Relaxing Style at Adelaide

Adelaide Airport

Sir Richard Williams Avenue
South Australia 5950

Australia

http://www.aal.com.au/default.aspx


Where is it?

Go through check in – bearing in mind the Jet air reps are really harsh and are the only airline in the world that have ever got away with giving me a weight surcharge on my luggage – and security. Make your way to gate 25. At the back in the corner you’ll find the toilets.


What’s it like?

Once inside the terminal reminds me of Aspen airport. I guess it must be the view of the mount lofty range and the brown in the décor because Adelaide is more than ten times bigger than Aspen with proper jet ways and everything. It also felt like a relaxed and friendly place to be.

Entering the toilets I was surprised by the style. Whilst in keeping with the rest of the airport it was ultra modern with regimented square sinks floating from the wall, sleek stainless steel towel dispenser, and ultra modern urinals. It was all beyond what you’d expect in what might be described as a provincial city airport.

Indeed these facilities confirmed what I already knew, that whilst Adelaide atruggles to create a great impression overall, it is capable of remarkable style in the most surprising places.


Marks out of 10:

9.


Comments to the management:

A great set of airport toilets.

Best Airport: Average Toilets

Kuala Lumpur International Airport,

64000 Klia,

Selangor,
Malaysia.

http://www.klia.com.my/index.php?ch=71


Where is it?

Clear check in and security and you’ll come to some shops, most of which in this case were closed. The shops are a little maze like and the signage is not the best, but amongst them you’ll find this set of facilities.


What’s it like?

Once in the facilities you’ll find they are clean and functional, but nothing special for what is supposed to be the world’s best airport. Lots of capacity is apparent, and I guess it must get busy, however really this isn’t going to influence the overall score.

The toilet it self was pretty funky and had automatic flush, that in any other circumstances would have got this place a better score, but the prison like décor blew any chance of that. The décor is grey, with more grey, and guess what – more grey. Add to that the graffiti (I’m not sure how the Malaysian government would view that) and the assorted cleaning equipment stored in the open, then you get a far from satisfactory result.


Marks out of 10:

A very average 5.


Comments to the management:

Functionally fine, but that’s all.

War Zone Haven

Bandaranaike International Airport,
Katunayake,
Sri Lanka.


Where is it?

From the central information point the terminal is shaped like a T. Take the leg of the T and the second toilet on your left is where we are.


What’s it like?

You know when I booked my flight and there was a stop off in Colombo I thought nothing of it. It’s just one of those places you pay little thought to when you’re making your way to wherever it is you are going and having to make a transfer. I’ve only regretted this lack of thought once before, a flight where I took Aeroflot to Nairobi and found myself unannounced in Northern Cyprus and the Yemen. This was a surprise, especially as both were far from stable at the time.

I guess this time I didn’t really have the excuse of not knowing where I was going, but the fact that Sri Lanka is once again in the middle of civil war only came to mind as the plane was landing. Passing the military section of the airport, alongside two gleaming and combat ready jets I saw the scraped out hulks of two aircraft complete with bullet holes. That’s all it took to jog my memory. Still, we do a fair bit of business here and its clear that the Tamil factions only come this far south every once in a while and are no more dangerous than the IRA were in London back in the day. And hey we upped the insurance before I left.

So I guess I was surprised when I got into the terminal building. I really wasn’t expecting it to be so bright. The whole building was absolutely gleaming. A spotless, granite floor stretched in to the distance down the hall. This was a temple for the aeroplane. Whilst not huge – I certainly noticed the arrival of 180 Japanese tourists joining the same flight I was – it inspired confidence. And the staff were some of the friendliest I’ve come across.

And that brings me to the toilets. When I walked in there were two cleaners with a flooded floor. It seems that’s the way the clean toilets here. Flood the floor and sweep the water into the drain at the end. I decided to go to the next toilet along but these cleaners were having nothing of it and insisted that I should wait and they’d get out the way. Frantic activity followed and they cleared the floor, and placed toilet paper on the seat and ushered me in to the cubical. This is extraordinary I thought slightly amused.

The toilets themselves were spic and span and quite stylish in keeping with the rest of the airport. A shelf that gave plenty of room for bags and coats was availiable. The door was had an elegant slider and as is the norm in asia there was a sprayer that was almost blinding. They were obviously clean as could be, but once the toilet paper was removed you could the see the seat had seem some serious wear and tear. That made me glad that I’d had the service from the cleaners.

