Airport hotels have their place. They’re certainly convenient for those who want somewhere to sleep in between flights that are a day apart.
Some airport hotels, such as the TWA Hotel can be a destination unto themselves. Others may not be “all that,” but have amenities that make them special. For example, two hotels in the U.S. have TSA security checkpoints right onsite in the hotel lobby.
Plane spotting is the best part of some airport hotels
Of course, one positive of many airport hotels is what makes an aviation enthusiast’s heart beat a little faster – the plane spotting opportunities! Viewing possibilities might include the hotel’s roof, pool, or, if you play your cards right (and sometimes pay extra), maybe even the window of your hotel room!
Of course, “professional” plane spotters can look at a plane for a second and rattle off a bunch of statistics about it. Most of us aren’t that talented.
However, one airport hotel has made plane spotting much more fun, interesting and informative with something so simple and so cheap (hello, FREE!) and you can’t help but wonder why ALL airport hotels don’t offer some form of it.
A free plane-spotting guide at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport
It’s a plane spotting guide – and it’s offered by the Fairmont Vancouver Airport (YVR).
The booklet, which can be found in the hotel’s guest rooms, challenges guests to “see how many planes you can spot from Jetside Lounge and Globe@YVR” (Note: the two are right next to each other. Jetside Lounge is a bar, Globe@YVR is a sit-down restaurant. Both offer floor-to-ceiling views of the runways (and the adjacent mountains).
The guide provides information about a variety of planes you might see from the hotel’s windows, including models from Saab, Beechcraft, De Havilland, Bombardier, Airbus, Boeing, and Sikorsky. General information such as length, wingspan, cruising speed (all in metric and imperial measurements), and maximum passenger count is included, as are “fun facts” about each.
AND – bonus! – they even include a link to a PDF of the guide – click here to see it.
Other hotels with plane spotting guides
I did start this piece by musing that all hotels should offer a guide like this. Which isn’t to say that Fairmont YVR is the only one to do so.
- The Grand Hyatt DFW offers a similar plane spotting guide, but it’s not nearly as complete as the YVR version.
- At least as of 2019, the Grand Hyatt SFO also had a plane spotting guide (AND BINOCULARS in their rooms, which is a nice touch).
There may be other hotels with such amenities, but I haven’t experienced or read about them (have you?). Still, it would be nice if more airport hotels offered such a thing. Plane enthusiasts would definitely enjoy it, and who knows how many more fans could be made, if they only had the tools to identify planes from their hotel room?
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