Start spreading the news. At long last, there is a premium, luxury hotel at Singapore’s Changi Airport. Inbound flights from the United States usually arrive around midnight and return flights, both home and to other Asian destinations, begin early in the morning. That doesn’t leave many options for wiling away the long hours in between. Misconnecting on onward flights for years in and and out of Singapore, ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and I have always coped by:

- Spending a few extra days in Singapore at the start or end of a trip;

- Sleeping and stretching out on seats in the comfortable and clean airport when there was less than 7 hours between flights;

- Booked rooms in the Transit Hotel on the second level of Changi Airport. You can rent a room for 4 hours or more but it’s noisy (people coming and going all night) as well as expensive if you need more than 4 hours; and

- Even spent the night in the Singapore Airlines Lounge (they are open all night) when flying Singapore Airlines. (They give you pillows and blankets.)

Finally, a hotel built only a stepping stone and with direct access from the spanking new Terminal 3. And what a hotel it is! The Crowne Plaza Hotel with its stunning high-tech facade and incredible garden interiors.

Crowne Plaza with Changi control tower in background and outdoor swimming pool below
Our afternoon flight returned from Sulawesi, Indonesia into Singapore but the onward flight home didn’t leave until 6:30 am the next day. Misconnection again. Rethinking all possible options, decided to stay at the Crowne Plaza instead of taxi’ing into downtown Singapore. TRAVEL HINT: You can take a train, bus or taxi into town but by the time you add up the costs – there is no such thing as a “cheap” luxury (or semi-luxury) hotel in downtown Singapore – you won’t save that much money. And then weigh the time factor involved returning to Changi Airport two hours before flight time. That usually means a 4:00 am departure from downtown Singapore.

Sulawesi, Indonesia had some “nice” hotels but the “home” stays, “guesthouse” stays certainly left something to be desired. Hey…they were best available and no complaints but it’s no wonder eyeballs almost fell out of my head when we walked into the hotel. Greeted by several people, it was off to the room via open walkways that gave incredible vistas every time we turned the corner.

spiral stairway in the Crowne Plaza’s interior, Singapore
Entering the room was a jaw-dropping experience. Duvets, thin screen satellite TV, in-room movies, DVD, bathroom with tub AND shower, fluffy pillows (instead of the lumpy ones we’d grown accustomed to), and floor-to-ceiling windows with great views of the Crowne Plaza’s magnificent architecture. What a shock…and I didn’t know what to do first. Draw a tub of hot water, throw all the bubble bath in and soak? Take a rain shower? Do both? Go for one of their many massage offerings in the Spa? Eat all the “welcome chocolates” in one gulp? Or leave this unaccustomed luxury and knock myself out with a sumptuous meal in one of their two restaurants? Decisions, decisions…

bath or shower…such a predicament at the Crowne Plaza Changi Hotel, Singapore 

happiness is a room like this – Crowne Plaza Hotel, Changi Airport, Singapore
There is an outdoor swimming pool and 24 hour gymnasium, 319 gorgeous and spacious guest rooms besides ours (total of 320). Everything one could expect from a classy hotel.

I WAS IN HEAVEN! Left a wake-up call for 4:45 am since we only had a five-minute walk back into the terminal, filled the long, deep tub with bubble bath and hot water to the brim, ate all the chocolates and settled down in that super comfy bed. Sure beat sleeping in transit or on a bench… Next time, I’ll pig out in the restaurants if it’s possible to get out of that wonderful bed.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel is also a great option if you want to spend a few days in Singapore. Just take the convenient train back and forth. The Airport MRT Station is located under Terminals 2 and 3, takes about 30 minutes, and runs between 5:30am-11:18pm. Watch the video below to see how easy it is to take public transportation in Singapore.

No more sleeping on benches. If there’s less than 12 hours between flights, look for us at the Crowne Plaza Changi on the next fly-through…