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6:00 AM flight - stay at Crowne Plaza Changi or remain in town?
I will have a 6:00 AM flight on Delta. I am trying to decide whether to remain at the Holiday Inn Orchard City Centre and go from there to SIN very early in the morning or stay the night before at the Crowne Plaza Changi. I am using PC points and both hotels are 25k points, so the points cost is not an issue.
The relevant issues to consider (and please let me know if you think of any more) are the time from hotel to check-in at SIN and the cost of transport. I believe that a taxi from the HI Orchard to SIN would take 25-30 minutes. The Crowne Plaza is near Terminal 3 and Delta departs from Terminal 1. How many minutes would it take to get from the Crowne Plaza to DL check-in?
If I stay the night at the Crown Plaza, I could take the bus or MRT to SIN for about S$2, but if I remained at the HI Orchard, the fare would be about S$30 with the late night surcharge. I am a cheap person by nature, but I would consider paying the extra cost to remain at the HI Orchard to avoid having to pack and change hotels if it will not save me any meaningful time from hotel to check-in by staying at the Crowne Plaza.
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I don't have complete answers to your questions, but I sympathize, as I was in a similar situation recently. I ended up staying at the CP versus going into town, but I was on an overnight connection, so the decision was easier for me.
(1) Do you have an existing reservation at the CP Changi? I ask because the price went up to 35K points per night earlier this year. (Thankfully, I was able to make a 25K reservation during the grace period following the increase.)
(2) I was only 5 minutes' walk away from the CP Changi to the check-in counters at T3. But for a 6am flight, you'll need to check in before 5am, and the skytrain doesn't start running until 5am. It might be a long walk from the CP Changi in T3 to T1. There is a shuttle bus that operates while the skytrain is down, but it doesn't run as frequently as the skytrain, so it could take just as long as walking.
Either way, I figure you will need to leave either hotel by 4:30am at the very latest. (I'd probably plan to leave at 4:15am to account for lines and other unpredictable delays.) At that hour, you're probably 20-25 minutes from T1 either by taxi (from the HI) or by bus/walking (from the CP).
I would suggest that it might not be worth it to move to the CP, given the inconvenience of moving, possibly greater cost in points, and the minimal savings in time. Hopefully others will chime in with more observations.
I would favour the CP because you take out the uncertainty of getting a cab at 4am. Years back I had a similarly timed Gulf Air flight from Singapore and the night before it rained hard. Took hours to get through to a cab firm to make a booking!
Now, the one problem with the CP seems to be that I don't think you can walk directly landside from T3 to T1 and the skytrain doesn't start until 5am. If you just have carry on bags and can check in online then probably no issue as you could use emigration in T3 then walk via the travelators to T1.
I did however spot this on the CP's website:
Quote:
With a link bridge from Terminal 3 at Changi Airport, you'll reach Crowne Plaza Changi Airport in seconds. We can escort you from the aerobridge to hotel. You can check in to your outward flight from our Lobby and leave your luggage with us. Book for a restful night or restful daytime stay.
Might be worth double checking how this works with the hotel, especially if you have luggage. I have an e-mail address here: <reservations_at_cpchangiairport.com>
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Thanks for your input mikew99 and Swiss Tony. I had stayed for 1 night at the CP last February, which I had booked sometime earlier at 25k points. I thought that it was still 25k, but you are right mikew99 that it is now 35k. Considering the extra points for the CP and that the skytrain does not run until 5:00 AM, I will remain at the HI Orchard and just get a very early start.
I have done it both ways, taking the NW/DL flights. There is a shuttle bus that goes from the nearby terminal to other terminals. Runs when the train doesn't.
I hate the late night, early morning surcharges that the SIN taxis charge. I'd leave at 4am, for sure. Remember if flying to US, there is usually a lot of extra questioning, and can take a bit more time.
Orchard Rd to Changi at that time of morning is a hop skip and jump.
If you're concerned with getting a taxi at that time, call ahead when you wake up and the taxi will be waiting for you. Just a small surcharge for the tel booking. And for flights stateside, do get there a little earlier for all the potential 'formalities'.
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Jaimito and dtsm, could you elaborate on the extra questioning and potential formalities when traveling to the US? I haven't been to Singapore in many years, and there was no such extra scrutiny back then. My BP will show NRT as my destination, which is where I will connect, so will they want to know my final destination? Not that I will be doing anything wrong, especially in Singapore, just curious about what to expect.
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First of all, I would leave your hotel (meaning driving on the street in a taxi, not walking out the hotel door) no later than 4 am. DL is very strict about the one hour in advance check in for international, whether or not you check bags. I've heard rumors that one is required by DL to be at SIN even much earlier if you have not done "OLCI" but "OLCI" for SIN departures IME does not permit you to complete the check in. People who have done "OLCI" seem to be allowed to use the elite line. You must answer security questions at the airport before the deadline but after the DL counters open at about 3:30 am. You cannot get through passport control without doing the security questions at the DL counter.
Be sure to have your hotel order a taxi for you in advance; to save money, specify a regular taxi, not a large or deluxe one.
Jaimito and dtsm, could you elaborate on the extra questioning and potential formalities when traveling to the US? I haven't been to Singapore in many years, and there was no such extra scrutiny back then. My BP will show NRT as my destination, which is where I will connect, so will they want to know my final destination? Not that I will be doing anything wrong, especially in Singapore, just curious about what to expect.
If you are only going to NRT, they may not question as much. If you are connecting to the US, they will certainly give you the full amount of questions.
It's normally just the "Have the items been in your control", "Did you get any electronic items repaired", "Do you have thermonuclear weapons". You know, just the standard ones.
Usually just takes a couple of minutes. No problem, really. I find SIN to be quite civilized. I fly to Indonesia quite often, and aren't asked any questions for these flights.
I think you pay a $2-$3 fee for having a taxi called to your hotel, and the 12am-6am surcharge is 50% of the meter, I think.
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I've enjoyed taking MRT to the airport in the evening, checking in with SQ (which you can do up to 48 hours before SQ flights exSIN), going to the lounge and exploring the airport, spending the night in a transit hotel, returning to the lounge for breakfast, and then going to the gate. Very relaxing overall.
