[SIN T3] Temporary Krisflyer Gold Lounge (Shared Marhaba Lounge)

[yflyer]

There are major lounge renovations works going on in Changi T3, with renovations ongoing at the original T3 Krisflyer Gold Lounge.



In the mean time, Krisflyer Elite Gold and Star Alliance Gold members have been directed to a temporary lounge, which is a shared space with the existing Marhaba Lounge, which has now been rebranded with a separate new Krisflyer Gold Lounge entrance.



It must be tough being a lounge dragon at Changi these days. In the space of 3 minutes while I was at the lounge entrance, I observed the lounge staff at the Gold Lounge entrance directing business class pax to the SilverKris Lounge, as well as (politely) declining admission to a non-FF SQ premium economy flyer who thought she had access. I am sure the staff at the SilverKris Lounge also spend a lot of time directing Star Alliance flyers in economy over to this Gold Lounge as well.

I visited the lounge at 8am yesterday, on a Sunday morning, and it was very busy.



As fellow SQTalkers KC*, sqtrans, and davidfusq also mentioned in another thread, this lounge used to be the Marhaba Lounge, and is not large (Noticeably smaller than the previous T3 KF Gold Lounge).

Seating area, with single-seater chairs, tables, as well as bar-style work tops...



There is a long passageway with F&B laid out along one corridor...



At the other end of the corridor, you reach another seating area, which turns out to be the seating area (and entrance) of the Marhaba Lounge.

In other words, apart from separate entrances for Marhaba and Krisflyer Gold, this is the same lounge, with shared catering along the corridor and complete freedom of movement across the two areas.



The fact that both entrances led to the same lounge sort of reminded me of this Simpsons cartoon ...

It was a fairly bright and airy lounge, with decent views.

[yflyer]

An example of the seating, with A/C power and USB charging available on the pedestal...

[yflyer]

The lounge had quite a good F&B selection...



Coffee and tea...



Breakfast pastry and bread selections, and fresh fruit...



The wine and liquor selection...





There was also Tiger Beer on tap, and cans of beer in the refrigerator.

[yflyer]

Breakfast cereal...



Frosties (!!!)



Western breakfast selections...



Pancakes...



Asian selections, including noodles and roti prata...



Shanghai dumplings...



Char siew bao...



Congee...



Minced meat and vegetables...



...as well as steamed rice.

And as a last resort, cup noodles...

[yflyer]

Overall, a decent, but unexceptional lounge, with positives being good F&B and a nice airy ambience.

The only issue with this lounge is that it is likely to be way too small for the crowd at peak periods, given the number of KF Gold and Star Alliance Gold pax go through Changi.

Thanks for reading!

[wlgspotter]

Thanks for posting the photos @yflyer, We were just at the lounge on the evening on Sunday 17 Nov at around 9:00pm, whilst waiting to catch SQ608 to ICN, and it was indeed chocka and very full. There were 4 of us and we couldn’t even get seats for all 4 initially, let alone trying to get seats together.

But I agree the F&B selection is great. Oh and you forgot to mentioned the washroom for the lounge is also shared with the Marhaba Lounge, with the entrance to it at the Marhaba Lounge end. :-)

[yflyer]

Thanks for posting the photos @yflyer, We were just at the lounge on the evening on Sunday 17 Nov at around 9:00pm, whilst waiting to catch SQ608 to ICN, and it was indeed chocka and very full. There were 4 of us and we couldn’t even get seats for all 4 initially, let alone trying to get seats together.

Thanks for your note, wlgspotter -- appreciated! Hope you managed to find seats eventually! Nice to know you were heading to ICN. Any opportunity to check out the new lounge?

Oh and you forgot to mentioned the washroom for the lounge is also shared with the Marhaba Lounge, with the entrance to it at the Marhaba Lounge end. :-)

Thanks for letting everyone know! Great that there are washrooms within the lounge. It is such a hassle to head outside to use external washrooms.

I didn't realize there were washrooms at the Marhaba end, as I just took a quick look and headed back to the "SQ" area without really exploring the "Marhaba" part of the lounge. Of course I now realize I should have just treated that section as part of the SQ lounge as there is no Marhaba area and no SQ area...it's just one lounge, after all.

[wlgspotter]

Thanks for your note, wlgspotter -- appreciated! Hope you managed to find seats eventually! Nice to know you were heading to ICN. Any opportunity to check out the new lounge?



Thanks for letting everyone know! Great that there are washrooms within the lounge. It is such a hassle to head outside to use external washrooms.

I didn't realize there were washrooms at the Marhaba end, as I just took a quick look and headed back to the "SQ" area without really exploring the "Marhaba" part of the lounge. Of course I now realize I should have just treated that section as part of the SQ lounge as there is no Marhaba area and no SQ area...it's just one lounge, after all.

Will try and check out the new ICN lounge on our return on Monday if we get the time.

And as for the washrooms @ SIN T3 Temp Star Alliance/Marhaba Lounge, well yeah it was not “easy” to locate and the washrooms are quite small and in limited quantities. I went round looking for it as I needed to use it, and walking around to the other end before realising it was a shared lounge...

[sqtrans]

Will try and check out the new ICN lounge on our return on Monday if we get the time.

And as for the washrooms @ SIN T3 Temp Star Alliance/Marhaba Lounge, well yeah it was not “easy” to locate and the washrooms are quite small and in limited quantities. I went round looking for it as I needed to use it, and walking around to the other end before realising it was a shared lounge...

Yeah, the toilets are very limited in this lounge. The other thing people may like to know is that while there are showers, there are only 3 or 4 rooms and I believe they are also used as toilets. If you want to have a shower you need to go get a buzzer from the attendant (sometimes hiding somewhere). So make sure not to leave the shower to the last minute in case they are not available or the wait is long.

[scooby5]

I used the old DNATA and this new Marhaba Lounge with Priority Pass before SQ and *G infiltrated the very limited space. I knew it was going to be tight as soon as the announcement was made and have avoided it ever since.

Without SQ, the lounges were/are doable. Marhaba has better F&B than the DNATA one but now i have to head over to B-side and the Ambassador Lounge as the only alternative to find space. For being the newer major terminal, it's a mess.

[reddevil0728]

I used the old DNATA and this new Marhaba Lounge with Priority Pass before SQ and *G infiltrated the very limited space. I knew it was going to be tight as soon as the announcement was made and have avoided it ever since.

Without SQ, the lounges were/are doable. Marhaba has better F&B than the DNATA one but now i have to head over to B-side and the Ambassador Lounge as the only alternative to find space. For being the newer major terminal, it's a mess.

Have you been to The Haven by JetQuay?