Contactless access card is one of many features to create a quiet and secure haven

YOU can hear a pin drop once you step inside, claims this hotel - even though outside, there is a busy and noisy airport .

Next Thursday, the nine-storey Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, which sits atop Terminal 3's multi-storey carpark, will open for business.

Given its location, the first five-star airport hotel here knows it has to find clever ways to shut out the noise for its guests while tightly securing its premises.

To ensure its jet-lagged guests get a good rest, all 320 rooms, as well as its two lounges, restaurants, gym and conference rooms, are fitted with double-glazed windows.

Rubber seals also line all door frames to soundproof every room.

Technology is also extensively utilised. The $98 million hotel is the first here to use contactless access cards.

Instead of the usual magnetic-stripe keycards, contactless ones are based on the what is felt to be more secure radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

In Singapore, RFID is already used to track library books and is embedded in the ez-link payment card.

'Unlike magnetic-stripe keycards, RFID cards can't be cloned easily,' said Steven Chan, executive assistant manager of the hotel which is managed by British hospitality group InterContinental Hotels.

Standard rooms are going for $280 and suites, $440.

Security is also tops at the open areas, such as corridors to rooms and exit stairways. 'Any breach at the hotel would affect airport safety too,' Steven said.

There are 137 surveillance cameras installed compared with an average of 30 cameras at other hotels.

The contactless key system is also cost-saving in the long term. As no physical contact is required, this reduces wear and tear on door locks.

For guests, it also means no longer having to make requests for new keys at the front desk.

RFID is more stable than magnetic-stripe keycards whose memory can be wiped off when exposed to a magnetic field, like that from a cellphone.

But initial costs are higher. Each RFID card costs upwards of a dollar, compared to just a few cents for a magnetic-stripe card.

'We've already factored in higher costs,' Steven said, anticipating hundreds of thousands of guests each year, among whom a number might keep their cards as souvenirs.

Besides targeting corporate travellers, the hotel is also going after business from conference organisers.

Access to different function rooms can be programmed into the same RFID keycard so event organisers do not have to carry separate cards.