Singapore’s Changi Airport is getting a third hotel

Sprouting at the southern end of Terminal 2, the Hotel Indigo will feature a ‘floating forest’ and rooftop bar.

By Chris Ashton, April 26 2024
Singapore’s Changi Airport is getting a third hotel

Singapore is primed to welcome its first ‘zero energy’ hotel in the coming years when Hotel Indigo Changi Airport opens its doors at Changi Airport Terminal 2. And judging from first images, the hotel’s leafy façade will be right at home in the Garden City.

Expected to be up and running by 2028, the 255-room hotel will become the airport’s third landside hotel, complementing the YOTELAIR at Jewel Changi Airport and the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, just up the road at Terminal 3.

An artist's impression of the upcoming Hotel Indigo Changi Airport.
An artist's impression of the upcoming Hotel Indigo Changi Airport.

Among its topline features will be a glamorous rooftop day club, bar and infinity pool, not to mention panoramic views of the runway, city skyline and glass-encased Jewel complex.

Much like the Pan Pacific Orchard Singapore, this new urban retreat is centred around the concept of biophilic design, whereby inhabitants are connected with the environment through the use of natural lighting, ventilation and landscaping.

A signature element of this is the eye-catching ‘Floating Forest’ – seven storeys of lush rainforest and hanging epiphytes (plants deriving their moisture from the air), plus lookouts to admire the view. 

Dining will also be an experience worth savouring, as will the benefits unlocked by members of IHG One Rewards, the loyalty program of Hotel Indigo’s parent group IHG Hotels and Resorts. 

Lookouts will allow guests to step out into the Floating Forest.
Lookouts will allow guests to step out into the Floating Forest.

Changi Airport Group CEO Mr Lee Seow Hiang says the hotel “promises to be the first zero-energy hotel in Singapore, and possibly the first for an airport hotel in the world.”

Hotel Indigo Changi Airport aims to achieve this zero energy target through the use of solar panels, hybrid cooling systems and naturally ventilated corridors, along with rainwater harvesting technology.

A closer look at the soaring Floating Forest.
A closer look at the soaring Floating Forest.

Lee adds, “With travel demand continuing to soar and passenger traffic growing beyond pre-Covid levels, the new hotel will elevate the hospitality offerings at Changi Airport. It will serve our visitors well with its differentiated facilities and convenient access to T2.”

Wining and dining will make perfect accompaniments to your plane watching.
Wining and dining will make perfect accompaniments to your plane watching.

This won’t be Singapore’s first Hotel Indigo though, with that honour falling to Hotel Indigo Katong – open since 2016 and only 15 minutes drive from the airport.

Of course 2028 is still quite a way off. In the meantime, there are plenty of stunning Singapore luxury hotels to pick from, from the iconic Raffles Doha to the newer COMO Metropolitan Singapore.

Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer

09 Jun 2016

Total posts 20

They certainly took some artistic liberty with those sketches.

Etihad - Etihad Guest

21 Jul 2019

Total posts 185

You can't cite "artistic liberty" since you haven't seen the building and the implemented planting scheme. That's because it hasn't been constructed yet(!) and the plants aren't even grown yet, much less installed into position(!!)

JJM
JJM

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

02 Mar 2013

Total posts 26

Singapore is all about "artistic liberty" when it comes to pre-contruction sketches. As but one example, I vividly remember seeing the initial advertising sketches for the Pan Pacific Orchard, and it appeared to be surrounded by open green spaces, trees, parkland etc which, of course, is a complete nonsense.  

24 Aug 2011

Total posts 1201

Another IHG hotel isn't really going to add much competition at SIN.  The prices charged at the Crowne Plaza are ridiculous.  If anything, the Indigo threatens to be even higher.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

09 Jun 2017

Total posts 71

They talk this up as being a ‘destination’ hotel. I have stayed at plenty of airport hotels over the years and in my mind, there is no such thing. The Crowne Plaza Changi is quite nice and I have stayed there quite a lot when I have a late arrival and early departure from Singapore but a good city hotel is a far better choice, offering a nicer location, atmosphere and better value when I have had a little more ground time available to me.

I can see this hotel as being a very expensive bed for the night, aimed at transiting customers who are unfamiliar with Singapore or don’t care about experiencing anything Singapore has to offer.


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