Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge, Melbourne Airport
By Chris C., September 14 2015
Country
Australia
City
Melbourne
Airport
Melbourne - Tullamarine
Alliance
Star Alliance
Airline
Singapore Airlines
Cabin-class
Business
Notes
The Good
- Power points at almost every seat
- More hot food & buffet choice than in Air NZ's lounge
- Separate business centre with PCs
The Bad
- No barista service
X-Factor
- Seating ideal for work, rest and play
Introduction
Step inside the Singapore Airlines SilverKris lounge at Melbourne Airport: welcoming not only SQ's own passengers but also those of United, Thai Airways, Air China and more.
Divided into two areas – one for first class passengers and the other for business class travellers – we take a look at what Singapore Airlines has to offer in the lounge's business class section.
Location & Impressions
Located after security and the duty-free stores, SQ's lounge sits on the concourse level of Melbourne Airport's satellite pier: a good 5-10 minute hike from passport control.
Inside, travellers are greeted by a relaxing and somewhat upmarket space, reinforced with fine touches like gold Rolex clocks on the wall and fresh flowers on some of the tables.
There's also a glimpse of natural light through the windows at the far end, but which back onto the terminal concourse rather than providing an unobstructed outlook over the tarmac.
Access
- Business class and first class passengers of Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Air China, Air India, Thai Airways and United Airlines
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Elite Gold, PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club before Singapore Airlines and Star Alliance flights
- Other Star Alliance Gold cardholders before Singapore Airlines and Star Alliance flights
- Virgin Australia Velocity Gold, Platinum and The Club plus Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold members before Singapore Airlines flights
- Air Canada Maple Leaf Club and United Club members prior to any Star Alliance flight
The business class section of the SilverKris lounge opens during the following times, while passengers travelling outside of these hours can retreat to the nearby Air New Zealand, Star Alliance Gold lounge:
- 7:30am - 10:30am
- 12:40pm - 6:25pm
- 9:05pm - 12:05am
It's worth remembering too that even if your airline directs you to the Air NZ lounge, you're also welcome to use SQ's facilities when they're open if your journey is covered by the access list above.
Singapore Airlines' first class passengers and Solitaire PPS Club members flying with SQ may also relax in the adjacent SilverKris first class lounge – fittingly, you'll find it by turning left at the entrance.
Dining
We found a reasonable breakfast spread during our early visit with yummy hot items such as French toast, eggs and bacon at the ready...
... along with cereals, yoghurt, fruit salad and banana bread...
... and an always-open bar with plenty of juice and water for the morning crowd, along with Singapore's signature Tiger beer and other varieties:
Although lacking a barista, the lounge does provide a Nespresso machine at the buffet, but which was extremely slow in producing coffees.
On the upside, lounge staff are often found nearby during the morning rush to assist first-time users in preparing their coffees or in selecting their perfect Nespresso pod from the selection provided: a simple and subtle way to improve the passenger experience, but one we're sure that many travellers do appreciate.
Also welcome for an international lounge are dishes catering for travellers 'living' in other time zones. Even at 8am (Melbourne time), dumplings and frittata-style party pies were on offer, as was Maggie Beer ice cream.
Admittedly, we grabbed the ice cream in our morning haze – assuming it to be yoghurt – but then decided to switch breakfast for brunch.
Travellers departing later in the day can also find sandwiches, rolls, salads, macarons and sweets to nibble on...
... and can enjoy their meal at a small number of buffet-adjacent dining tables or at the longer communal bench that's also great for laptop work:
Work
There are two main aspects that we love about SQ's Melbourne lounge: the first being that solo travellers are well and truly catered for, with almost every seat having its own cocktail table and power outlet...
... and the second being that the entire lounge has a 'relaxed work' vibe, in that practically every seat is suitable for productivity but equally so for enjoying a nice glass of wine before your long international flight.
The seats are also close enough together for couples and groups to converse...
... but far enough apart that you don't lose the feeling of 'personal space'.
There's also high-speed WiFi throughout and a small business centre at the entrance with computing facilities...
... but as it sits before you enter either the business class or first class lounges, it's easy to overlook and to forget about once you're inside.
Relax
While it's easy to relax almost anywhere in SQ's lounge, one zone makes that particularly easy with plentiful reading material...
... along with TVs set at an ideal volume: they're loud enough to listen to if the show if of interest, but quiet enough to ignore if you've got other plans.
Shower suites are also available with amenities provided – a staple of any respectable international business class lounge, in which Singapore Airlines doesn't disappoint.
Also read: United B787 'BusinessFirst' review: Melbourne-Los Angeles
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Aug 2014
Total posts 213
Fantastic lighting over that long communal bench. The whole lounge has a surprisingly airy feel to it, despite no external windows and a small footprint. And powerpoints at almost every seat!
Qantas' grim International Business lounge in Melbourne ("the cave") could certainly learn something...!
03 Jul 2014
Total posts 4
I must say that the times that I have been there, the staff take a LONG time to replenish the food, unlike the Emirates lounge where the food is replenished very frequently and the buffet table is constantly full.
The seating and environment is very comfortable though.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Dec 2014
Total posts 284
Picture 10 gives a good insight into the lounge
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
06 Mar 2015
Total posts 231
Looks really nice.My family and relations always fly SQ Business and their lounges are usually excellent.
This new lounge would not have to be even just passable to be vastly better than the appalling SQ lounge in Perth. Probably the worst lounge I have ever been in apart from Air NZ in Honolulu.
This is obviously a very good Lounge , let's hope SQ recognise what a bloody awful lounge Perth has and make it as good as this one !!!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
13 Jan 2015
Total posts 580
When was the last time this lounge was refurbished?
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
10 Jan 2012
Total posts 258
It reopened in June 2013 after a refurb.
08 Feb 2012
Total posts 7
Can anyone make comment what extra is available in the First Class part of the lounge?
12 Jun 2013
Total posts 732
Personally I don't dig it, I much prefer the NZ lounge, which has natural light, a view, and a non-pod-based coffee machine.
Also, most of my memories of the SQ lounge seem to involve listening to one end of some loudmouthed douche's interminable phone conversation, as his voice filled the entire lounge. I think it's time for lounges to ban phone conversations, or send them to a special area.
10 Aug 2015
Total posts 113
Looks kind of unspecial, I mean decent yes, but lacking in a true wowo of innovation.
As for the oversized Rolex clocks, classy they are not.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
13 Jan 2015
Total posts 580
I thought they were classy in the 20th century...but yea not really anymore
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
07 Oct 2015
Total posts 6
I visited both the Air New Zealand Singapore lounge and I much prefer the Singapore lounge. The food offerings are much better (pies, sausage rolls, sandwiches, susi, 2x hot food offerings, antipasto stuff) and the spirit offerings are better as well. And the wifi worked much better. It was also far less crowded. Definitely my preferred Star Alliance lounge in Melbourne now.
12 Feb 2016
Total posts 2
I'm switching from EK to SQ, for various reasons (including, DXB sucks). From this article, I can see that I'll miss the EK lounges, with generally excellent food and service (especially in Singapore, ironically). Oh well, at least I won't have to fly through DXB any more (did I mention that DXB sucks?) ...
NZ
07 Apr 2016
Total posts 4
I'm flying SQ business in a couple of weeks, is the SQ lounge better than the NZ lounge? Looks fairly small compared?
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