Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! Let me tell you about my very interesting night in the bedroom, as I slept with a Boeing 737…
In this post:
Corendon Amsterdam’s 737 Cockpit Suite is kind of amazing
I spent last night at the Corendon Amsterdam New-West, which is a Marriott Tribute Portfolio property. As I explained in a previous post, I just stayed at two Corendon properties in Amsterdam, specifically because of their aviation features. While I’ll have full reviews of both properties soon, I wanted to share some specific impressions about my room last night.
Specifically, last night I booked the 737 Cockpit Suite at the Corendon Amsterdam New-West. I paid €279 for my stay — while that’s a pricey room for a budget hotel, it’s not bad when you consider that it comes with an airplane. 😉 Also, look at how big of a discount my AAA membership got me!
I was curious what this suite would actually be like, and now I can report back. The 737 Cockpit Suite is located on the seventh (top) floor of the hotel, and it’s room number — you guessed it — 737.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so let me just share the below picture of what my bedroom looked like. OMG. Like, there’s literally a 737 fuselage in the bedroom.
The door to the 737 cabin is permanently open, and you can go inside.
The cabin has three rows of seats (seat pitch isn’t very good!), galley carts, and even a cockpit with the door open. I believe back in the day it was possible to get simulator lessons here (and as a result, the cockpit was locked when lessons weren’t being offered, to preserve the equipment), but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
You can quite literally have a seat in the cockpit, looking directly outside, seven floors above Amsterdam.
The effort that went into this is beyond words. I mean, I can’t imagine what the conversation was like when the hotel decided to install this, and the logistics of sticking a 737 fuselage into the top floor of a hotel. I love how part of the nose of the aircraft is even cut off and outside the glass.
The problem with the 737 Cockpit Suite
The above is the cool part of the 737 Cockpit Suite. What’s a bit less cool as a guest is the setup of the rest of the room. I suspect the hotel has also tried to sell this as a conference space in the past, and has done simulator lessons here, but ultimately the needs of a hotel guest and meeting guest are different.
So while the bedroom is quite nice, the room is otherwise quite strange. Rather than having a living room, you just have a huge conference room on the other side of the fuselage.
There are even gender segregated bathrooms.
Also, I’m not sure the picture sufficiently captures it, but the 737 theme continues in the bathroom, which is about as spacious as a 737 MAX lavatory… 😉
While the fuselage in the room is so cool, I have to say that it’s not a particularly cozy sleeping environment when you’re sleeping right next to an aircraft door.
I’d love to see a similar concept at another hotel
The 737 Cockpit Suite at Corendon Amsterdam New-West is the most memorable hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. I also think the price is reasonable, given what you’re getting. I kind of wish I weren’t alone, as something like this would be a lot more fun with family or friends.
Now, I don’t want to say I was disappointed, but I do have to say that I find all of this to be quite random. This is otherwise a budget hotel, and it’s not even an airport hotel, so you wouldn’t expect to find a suite like this at the property.
I adore this concept, I just wish the execution were a bit different:
- It would be so cool if this were at an actual airport hotel, or at a slightly more luxurious property; imagine how fun it would be if the cockpit instead looked out over the airport
- I wish the hotel took the aviation theme to the next level, similar to what you’ll find at the Grand Hyatt SFO or TWA Hotel JFK; there’s nothing aviation themed in the room or hotel, except for the fuselage
- It would be nice if the cabin were a bit more comfortable to actually hang out in, as the seating is tight, there’s no lighting, etc.
- It would be nice if the hotel fully embraced this being a hotel room rather than a conference room, and if the suite had a proper living area
Let me emphasize that those are not intended to be complaints, because given the price you’re paying, the value is solid. I’m just saying that I think this could be a much more expensive and popular suite at another type of property, if done right.
Bottom line
I’m so happy I had the chance to stay in the 737 Cockpit Suite during my Amsterdam layover. Having an aircraft fuselage right next to your hotel room bed sure is a unique experience. Yes, the suite is otherwise a little strange, and the hotel doesn’t embrace the aviation theme outside the fuselage, but I thought this was a cool experience with fair pricing.
What do you make of the 737 Cockpit Suite? Would you stay in it?
If you find yourself in stockholm, sweden, try https://www.jumbostay.se/ for another aviation related accomodation.
It's a 747 converted to a hostel.
I’m glad your wrote this review as I saw this room for the first time recently and I saw it was an actual sim which I thought was great but seeing that it is now just a view out the window is very disappointing.
Very cool. But odd layout. If they are selling as a room, make it a room. Turn the conference space into a relaxing lounge area with sofa. Join the bathrooms to make one large luxury bathroom. Either sell it as a hotel room or as a conference room. Not both.
