Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, review: An airport hotel unlike the others

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This was published 8 years ago

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, review: An airport hotel unlike the others

Singapore's Crowne Plaza Changi is an airport hotel with a difference – it has personality, writes Anthony Dennis.

By Anthony Dennis
The swimming pool at Crowne Plaza Changi is inviting.

The swimming pool at Crowne Plaza Changi is inviting.

THE PLACE

Crowne Plaza Changi, Singapore

THE LOCATION

Azur restaurant offers a buffet as well as an al a carte menu.

Azur restaurant offers a buffet as well as an al a carte menu.

There is surely little to match the sense of relief of finally reaching your hotel after a long flight (think: hot shower, fluffy towels, proper bed). It can be an even better feeling when your accommodation is an airport hotel, and even better still, when it's attached to the terminal, meaning you need not set foot outside. As the name suggests this wildly convenient hotel, which is in the midst of being enlarged, is located at everyone's favourite airport – Singapore's Changi – and, more specifically, at one end of Terminal 3 after your pass through Customs.

THE SPACE

Of course, there was a time when the airport hotel was something of a clinical, even depressing experience. But the 320-room Crowne Plaza Changi, when it opened in 2008, was at the vanguard of an overdue realisation that an airport hotel need not just be utilitarian but have personality, too. The dark tones of the public areas certainly give the hotel a sense of being somewhere special. And, as you head, or stagger, depending on the duration of your flight, to your contemporarily styled room, you'll find that parts of the hotel are outdoors, courtesy of the bold cutaway design of the building's metallic fabric, giving you the feeling of a resort.

The swimming pool, surrounded by tropical gardens, at the Crowne Plaza Changi.

The swimming pool, surrounded by tropical gardens, at the Crowne Plaza Changi.

THE ROOM

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It may be that because I've stayed here on numerous occasions over the years – at my own expense until this visit – but the modern, spacious rooms, designed in "calming cappuccino and soft green" hues and with blond wood furnishings, are starting to look ever so slightly dated, though not enough for it to be a concern. Book a Club Room and you gain access to the hotel's Club Lounge: handy if you have time to kill between checkout and your flight departure, or if you just want an exclusive, private area in which to relax or catch up on work.

COMFORT FACTOR

The lobby of the Crowne Plaza Changi hotel Singapore.

The lobby of the Crowne Plaza Changi hotel Singapore.

The hotel is well sound-proofed though you can sometimes hear the muffled sound of jet engines from your room (not such a bad thing since it serves as a reminder that, yes, you are staying in an airport hotel). There's a decent swimming pool, set in landscaped tropical gardens, as as well as a spa.

FOOD

Your reviewer dined at Azur, the hotel's al a carte and buffet restaurant, a little grimly with a row of several other single male travellers. The better, and livelier, option may be Imperial Treasure, Crowne Plaza Changi's Cantonese restaurant, while there's also a more casual spot, the sports-themed bar '75 as well as the business-traveller-friendly Lobby Lounge. Or you may just wish to stay in and order room service.

Crowne Plaza Changi has a striking facade.

Crowne Plaza Changi has a striking facade.

STEPPING OUT

It's unlikely that you'll need or want to venture beyond the airport. But should you wish to pop into town, it's an easy, half hour or less taxi or train ride away. Below Terminal 3, on the basement level on the land side of the airport, is a convenient shopping mall with amenities such as pharmacies.

THE VERDICT

Crowne Plaza Changi is one of the world's better airport hotels, having set a standard that other such establishments have followed. The fact that is directly connected to Terminal 3 (with easy connections to the other two terminals) is a major plus for both business and leisure travellers to and from Australia sensibly opting to break their long-haul journey.

ESSENTIALS

Rooms from $204 75 Airport Boulevard, Changi Airport, Singapore; Phone: +65 6823 5300; crowneplaza.com/Singapore

The writer was a guest of the hotel.

HIGHLIGHT

Its convenience and the fact it doesn't feel like an airport hotel.

LOWLIGHT

The dining options are a bit of a letdown.

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