I recently had an early morning SIngapore Airlines flight out of Singapore and took the opportunity to visit the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge in T3. This access is made available through the partnership that exists between Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia.
The current iteration of the lounge in T3 opened in 2022, and this was my first opportunity to visit the lounge. As my flight was an early morning flight, this review reflects the time of day – that is it was a breakfast service.
Access Requirements
In general, the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge is set aside for Star Alliance Gold members travelling in Economy class. In addition, access if given to partner airline frequent flyers, such as Velocity. Indeed, in my case, I was able to access the lounge through my Velocity status.
Operating Hours
The lounge operates 24 hours a day.
Location
The lounge is located on Level 3 of Terminal 3. It did not prove difficult to find – it is just a couple of minutes walk once you clear immigration on your way out of Singapore. Basically, as you come out of the immigration area take a left turn, then look for an escalator on your right.
It’s worth noting that Singapore Airlines lounges in Singapore have slightly confusing names. In addition to the KrisFlyer Gold Lounge, there are also SilverKris lounges. The SilverKris lounges are reserved for those flying in First or Business class. The KrisFlyer Gold lounge is the designated Gold lounge for Frequent Flyers. and is the lounge for those flying Economy. As such, if you are flying Economy out of Singapore , look for the KrisFlyer Gold lounge, not the SilverKris lounge.
Lounge Layout
On entering the lounge proper, I felt quite a sense of space. The lounge overall is basically one big open space. That said, there are various partitioned areas which subdivides the lounge into various areas.
There are various types of seating around the lounge to cater for different uses. The following pictures show some of the seating styles available in the lounge.
Some of the comfy lounge style seating. The seating in this area is relatively dense, and there is some variation in colors. While some seats are beige, there are also blue coloured sofas.
There is a buffet area centrally located within the lounge, and in this are the seating switches to to set up more in keeping with the dining theme.
There is a bit of a communal setup for productivity purposes. These are more high-top seating, and suitable for getting the laptop out to do some work.
Food and Beverage
My visit was made in the early morning, so the buffet area was set up for breakfast. This was a self-service affair with a range of hot foods available, including Asian and (token) Western breakfast options.
For example, you’ll find har gow/prawn dumplings and sui mai/sefood dumplings. Indeed, there seemed to be quite a reasonable selection of these dimsum/dumpling delights. Or you can have scrambled eggs. I know which one I chose!
There is also a fridge that was stocked with sandwiches and fruit.
The same fridge contained a selection of cold beverages. This is Singapore, so it’s probably no surprise to find Tiger Beer here. Heineken was also available, so there is a choice! On top of that, there was a range of soft drinks, mixers and fruit juices.
If you are after a coffee, sadly there is no barista. However, there are coffee machines. So, if you want a brew, you’ll need to be pushing buttons.
There was also a rather modest selection of wines to choose from. No champagne, though.
Amenities
I used to read complaints of there not being bathrooms in the lounge. That seems to have been addresses during the lounge makeover, as there were definitely showers and toilets in the lounge.
Final Words
While this is a lounge that provides a space for those travelling in Economy, to me it was a perfectly acceptable lounge. It was bright and spacious and was well divided into separate areas.
It’s no first-class lounge, but it doesn’t pretend to be. It may not have champagne and top shelf spirits on offer, or any of the other bells and whistles people seem to want, but to me it seemed quite an adequate lounge
There was a good range of food and beverage, and the surroundings were better than being in the terminal. I think it would be more than acceptable for most travellers.
