Introduction
Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge San Francisco
Singapore Airlines Suites Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines Silver Kris Lounge Hong Kong
Singapore Airlines Suites Class Hong Kong to Singapore
Conrad Singapore
Shangri-La Singapore
Skyview Lounge Singapore
Cathay Pacific Business Class Singapore to Colombo
Araliya Lounge Colombo
Cathay Pacific Business Class Colombo to Singapore
Emirates Lounge Singapore
Emirates First Class Singapore to Dubai
Park Hyatt Dubai
Emirates First Class Lounge Dubai
Emirates First Class Dubai to London Heathrow
Coworth Park London (Ascot)
British Airways Concorde Room London Heathrow
British Airways First Class London Heathrow to Seattle
I had flown in from Seattle earlier in the day, and arrived at the Singapore Airlines check-in counter right as it opened at 7:20PM, about 3.5 hours before departure.
Check-in
There was an older couple in the Suites Class check-in line in front of me with luggage that was probably more expensive than a revenue Suites Class ticket. Within a few minutes it was my turn, and the friendly agent printed my boarding pass in no time. The cabin seemed to be wide open and I requested to have my seat changed from 2A to 3A, given that a friend that recently flew Suites on Singapore noted that row three has three windows per suite, while the other rows have two windows per suite.
The agent asked out of curiosity why I wanted to switch from 2A to 3A. I explained it to him, and he said “wow, you really know your stuff.” Not really, I just know people that know their stuff!
On the way to the security checkpoint I passed a massive replica of the Singapore Airlines Airbus 380, along with a poster advertising that it’s the first A380 flying to Asia out of San Francisco.
Awesome A380 model
I’m hoping that if I’m really, really good this year, I might get one of those massive replicas for Christmas. It would only take up about half my apartment.
Fortunately the security lines were short, and the priority security line was completely empty. The agent did a double take at my boarding pass when she saw it said “suites,” and said “damn, is that like a hotel room in the sky or something?”
Once through security I headed to the Silver Kris Lounge, which had just opened for the evening.
Corridor to lounge
Lounge entrance
Singapore renovated the Silver Kris Lounge a couple of years ago, and in the process got rid of the first class section, meaning it’s a shared lounge for Star Gold members as well as premium cabin passengers.
The lounge was about as dull as “Two and a Half Men” since Charlie Sheen left.
Lounge seating
Lounge seating
Lounge seating
The food spread was decent, with finger sandwiches, fruit, yogurt, meats, minestrone soup, cereal, pastries, noodles, and more.
Buffet spread
Buffet spread
Buffet spread
There was also a self-serve bar with liquor, beer, wine, soft drinks, and a Nespresso machine.
Bar
Bar
Nespresso machine
The wifi was reasonably fast so I spent about two hours getting caught up on some work before requesting a shower.
The lounge has two shower rooms, which are spacious though basic. They both have shampoo and soap dispensers, though I couldn’t care less about the stuff as long as I’m fresh before a 15-hour flight.
Shower room
Shower room
By the time I freshened up we had about an hour till departure, so I decided to head out to the gate area.
International terminal
For what it’s worth if you’re in Suites Class you can also use the United Global First Lounge. It’s probably United’s nicest lounge (which I realize isn’t saying much), and much nicer than the Silver Kris Lounge. You can find a previous review of the lounge here.
The thought of using the lounge didn’t cross my mind till it was almost time for boarding, though at least I was productive in the Silver Kris Lounge.
The flight was leaving from gate 101, where boarding is done through two levels.
The beast!
Departure gate
Down the escalators is the jet bridge for coach passengers, while on the upper level of the concourse is the jet bridge for business/first class passengers.
At around 10:20PM boarding began, starting with suites and business class passengers. I could hardly contain my excitement, and was the first to board.
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January 24th, 2013 at 8:55 am
Hulagrrl210 said,
I wasn’t too impressed with the Silver Kris Lounge either. I prefer both of the United clubs but they don’t stay open as late
January 24th, 2013 at 9:07 am
Spencer W. said,
This is a silly question for those who spend a lot of time in lounges (I do not), but in lounges where they have showers, is there a charge to use the showers? Similarly, in first class lounges (such as BA Concorde), if you order off a menu, is there a charge for the food? I’m still wet behind the ears on some of this stuff… THANK YOU!
January 24th, 2013 at 9:19 am
Gary said,
What time DOES the UA F lounge close?
January 24th, 2013 at 9:20 am
Jason said,
United lounge seems like a better option @ SFO.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:29 am
Patrick said,
I flew SQ1 the very next night, 01/16 in Premium Economy. Despite beging Star Alliance Gold they told me I couldn’t use the Singapore Kris Lounge due to the A380 flights being too full and lounge too small … That was a bit of a disappointment but at least I got free drinks in the dumpy UA lounge. Overall it was a great flight, the A380 is quite nice to fly.
January 24th, 2013 at 9:39 am
caveman said,
Slightly off topic but somewhat relevant. I have an Asiana business flight from SFO to seol. Can someone tell me which lounge I will be able to use? Do I have any option?
January 24th, 2013 at 9:43 am
TheBeerHunter said,
@Spencer W, there is no charge for the showers in lounges that you get into for free. Additionally, no charge for the food at places like the Concorde room.
January 24th, 2013 at 10:08 am
Joey said,
I thought you had a middle seat in suite class? Or was that the HKG-SIN leg?
