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.”
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.
Ilhan 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 into place at that time was challenging. “We built the entire room around it,” Ilhan explains. “They built the structure, then they put the plane [into place] with a crane, then they built the room around it.”
Obtaining the necessary permits from Amsterdam city officials also proved tricky. The initial idea, Ilhan says, was to position the entire cockpit outside the window for a more dramatic effect. However, the city council nixed that plan and instead allowed the project to proceed with only one meter of the nose outside.
In July 2022, Corendon Hotels & Resorts signed a franchise agreement with Marriott International—which means the 737 Suite is bookable with Marriott Bonvoy points. But it’s available for a regular rate too: Pricing starts at 294 euros for Marriott Bonvoy members ($317) and 299 for non-members ($323).
More hotels with aviation themes
- It’s not surprising that a Corendon hotel has an airplane theme; Corendon is a budget airline based in Türkiye. The company has branched into the hotel business and has a handful of properties in Amsterdam, Curaçao, and Türkiye. Across town, another Corendon property, Corendon Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, also offers aviation enthusiasts a memorable plane-spotting experience—and not just thanks to the nearby air traffic. The property is the permanent home for a full-size Boeing 747-400, which is actually a former KLM aircraft repainted in Corendon’s livery. The aircraft is parked just outside the hotel, and guided tours are available daily for guests (at 3 euros per person).
- At the Jumbo Stay hotel at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, guests can bunk up in a converted 747-212B aircraft dating to 1976; single, double, and dorm-style rooms are available.
- When the TWA Hotel opened at New York’s JFK airport in 2019, it parked some serious nostalgia for the now defunct airline and the Golden Age of flying. The hotel is inside the airport’s original futuristic Eero Saarinen terminal, and outside, a 1958 Lockheed Constellation plane has been turned into a cocktail bar.
- Av-geeks who want to test their piloting skills should consider booking a stay at the soon-to-open 375-room Hotel Polaris at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The property is the first in the USA to offer flight simulator experiences, with two F-16s sims and one 737 MAX.
