down I was welcomed by Eric, who would be taking care of me, and was offered marinated olives with orange zest as an amuse bouche, along with a towel.

Qantas First Lounge dining — olives & towel

I decided to sample my way through the menu and drink list a bit, all in the name of research of course. 😉

To start I had the Calamansi Mojito, followed by the Merlion Blush.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore cocktails


Qantas First Lounge Singapore cocktails

Then to eat I had the two most popular dishes — the salt & pepper squid, as well as the laksa with crayfish, rice noodles, bean sprouts, and egg.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore salt & pepper squid


Qantas First Lounge Singapore signature laksa

I then had a latte.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore latte

For dessert I couldn’t decide between coconut and mango sorbet with palm sugar syrup and toasted coconut flakes, and the torta di verona with blueberries and toasted almonds. Eric insisted I have both, so that’s exactly what I did.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore dessert


Qantas First Lounge Singapore dessert

I didn’t chime in on the food and drink quality up until now because it was truly flawless across the board. Every single thing was exceptional.

While the focus is on a la carte dining and the servers bringing you drinks, the lounge does also have some self serve drink stations. As you can see, they pour Taittinger champagne in the Qantas First Lounge.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore self serve drinks

There’s also a station with soft drinks, olives, fresh fruit, and some snack mix.


Qantas First Lounge Singapore snack station


Qantas First Lounge Singapore snack station


Qantas First Lounge Singapore snack station

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Service

What I haven’t mentioned until now is what probably makes this lounge the best — the people. I’ve never seen a lounge staffed by people who have such a passion for making sure everyone has a great experience.

I can’t state enough how good service in this lounge was, especially to the service at the LAX lounge, which is a mixed bag.

In fairness, the lounge has only been open for a few weeks, so I hope this enthusiasm doesn’t fade.

Qantas First Lounge Singapore Bottom Line

The Qantas First Lounge Singapore is phenomenal, and is such a nice addition to the oneworld network. The lounge has gorgeous decor, and exceptional staff and food.

What an absolute treat this lounge is. I definitely prefer this to the Qantas First Lounge Los Angeles.

This might be crazy, but I actually think I prefer this lounge to Singapore Airlines’ Private Room at Changi Airport, as I like the food and decor here more.

What do you make of the new Qantas First Lounge Changi?

Conversations (19)
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  1. Edvard Member

    Was back this evening. Ambiance, service quality and dining good as ever.

    Design reminds me of CX lounges.

    This QF lounge is a place I would bring a date, and that's a huge compliment.

  2. Rich Guest

    Back there right now. Staff are exceptional, just like in Sydney and Melbourne.

    Menu is great, exceptional quality.

    There are worse places to spend six hours!

  3. Alistair Horne Guest

    We were fortunate to be there early March just before they closed.
    So much better that business class lounge.
    Particularly liked the 'skylights in the showers.

  4. Callum New Member

    @Wanderdata the only OW airline not in T1 at SIN is CX. Also it's designed for an hour stopover from Australia to London and vice versa, plenty of time for one main before boarding. If flying in economy I would love to eat proper food before boarding

  5. jrfspa320 Guest

    I'm sure i'm biased but QF lounges are generally up there with the best.
    In terms of lowly Platinum / Emeralds, without providing F lounge access where available, this would remove any incentive for airline loyalty. I reckon QF will be counting on Oneworld Emeralds too as this is a great money earner for the lounge.

  6. Josh Guest

    You've done away with First CLASS lounge which is great. Don't forget about EK elites' eligibility to use the lounge.

  7. Brian Guest

    Air France First class passengers could use the old Qantas lounge.
    Will we be allowed to use this new lounge?

  8. Pete Guest

    Such a nice lounge, and such a shame it will be infested by crowds of OneWorld Emeralds on non- first class tickets who will ruin the ambience, like they do at the once-were-wonderful first lounges in Melbourne and Sydney.

