Asia - Singapore Transit Hotel Questions

I'm arriving into SIN at 1:05am on NW. I have reserved a room at the transit hotel with the intention of sleeping there for six hours and then going through immigration and staying in Singapore for five nights. I will have checked baggage from the US. Since baggage reclaim is after immmigration, I assume it won't be a problem to let my baggage unclaimed for those six hours and for me to claim them at around 7:00am. Is this correct?

Also, on the return, my NW flight leaves SIN at 6:00am. I'd like to check into the transit hotel the night before, say at around 10:00pm and sleep there before my early morning flight. Getting a boarding pass won't be difficult since nwa.com permits online check-in up to 36 hours before the flight.

But what do I do about the luggage that I want to check-in? The NW ticket counter doesn't open until 3:00am. So do I:

1) Try to go through security into airside with my large suitcase (I doubt security will let me do this)

or

2) Put my suitcase in luggage storage at SIN (landside) at around 9:00pm, go to airside and sleep in the transit hotel and sleep, and then at around 3:00am go through immigration and back to landside, pick up my suitcase and check it in, and then go back to airside for departure

or

3) Is there a mulit-airline check-in desk where you can check in your luggage, regardless of airline, at SIN open at around 10:00pm?

Which one is most feasible and legal? Any other suggestions?

Thanks so much for your help.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">I assume it won't be a problem to let my baggage unclaimed for those six hours and for me to claim them at around 7:00am.</font>

Your luggage will probably be in the lost luggage office. While I certainly wouldn't want to leave mine unattended that long, it is much less likely to disappear at SIN than at any US airport.


As for your return trip, only option #2 sounds doable. Having two same-day extra entry/exit stamps in your passport isn't a plus these days, though.

Why don't you just spend the night at a downtown hotel? There is absolutely no traffic at 4am. Using Priceline, you could get into say the Conrad, which wouldn't cost that much more than 6 hours at the airport hotel, be 10x nicer, and be only 15 minutes from Changi.

I do recall reading in a trip report that the contracted NW check-in staff in SIN was particularly 'diligent' in enforcing check-in times. Do plan on arriving on time if you can't use the WBC check-in line.

Does anyone know if the transit hotel is better or worse than most other ones? Any ideas on links to find out more about their services, etc.? I can't seem to find one. Any help is much appreciated...

http://www.airport-hotel.com.sg/

I've only used the hotel once and fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow so I can't comment on their services. As far as the room goes it was a perfectly fine, clean comfortable room.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dogmom11:
Does anyone know if the transit hotel is better or worse than most other ones?</font>

I only used it once in 1996... only remember a clean windowless room. Nothing fancy, but cleaner than most such facilities.

Used the Transit hotel twice last year when connecting through Singapore. Hotel keeps your booking up to 45 minutes after flight arrival, however, you can go to the check in desk and advise them you want to check in an hour or so later if you are over a six hour block and want to keep the time down.
Rooms as stated are windowless, but perfectly clean. Reasonable towels but no washcloths. Coffee, tea making facilities and difficult to find hairdryer in drawer.
Easy access via the escalator near the Koi pond.
If I was going to be staying in Singapore, upon arrival I would choose to go directly to where I was staying and pay for the extra night. Even if you check out the Transit hotel at 7am and go to another hotel, chances are you may be too early to check in.
(I'd much rather be sleeping late) http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif