The Crowne Plaza Changi Airport has always piqued my curiosity whenever I make my way to the airport simply because it looks nothing like your typical airport hotel. And since I wanted to participate in the Accelerate promotion to earn more points for my Intercontinental Bali stay, I booked myself a night there at an affordable $242.25++.
The Crowne Plaza was voted the World’s Best Airport Hotel by London-based Skytrax in 2015, 2016 and have been consistently in the top 10 for the past 5 years. The hotel certainly lived up to its name during my stay with only minor hiccups here and there.
Located within Changi Airport itself, in Terminal 3, it is extremely accessible to guests who are looking to deboard, pass through immigration and get a room fast, which is precisely the function of an airport hotel. Guests can reach Terminal 3 using the Skytrain from Terminal 1 and via a mezzanine linkbridge from Terminal 2 by foot within minutes.
The hotel made use of natural lighting as much as possible throughout the entire property, which gave it a very resort vibe. (Come nighttime the common areas felt a bit dark, and I wished they had switched on more lights.) Check in was painless and I was off to my room within minutes. As an IHG Club member, I was quite impressed when they offered me a 2pm late checkout, two welcome drinks at the lobby lounge, a fruit platter and some granola bars. In fact, I heard that the property regularly upgraded Platinum members to a suite. These small actions clearly show that being loyal to IHG pays.
I took the elevator to the 5th floor and was surprised that the hallway leading to the rooms were actually out in the open, coupled with plants growing everywhere, it added to the resort feel that the property was going for. Room wise, it was very spacious and modern, and the thing that caught my eye immediately was the flower motif that were plastered all over the glass wall that separated the toilet. It made the room feel less sterile and gave it character. One gripe I have is that housekeeping was not very thorough. After settling down I found tissue paper stuffed in the peephole of the door and rubbish in the bin. Small issues, but it was kind of gross and unprofessional.
I was fortunate enough to get a room with a runway view, which was really cool since I got to check out planes landing and taking off from the comfort of my bed. It should also be noted that the room is not 100% soundproof and one can still hear the faint sound of the engines rumbling. The room itself was well equipped with an amazing speaker, large TV, comfortable king size bed and a desk, everything that will enable one to recharge and rest well after a long flight. Bathroom amenities were from Orla Kiely and I love how it smelt like eucalyptus. The hotel also provided a small bottle of Elemis room mist that made use of aromatherapy to give one a great sleep. The aromatic oil made me fall into such deep slumber, I actually missed breakfast the following morning.
I also managed to squeeze in some time to visit the pool in the afternoon, which was nice. The pool was not exactly very big considering the plants took up much space. However when I was there it was quite empty so I manage to do some laps. There was not much sunlight to talk about so the water was cold, but I had a great swim nonetheless.
Overall an excellent stay and I will have no qualms about coming back here to stay again. I love the fact that it is situated in the world’s best airport itself, which has everything that one would possibly need.