Singapore Changi Airport is home to a diverse collection of oneworld Lounges, ensuring that oneworld flyers are spoilt for choice when departing the airport. Opened in 2017, The Cathay Pacific Lounge in Terminal 4 is the odd one out, where the remaining four are comfortably located close to each other in Terminal 1. Regardless, being the masterwork of the UK-based Studio Ilse, rest assured that the lounge is as much a haven compared to its other oneworld peers.

Lounge Access Rules

Passengers with a same-day reservation on Cathay Pacific and oneworld First Class and Business Class flights are eligible for access. Passengers connecting to a oneworld flight from an international oneworld First Class and Business Class flight are also eligible for entry. When accessing by status, passengers holding at least Cathay Silver status are eligible for access. This also extends to Sapphire status holders with oneworld carriers, such as JAL Global Club Sapphire, AAdvantage Platinum, or BA Executive Club Silver. Of course, access is also permitted to oneworld Emerald card holders. Refer to the Cathay Pacific website for specific details.

Location

The Cathay Pacific Lounge is located on the Mezzanine Floor of Terminal 4. After security, walk towards the direction of Gate G12 and take the escalators across from the Discover Singapore shop one floor up from the Departures Level. You’ll find the entrance to the Cathay Pacific Lounge right on the escalator landing, across from the SATS Plaze Premium Blossom Lounge.

Cathay Pacific Lounge Singapore

Unlike Singapore Changi Airport’s physically connected first three terminals, Terminal 4 can only be accessed with a shuttle bus service. After checking in for my late-night Malaysia Airlines flight in Terminal 2, I went to the shuttle bus station near the arrival immigration checkpoint. I was allowed to board the bus as a visitor to Terminal 4, despite not having a boarding pass departing from there. Once I arrived, I went straight to the Cathay Pacific Lounge. The friendly reception agents didn’t bat an eyelid when scanning my boarding pass and welcomed me in. Sure enough, I wasn’t the first person in recent times to do this!

The Noodle Bar

Right past the reception area is Cathay Pacific’s signature noodle bar. Like all other Cathay noodle bars, the food is freshly prepared and made-to-order. A noodle and dim sum menu is available, which includes the ever-popular Hong Kong-style Wonton Noodles and Siu Mai. Akin to other outstation lounges like Manila, the selection at the Singapore bar also has a local twist. During my visit, this included Chicken Laksa, Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Vegetarian Soon Kueh, inspired by Singapore’s incredible food culture.

There are twelve seats by the counter, placed along the length of the green-tiled noodle bar. These seats are especially convenient when it comes to ordering food. Furthermore, next to the bar are two communal dining tables, each with twelve seats.

On top of the communal dining tables, there are also 23 booths, each of which features two seats. While these booths surround the outer ring of the noodle bar, the dividing partition on three sides makes it a cosy place to take your meal. The booths feature padded seats, making them an obviously more comfortable choice compared to the backless stools of the communal dining table.

Finally, in addition to the made-to-order food, a selection of snacks, fruits, and chilled drinks are available at the counter next to the bar. Local dishes like a pandan chiffon cake and barley sweet soup were also on offer. There is also a dispenser for hot, cold, and sparkling water on the counter, alongside a coffee machine.

Dining

Located past the Noodle Bar is the lounge’s dedicated dining area, which features two casual, Scandi-inspired communal tables, each seating twelve. There is also a standalone counter with a total of sixteen bar seats on both sides, alongside two bistro-style tables by the window side. Running along the interior wall of this area is the buffet spread, with hot and cold dishes as well as a selection of drinks.

Food

The buffet spread offers a selection of cold and hot chocies on top of the selection of made-to-order food available at the Noodle Bar. To be specific, there was a salad bar, a cheese platter, and a bread selection, accompanied by five hot dishes served in a chafing dishes. Marble cheese cake was also available in the drink chillers.

As I visited over the winter holidays, a seasonal hot dish of Turkey Roulade was on offer. This looked and tasted suspiciously similar to the Slow Roasted Turkey I had at The Pier, First a few weeks earlier, but I digress.

In the end, I sampled a bit of the dishes from the hot and cold buffets. I found the dishes to be fresh and food quality to be very good. Definitely one of the best self-served buffet foods I’ve had in an airport lounge!

Drinks

A selection of drinks accompanies the food buffet, including a selection of soft drinks, mixers, bottled water, San Pellegrino sparkling water, fresh and packaged juices, and four kinds of beer. Despite the lack of a proper bar, I appreciate the varied selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. What’s perhaps most impressive is the self-poured champagne. Moet et Chadon Imperial Brut NV was on offer during my visit, which is decent. Of course, a coffee machine and a selection of JING Tea was also available. Now if only they also had Cathay Delight… 😉

Lounge Seating

You’ll find the lounge’s sitting room beyond the dining area. True to Ilse Crawford’s ‘Boathouse’ design, the lounge’s custom furniture is arranged to mimic the feel of a casual and relaxed living room. Coupled with the warm lighting and walnut panelled walls, the space undeniably feels cosy and inviting.

To enable that look, you’ll find a collection of low-seated sofa chairs and armchairs that’s cleverly space efficient. Impressely, Ilse Crawford managed to arranged most of these seats facing each other, without eliciting the airport lounge look. As you’d probably gather by this point, I really love the design of the space, which gives off a wonderful homely feel. Precisely a a small haven for the weary traveller.

This theme of residential comfort and relaxation is perhaps epitomised by the six high-walled Solo chairs, which replaces the Norman Foster-designed Solus Chairs you’ll find at older Cathay Pacific lounges. The chairs feature large cushions for lounging, complemented by a small table that’s sturdy enough for a laptop. Accompanying these chairs are seven swivelling leather chairs by the windows, each with a console table.

On top of the lounge’s beautiful look, I also appreciate that the design also remains pragmatic. For instance, Power outlets are also widely available, cleverly hidden in the drawers of the console tables next to each seat. Futhermore, several magazines is also offered in addition to the selection of literature available on PressReader on the Cathay Pacific app.

Amenities

The Bureau

Immediately to the left of the reception is The Bureau, which is Cathay Pacific’s equivalent of a lounge business centre. However, the Singapore lounge features a modest offering, unlike the semi-private cubicles you’d find at The Pier, First in Hong Kong. Here, you’ll find three iMacs on desks in a small walnut-decked room. Printers are available, corresponding to the iMacs.

Toilet

Located behind the Noodle Bar are the toilets, which are separated by gender. The limestone-clad toilets are identical to those you’ll find at other Ilse Crawford-designed Cathay lounges. Being regularly serviced, it is no surprise that the toilets are clean and well-kept. Curiously, the usually present Bamford-branded soap and body lotion are absent here.

WiFi

The Cathay Pacific Lounge feature a fast and complimentary WiFi network, separate from Singapore Changi Airport’s excellent all-encompassing network. Fascinatingly, the network setting is identical to any other Cathay Pacific Lounge in the world. As such, if you’ve been to a Cathay Pacific Lounge (even if not this one), you would be connected to the network automatically.

Overall

While it had been years since my last visit, this lounge left me with very great impressions – a lot like the airline’s excellent Business Class lounges in Hong Kong and Manila. Despite lacking a proper bar or shower facilities, the Cathay Pacific Lounge Singapore remains a haven for travellers. Its Studio Ilse-crafted design, style, and food offerings also make it Terminal 4’s best lounge by a long shot. While I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to visit this lounge again, it is surely an excellent place to be before a Cathay Pacific flight from Singapore.

Read more from An Emerald Farewell here!