So knowing what was likely to come next I went about searching for some cash. No US dollars to be found I hoped some Astralian dollars would have to do. And give these guys credit where it was due they were over the moon. Good on them.

Marks out of 10:

8. Worth tipping for.


Comments to the management:

Unexpectedly good. Just get the toilet seat changed.

Singapore’s Changi Airport has Spotless Shine

Area D
Changi Airport
Singapore
918141

http://www.changiairport.com/


Where is it?

Changi Singapore is a maze of a place. No, that’s not strictly accurate. It’s actually easy to find everything once you realise its scale because the signage is fantastic. However, it is huge and has lots of gadget shops that are really very interesting and, quite frankly, distracted me from the task of finding the next plane.

Add to this that I came to this particular toilet twice (on my first and third pass through this airport on this particular trip) and you’ll get the picture as to why I really don’t have a clue how to direct you there.

However you can use this map (the best map I’ve ever seen of anywhere let alone an airport) http://202.56.134.170/entertainment/interactivemap/main_.htm to find it. It’s in terminal 1 towards gate D40.


What’s it like?

I was looking forward to Singapore. My boss had told me “you could eat your breakfast off the pavement” and that’s the sort of place I like. Clean, tidy and neat. Changi didn’t disappoint and is a fabulous airport. My first stop was after a flight from on a transfer to Kuala Lumpur. With no desire to eat I used the facilities and wrote the first draft of this blog.

The sinks had great marble surrounds. The toilet cubical was clean and had handy metal shelves to put things on that you don’t find in the UK. But it was the attention to details that went beyond what you normally find in the average airport toilet (which are pretty good these days) that made this place stand out.

I particularly liked the tall urinal. Am I over egging the pudding when I say it’s a piece of sculpture? It’s just fantastic and stately. An old English gentleman of a urinal!

Add to that that there was a working clock that gave accurate time and flowers that at least looked real from a distance and you have a comfortable place to pee.

So why did I have to re write the blog? Reviewing the pictures later in the trip showed that the toilet was just too bright for my camera. Eyal may well be worried about being caught taking photo’s in airport and get blur as a result, but I wasn’t rushing. Second time around I just had to try again and put some special effort in to the process. Let the camera settle… and snap.

Well, you’ll see the results weren’t too great. The conclusion had to be that these toilets are the shiniest I have come across. WOW.

Marks out of 10:

9. Just blinding.


Comments to the management:

Super, Super, SUPER.

From Spices to Scooby Scam at Sir Stamford’s

Fort Canning Centre
Fort Canning Park
Singapore


Where is it?

Well this is the whole point of this blog.

Finding these toilets turned into a 25 minute trek around the park. The location of the toilets was a mystery of Scooby Gang proportions. I kid you not, more than a little desperation was creeping in towards the end. Where were these damned toilets?

The mystery started in the spice garden, a replica of the one that was on this site when Sir Stamford Raffles, who founded Singapore for the British East India Company, had his bungalow before the site was militarised. In the distance I saw a sign for some toilets and feeling the need set of through the jungle to find them. After struggling through the undergrowth, avoiding some shady looking children with clipboards, I found some steps to climb. Eerily quiet I watched out for tigers – you never know – as I climbed towards the first sign. They said go right so I did. Taking in the view over the city from the veranda I ploughed on guessing they’d be just up the way.

But as I got to the end of the veranda and to the edge of the site there were still no toilets. Who stole the toilets? Backtracking the centre of the veranda I decided to pop my head in to what is ostensibly a cookery school to see the smallest of sign for the toilets up a stairway that really looked like it headed to nowhere. Abandoning any caution I followed the arrow upwards.

Once up there was an even better view of the city, but that didn’t matter. WHERE are the toilets. I really started to worry when I saw the sign for the Archaeological Lab. Do people really take that long to find the toilets? Really! By this point I was almost giving up and looking for the nearest plant pot.

Rounding the corner it seemed that there was a dead end. I went down there anyway (maybe there would be that flower pot?) but then the toilet door revealed itself. At last. Phew.


What’s it like?

After a trek of that length you’ll probably be too busy doing your thing to notice the surroundings. Once you have time to look you’ll find the facilities to be fairly comfortable although pretty damned hot. The fan doesn’t make much difference when you have humidity like this. The sinks are robust but stylish for a park. The toilet pan could have been cleaner, but that was the only blip in an otherwise spotless site.


Marks out of 10:

7. Releaving!


Comments to the management:

Scooby signage could be more helpful, as might aircon.