A Hotel Suite With an Airplane Inside, and 4 Other Aviation-Themed Hotels

23.10.2024 - 12:09 / afar.com

As airlines compete to attract high-paying passengers, mini hotel-like suites are all the rage in business- and first-class cabins of commercial aircraft. But the reverse scenario—a commercial aircraft in a hotel suite—is a much rarer amenity.

However, that’s exactly what’s in store for guests who stay in the aptly named 737 Suite at the Corendon Amsterdam New-West, where an actual Boeing 737-800 aircraft is the stunning centerpiece of the 1,200-square-foot space on the hotel’s top floor.

The aircraft boasts a similar environment to its counterparts at 30,000 feet (albeit on a smaller scale, as the hotel version features only the plane’s front section). As soon as guests step through the door of the suite, a voice comes through an intercom system to welcome them—complete with the familiar ding-dong bell sound every frequent flier will recognize.

Guests can kick back in their choice of seats across five rows in a three-three configuration. Seat belts, tray tables, and overhead bins are functional—minus any annoying battles for space, of course. And there are even two (empty) food and beverage trolleys in the front galley, as well as a lavatory (which is locked).

“It’s always the wow factor for guests when they enter the room,” hotel manager Hakan Ilhan says. “It’s a unique experience in and of itself.”

The 737 Suite is also known as the Cockpit Suite.

Courtesy of Corendon Amsterdam New-West

Guests can also take the yoke in the cockpit, which was previously used as a flight simulator for pilots in training. (The controls no longer work, but you can still push any button and pull any lever.) The aircraft faces a large window, and a three-foot section of the nose is positioned outside the window to suggest being in flight.

Ilahn says that a movie screen will be added soon so that guests can enjoy a private viewing inside the aircraft, emulating previous decades of commercial flying when in-flight entertainment consisted of a pull-down screen for movie projections.

The aircraft essentially bisects the suite, with the bedroom on one side and a living area on the other. A recent renovation transformed the space from a business-centric design, with a large conference table and television screen for meetings, into a more family-friendly ambience. The conference table has been replaced with couches and chairs, and there’s a full kitchen now.

Hotel staff can set up extra cots in the living room area to make the most of the space. And, thanks to its previous function as a meeting room, the suite also comes with four separate toilets (the shower and tub are located in their own separate bathroom in the bedroom section).

The hotel originally opened in 2015, and the initial construction project to get the aircraft