January 24th, 2013 at 10:09 am
Joel said,
@Spencer W. I don’t have as much experience as Ben, but I do know that the Admirals Club at LAX requires you to exchange your boarding pass for a key to one of the shower rooms. You trade off again and retrieve your boarding pass once you return to the desk from being refreshed.
January 24th, 2013 at 10:12 am
Deo said,
@Lucky – Glad to know I’m not the only sad person in this world mourning the departure of Charlie Sheen !
Nice erm, ‘amuse bouche’ for the upcoming instalments.
January 24th, 2013 at 11:09 am
elsie said,
Is this right? First passengers board at the upper level of the gate and then you have to go downstairs once on board…. Zumutung!??
January 24th, 2013 at 11:33 am
lucky said,
@ Spencer W. — Nope, it’s complimentary. Typically everything in an international premium cabin lounge is complimentary.
@ Gary — Well I know SYD leaves around the same time, so late enough.
@ caveman — I believe you can use the United Club as the primary option.
January 24th, 2013 at 11:34 am
Zz said,
“I’m hoping that if I’m really, really good this year, I might get one of those massive replicas for Christmas.”
Why not at least get your favorite business class seat in your home?
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Business-Class-Airline-Airplane-Aircraft-Seats-Reclining-Blue-Leather-DOUBLE-SET-/130764525689?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e722c5079
January 24th, 2013 at 11:40 am
lucky said,
@ caveman — I believe they use a contract lounge at SFO.
@ caveman — Hmm, they leave from another terminal so they use a different contract lounge. Can’t quite figure out what it is right now, though.
@ Joey — Nope, I had a window seat. The middle seats were empty so they just made my bed there.
@ elsie — Hah, the boarding entrance isn’t right at the jet bridge, so you actually board through the first floor. Once you enter the gate you have the option of taking the first or business class jet bridge.
January 24th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Dan said,
@caveman @lucky When I flew Asiana business from SFO the contract lounge they used was China Airlines, nothing special but quieter than UA lounges you could also use (but in that case you would have to reclear security to get to OZ gate).
January 24th, 2013 at 12:02 pm
lucky said,
@ Dan — Good to know, thanks!
January 24th, 2013 at 12:21 pm
Susan said,
Ben, please tell me again, what camera you are using these days?
January 24th, 2013 at 12:29 pm
Ntang02 said,
@ Lucky – is access to the krisflyer lounge included in your suite ticket? or is it because of your krisflyer elite status? thanks for taking my question
January 24th, 2013 at 12:40 pm
lucky said,
@ Susan — Using a Canon S95.
@ Ntang02 — It’s included in the Suites Class ticket.
January 24th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
Stevie G said,
1st to board? Gate lice!
January 24th, 2013 at 1:33 pm
dan ray said,
I thought I had heard that Kris lounge was not letting other star gold members in unless on a Singapore flight.
January 24th, 2013 at 2:57 pm
BFrankley said,
Ben,
In HKG right now, just off SQ1. I was laughing all the way through security as we raced like ducklings to keep up with the escort. Damn she was quick.. Now I can truly appreciate the duckling video!
For what it’s worth, we were denied entrance to the United IFL at SFO, so made do with the Silver Kris lounge.
I don’t think anything will ever top the flight we just had. Amazing experience. Thanks!
January 24th, 2013 at 3:21 pm
lucky said,
@ dan ray — That’s correct.
@ BFrankley — Hah, happy to hear you got an escort as well! You were denied entry to the IFL? On what grounds? Sounds like the typical, horrible dragons working there. Some things never change, it seems.
January 24th, 2013 at 3:38 pm
wwk5d said,
“The lounge was about as dull as “Two and a Half Men” since Charlie Sheen left.”
So what you’re saying is, it wasn’t anything special before the renovation either
January 24th, 2013 at 9:59 pm
BFrankley said,
She was definitely a Dragon! I didn’t bother pushing it. And now all is forgotten because we’re sitting in The Private Room at SIN. No dragons here, just service so great it’s surreal. It’s so nice that I forgot I’m supposed to be GOING somewhere.
January 26th, 2013 at 1:17 pm
zeffer said,
On the question of when the UA F lounge at SFO closes, I was transiting there in June from JFK, awaiting boarding to SYD in F on UA. The flight was delayed. They closed the lounge anyway and literally kicked us out, a full hour before departure. They had to call security to forcibly remove an exhausted elderly Australian lady for whom it was the last straw among many screw-ups. It was horrible. Closing the lounge well before your own flight departs seems pretty shoddy to me, but that’s United for ya.
January 26th, 2013 at 4:07 pm
lucky said,
@ zeffer — OUCH!
January 27th, 2013 at 2:04 pm
Gary said,
@lucky doesn’t the SYD flight leave ~ 3 hours before SQ1?
January 27th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
lucky said,
@ Gary — This time of year 15 minutes earlier (10:35PM vs. 10:50PM).
February 4th, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Lsed said,
It’s actually spelt SilverKris but then SFO signage got it wrong too. Haha
February 6th, 2013 at 12:49 pm
Aditya said,
Sliver Kris lounge is better in terms of service, food and its less crowded. I always skip the UA lounge since its like meat market.
February 6th, 2013 at 1:53 pm
lucky said,
@ Aditya — I agree for business class, though I do think the Global First lounge is nicer than the SilverKris lounge.
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