World’s best airport hotel is near perfect, with one major issue

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport has been named world’s best airport hotel nine times running.

The hotel

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Singapore

Check-in

A taste of the steamy tropics … airport hotel pools don’t get more fabulous.

The current and nine-time consecutive winner of the Skytrax Best Airport Hotel award opened in 2008 with an extension completed in 2016. It debuted a $22 million “enhancement” in early 2024.

The money has mostly been spent where it counts – in the lodgings. Twelve guest rooms have been added, to bring the total to 575. Three of these are Premium Pool Access – there are now 11 in this category.

The look

A relocated Club Lounge features comfortable and chic furnishings and great tech.

Singaporean architectural firm WOHA’s original clever “shot of the steamy tropics” (as they put it) building design has rooms running off open (though undercover) corridors, reminiscent of Singapore’s pre-war flats. Inside the rooms, earlier green-dominated mid-century interiors have given way to a blue and beige, ocean-inspired aesthetic designed by Singapore-based Park + Associates. It’s relaxing and cool, ideal for breaking up a long journey.

The room

Premium Pool Access Room … 10 steps from bed to plunge.

I’m in one of the new 36-square-metre Premium Pool Access rooms, well laid out with a king bed, a sofa bed, generous banquette-and-table set up, and wide shelving under the TV for bags that don’t fit in the luggage area near the door.

The spacious bathroom, interfacing the room via a retractable wall, has separate toilet and shower cubicles, plus a large bathtub.

A full wall of windows contains a door that leads directly to the pool – 10 steps from bed to plunge. Directly outside each of the pool rooms are two chairs, an ottoman and table with a sign that says the furniture is exclusive to the room occupants.

It’s storming when I arrive. All is quiet on the pool deck, and I succumb to sleep. But later, when the sun emerges, so do the kids. They scream and shout non-stop during pool hours, which start early and end late. It’s like they’re in the room with me.

It’s a pool, and a fabulous one. I get it, kind of – I mean, in my day, parents told kids to dial it down in public. But even parents whose own children contribute to the noise may find their brood’s rest times disrupted if in this room.

Food + drink

Allora Ristorante and Bar has also been given a makeover.

A relocated Club Lounge features comfortable and chic furnishings and great tech. I take refuge here to get work done in peace. The breakfast, both buffet and a la carte, is terrific.

The hotel’s restaurant and bar have been given makeovers. Allora Ristorante and Bar, as the name suggests, focuses on Italian cuisine and offers a very approachable, kid-friendly menu. The woodfired pizza is great.

Allora’s woodfired pizza is a winner.

Out + about

A walkway to The Jewel is right next to the hotel’s terminal entrance. This glamorous mega-mall has many food options, attractions, activities and retail. For closer, quick and cheap bites and some basics including a pharmacy and mini-mart, Singapore Food Street is nearby in the basement of T3.

Guests can enjoy quick access to The Jewel Changi precinct.Credit: Getty Images

The verdict

This consistently great hotel remains worthy of a good review overall. Despite loving their look and feel, however, I am not sold on the Premium Pool Access rooms. Some are behind shrubbery, which might act as a barrier to the racketry. But the room I was in was relentlessly noisy during pool hours – and had a few privacy issues (see below).

Essentials

From $324 a night. Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, an IHG Hotel; 75 Airport Boulevard, Singapore. There are three wheelchair-accessible rooms. See changiairport.crowneplaza.com

Our score out of five

★★★★½

Highlight

For working travellers in room categories with access to it, the Club Lounge, and its attentive staff, is a real bonus.

Lowlight

Ah, those adults who choose to ignore the reserved signs on the furniture directly outside the Pool Access rooms. I have no problem sharing, except when these strangers suddenly appear close to my windows and they can see straight in. And if, like me, you have the bathroom wall rolled back, well … hello!

The writer travelled as a guest of Crowne Plaza Changi and Singapore Airlines.