Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge London (LHR)

While the facilities have not changed at the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge in London Heathrow since my prior review in 2018, a new a la carte dining on demand system has changed the nature of dining in the lounge.

Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge London Review

After arriving from Cairo, I enjoyed a strong flat white in the Air Canada lounge before heading across the hall to the Singapore Airlines lounge.

Location + Access + Hours

The lounge is located in Terminal 2 (“The Queen’s Terminal”) near gate B36. As it is in the B gate area (also called T2B), you’re in for quite a hike via underground walkways after clearing security. You’ll need to take the lift upstairs.

Current hours are from 6:00am to 09:00pm on the business class side (I did not visit the first class side, which is only open until 11:00am due to Singapore’s limited flight schedule).

Entrance to the lounge requires a a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test taken no more than 72-hours prior to the scheduled departure date of your flight.

Access is reserved for Star Alliance Gold members traveling on a Star Alliance flight in any cabin of service or Star Alliance passengers traveling in business or first class on a Star Alliance carrier. KrisFlyer Elite Silver members do NOT have access.

Seating

The lounge was deigned by architectural and interior design firm ONG&ONG and intended to resemble different rooms of a house. Indeed, although the lounge is primarily one large room, it feels like many smaller areas.

Just past reception is a small lounge area that seems to remain empty, even when the lounge filled up a bit more.

Walking past the kitchen and dining area was a mix of seating, much of it individual or pairs of chairs.

It was not clear how long this problem had been going on, but there were signs warning that none of the power outlets worked that were integrated into chairs. Thankfully, I found a functioning  power outlet  in the wall, or else it would have been a very unproductive layover.

The lounge was busy when I arrived at 2:00pm, then emptied out to the point at which was the only passenger in the lounge, then began filing up again at 5:00pm ahead of the ANA flight to Tokyo.

Magazines + Newspapers

Perhaps now a permanent relic of the past, a large newspaper and magazine rack sat empty with a note blaming the pandemic. However, while physical newspapers and magazines were not available, digital media was available.

(Note the lockers on the bottom of the shelves)

Restrooms + Showers

Shower suites are present, but were unavailable…again, the pandemic was blamed. Restrooms were open and clean, with stone walls, floors, and counters.

Food + Drink

The bar is staffed each morning beginning at 8:00am. I ordered a Singapore Sling, but ended up not drinking it. It was too sweet for me and I’ve been drinking virtually zero alcohol lately in my quest for good health, so it went to waste. It had been a couple years since I had one and I forgot how sweet they are.

An extensive selection of wine, beer, and cocktails was also available. Champagne on offer appeared to be Veuve Clicquot, though my eyes could have been deceiving me.

Beyond alcohol, soft drinks, coffee, and tea were available and self-serve.

Instead of an extensive buffet, Singapore now offers a limited buffet along with a web-based a la carte menu.

The buffet included:

• sandwiches
• salads
• wraps
• Arabic mezze
• fruit & cheese
• yogurt

Instructions to order food included a QR menu:

I pulled up the menu and noted there were only three choices:

I ended up enjoying some delicious Singaporean food when flying Singapore and wish I had ordered Nasi Lemak with chicken Sambal, but wasn’t hungry and ordered the beef slider, thinking it would be a very small burger. It wasn’t.

Each table in the lounge now has a number. After confirming my number, I was provided an estimated delivery time of 10 minutes.

For a lounge burger, it was good, but it is a big meal.

Service

I need to print my PCR test ahead of my trip to Thailand and a lounge agent graciously helped me do so. I appreciated the extra help, as there are currently no copying or printing facilities available to passengers.

Bar staff were friendly, though very engrossed in a cricket match on TV.

CONCLUSION

The move to a la carte dining represents a big change on the business class side of the Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge in London Heathrow. While perhaps not a permanent change, I expect it will stick with us for quite some time (though the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge across the hall remains self-service).

I enjoyed my time in this lounge and was very productive: I just hope the showers are available again next visit and the electrical outlet issue is resolved.