  9. The Gaffer Guest

    Sounds heavenly compared to BA Concorde Lounge at LHR T5. I was there 2 days ago and it was almost chaotic, crowded and with a tense/angry vibe from both customers and staff. Weird. Would take any of the Changi lounges over that.

  10. Crosscourt Guest

    I was there on 30 nov and really liked the lounge. People staffing it are great. Special mention to Daniel. I had similar dishes to you. Clowns at AA take note

  11. Endre Guest

    As a frequent First Class traveller (paid ticket only), I tested this lounge 2 days ago. It was indeed very nice. Food selection and ambiance were really above the other lounges in Changi airport

  12. Seat1C Member

    Ben, I was there a few days before you and really enjoyed it. The downsides are (a) it's a long corridor like space with no real views (not that QF could do anything about that); and (b) the seating (though not dining) areas were incredibly crowded, it being around 6pm on a Saturday evening.

    So many flights from Singapore are late in the evening and you often get to the airport there a few hours...

    Ben, I was there a few days before you and really enjoyed it. The downsides are (a) it's a long corridor like space with no real views (not that QF could do anything about that); and (b) the seating (though not dining) areas were incredibly crowded, it being around 6pm on a Saturday evening.

    So many flights from Singapore are late in the evening and you often get to the airport there a few hours before, so I don't agree with Wanderdata - if you're not a local (no idea if he/she is) this is a good way to pass the time before a flight. The QF business lounge at Changi was good before it got too busy, so this is a positive step.

  13. Wanderdata Guest

    I am but a mere speedbump on the points highway to success, but who has time for this kind of sit-down meal prior to flying? Hobbyists, for sure. Rich retirees? As Lucky writes, this lounge is a PITA to get to when flying Cathay, and the service takes some time - what's a reasonable time to block out for this very nice meal - three hours? Maybe two hours if departing from a closer terminal? This seems daunting.

  14. Mike Guest

    I was there at the end of November. Service was friendly but extremely absent-minded. About half of the ~10 things I ordered never arrived, and I was offered other people’s food/drinks several times. Maybe they’ve turned things around since then?

  15. John K Guest

    While Qantas might not always be industry-leading (slow to incorporate all direct aisle access in business, significant delays to upgrading their fleet a few years back) but when they do commit to investing in product, they execute their programs very well. Most frequent flyers were wowed by the SYD & MEL lounges when they were revealed over a decade ago and to this day they have aged extremely well. Given that most pax will spend...

    While Qantas might not always be industry-leading (slow to incorporate all direct aisle access in business, significant delays to upgrading their fleet a few years back) but when they do commit to investing in product, they execute their programs very well. Most frequent flyers were wowed by the SYD & MEL lounges when they were revealed over a decade ago and to this day they have aged extremely well. Given that most pax will spend no more than 90 minutes in the lounge, they have invested heavily here.

  16. Phillip Diamond

    From the pics it looks a little too blandly brown/beige decor-wise!

  17. JW Guest

    Agree with your assessment on the comparison with SQ TPR. That place though more exclusive has a menu that hasn't changed for ages and the food is boring and unimaginative. Decor is also too old school at the TPR. SQ needs to up their game with the renovation or be contended to being beaten at their turf.

  18. Ryan Guest

    Private room DESTOYS QF 1st lounge. Wait until it gets crowded. Private Room is a true 1st class lounge. Only SQ F class can enter. It’s quiet and, service is superb and the food and drink menu is far more extensive. I didn’t think they compared.

  19. Callum New Member

    Isn’t it right to the lounge from immigration not left? The lounge is in the D gates (right) not left to the C gates (where the old lounge is)

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

Edvard Member

Was back this evening. Ambiance, service quality and dining good as ever. Design reminds me of CX lounges. This QF lounge is a place I would bring a date, and that's a huge compliment.

0
Rich Guest

Back there right now. Staff are exceptional, just like in Sydney and Melbourne. Menu is great, exceptional quality. There are worse places to spend six hours!

0
Alistair Horne Guest

We were fortunate to be there early March just before they closed. So much better that business class lounge. Particularly liked the 'skylights in the showers.

0
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