Sheraton Milan Malpensa MXP is also directly connected to the terminal.
Are there any non-chain airport hotels worth mentioning? Genuinely curious.
My biggest positive airport hotel surprise was the Hilton Garden Inn at Krakow airport (KRK). I randomly booked a night there because of a very early morning departure. Not only was it a 60 second walk to the terminal, the services and rooms were business-class hotel level, not motel or budget "inn" as the name implies. Consider me sold!
Would add the Sofitel London Heathrow to the list; great restaurant, decent rooms, and much easier for a car and driver to pick you up from the hotel entrance. Have stayed at the Hilton properties at Heathrow, but not really anything to write home about. The Hilton at Narita has a shuttle bus that runs punctually from the baggage claim area and has a lovely pool. Would recommend.
Hyatt does have the greatest breadth and reliability among airport hotels worldwide. They rotate staff through all the various properties for training/improving their customer care skills. A waiter I'd met at the Grand Hyatt DFW spotted me in the dining room of the Park Hyatt, Sydney (which is not an airport hotel). He was the Food and Beverage Manager there. If one travels internationally quite a bit, you are likely to find folks you've met at one property now working halfway around the world in another Hyatt.
Thoughts on Westin DEN for an overnight reposition prior to a late afternoon long haul flight? I'm thinking the late afternoon departure lessens the need to pay the high price for its convenience, but then again DEN is quite a ways out there, and in mid January is there potential for severe delays on the road?
I like the Westin at DEN, and there is no hotel more convenient, but not sure it's one where I'd want to hang out for the day. The pool/gym floor views are cool, looking across the iconic roof of the airport (or if you're just on a high floor). The airfield views aren't great, as the airport is so spread out.
If you get in early enough the day before, I'd take the A Line train to Union Station. Super easy - only one train line departs the airport, and you take it all the way to the end, about 40 minutes. From there, you have access to a lot more to see and do, and a lot of other hotels. Likely even cheaper in January.
Airport terminal hotel at Osaka-Itami airport (ITM) is in the terminal building. While very basic, it is also cheap and very convenient for early morning departures when you want to sleep as late as possible.
Novotel Aukland Hotel. A very well designed and located airport hotel with very good food and drink.
I've walked past in each of the last two years out if the international terminal to transport into the city. I was sufficiently impressed I booked there for a night before an early international departure. The Pullman is adjacent and both are Accor properties. The Pullman gets higher eatings on Google and was only slightly more expensive than the Novotel. Since, I was flying in late and flying out early, I saved a few $s on the Novotel.
I enjoyed my 19 hour layover at the Andaz Delhi. Nice looking property (yes the upkeep could be better, but not as bad as some reviews have stated) excellent breakfast buffet, and nice spa facilities with no extra charge to use.
The Sofitel in Heathrow T5 is decent and convenient, but I wouldn’t say the restaurant is “great”: the food is international-corporate. It’s also vast, so if you have one of the more remote rooms it can feel like you’re staying in a factory. It’s quite pricey, and for me the Hilton in T4 generally offers better value — and I’d say it has a better restaurant.
The Hilton at Schiphol airport deserves a mention: nicely-designed rooms with more personality than most chain hotels, and the restaurant here is much better than you’d expect. AMS is a frequent layover airport for me, so hotels inside the airport are a godsend (there’s also a Sofitel but that’s usually double the price of the Hilton).
It’s his home airport so Lucky’s probably not stayed there: the airport hotel in Miami is by no means the world’s greatest but for convenience it takes some beating. And when you’re in the middle of a hideous journey with an overnight connection in Miami, the ordinariness is usually overwhelmed by the sense of relief.
I’m also ambivalent about the TWA in JFK. But as an architecture geek it is unmissable. Eating in the lobby restaurant under that soaring concrete roof is, for me, the equivalent of worshipping in a cathedral. Well worth putting up with the nickle-and-diming elsewhere in the hotel, at least for one stay.