Pretty spiffy! Sure, as a former airline exec, I'd book it.
Might be a good accompaniment to a side-trip to Rotterdam to stay at the S.S. Rotterdam Hotel...formerly the famed Holland-America cruise ship.
No need to imagine the logistics of how the 737 got in there. There's a website which shows exactly how they did it.
https://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nieuws/categorie/2/airlines/boeing-737-cockpit-krijgt-plaats-in-suite-corendon-hotel
I wonder if Corendon uses this as a training space (e.g., for Flight Attendants). I could imagine the conference area being used by a crop of trainees, while the bedroom area allows that same space to be monetized for guests. It is pretty cool either way, though.
Just curious - is your child old enough to travel with you yet? Or do you leave him at home for all of these trips? What will happen when he starts his education?
The reason I am curious is because I have friends who recently gave up their travel lifestyle because they felt responsible for raising their child at home, which I suppose is the more traditional method. Not home schooled, just spending more...
Just curious - is your child old enough to travel with you yet? Or do you leave him at home for all of these trips? What will happen when he starts his education?
The reason I am curious is because I have friends who recently gave up their travel lifestyle because they felt responsible for raising their child at home, which I suppose is the more traditional method. Not home schooled, just spending more time at home than when they used to travel. Interested in anyone's opinion on this - I see people flying with infants all the time and it amazes me that they do it. But I understand why they do it, because it's their child and they want to be with it.
It amazes you when people travel with infants? Why?
Traveling with kids isn't as easy as traveling without them, but it's hardly an insurmountable hurdle.
Best to get your kids out traveling early when their lives are simple and unscheduled. Once they're in "real" school, getting them out for long periods of time can be disruptive.
Friends of mine just had another child. Within 3 weeks of that child's birth, they had the infant's passport in hand and took off on a month long trip through Europe. Don't say it can't be done!
Ben you mention a couple of times that it’s a budget hotel… curious how you arrived at that conclusion. It looks pretty full service to me, and it’s certainly not cheap.
I used to teach the 737-200 at my airline. The cockpit looks like a "vintage" 737-200/300 cockpit. Very cool!
Is the cockpit well preserved? did you notice any missing knobs, switches, etc? I'm not sure if every single guest would treat the cockpit with enough care if it's always open.
Wouldn't wanna go near that fuselage section with a black light....
Looks like they cut off most of the aircraft, including the underbelly cargo area. Just the nose, cockpit and a little of the cabin. Took out the lavatory and combined that with the cabin.
" I slept with a 737" I hope Ford gave you a hall pass. Happy Valentine's Day!
And he even sat in cockp...
An ancient cockp...
Then Ben starts critiquing the hotel room lol. As if a room with a 737 in it is not enough. I want my room to be like Raffles. Cake eater!
Do you have to go through the plane to get from the Bedroom to the Conference Room? Is there another bathroom with showers? Also, how far back does the plane go?
There's a mini lobby after entering with three doors- Bedroom to left with separate shower and toilet rooms. Airplane straight ahead. Conference center to the right. Alternatively you can also go from bedroom, up to plane, down to conference side and vice versa. Plane only goes back the 5 or 6 rows in Ben's photo. Nice room to take photos in but not where you'd actually want to stay in.
No you can walk behind it, this website has a floorplan and a 3d layout move through the room thing.
https://matterport.com/discover/space/corendon-vitality-737-cockpit-suite
Thats super helpful. If I was the hotel, I would make the conference room a second bedroom and call this a 2-bd suite. I would also put curtains around the plane that could be drawn at night to make it less freaky.
Ok this link is perfect. I was really trying to figure out the layout of this room and this makes it crystal clear. Thank you!
I am curious - you say the price is reasonable for what you get, but the rest of your review is that you don't actually get that much... I understand you're referring to the fuselage, but besides sitting in it for a little bit, you don't actually get anything from it. It would be different if there were a simulator, or if the room came with a "butler" flight attendant or something else to give...
I am curious - you say the price is reasonable for what you get, but the rest of your review is that you don't actually get that much... I understand you're referring to the fuselage, but besides sitting in it for a little bit, you don't actually get anything from it. It would be different if there were a simulator, or if the room came with a "butler" flight attendant or something else to give it added value; so shouldn't you feel like it's really just a gimmick and the price is actually quite high?
That looks so cool
That's one way to join the mile-high club I guess, my wife, the germaphobe, wouldn't be impressed :)
This mile-high club definitely comes with an asterisk. It's more like a kilometer-high club.
try 100 metre club
This is the Netherlands we’re talking about. A room on the top floor is the sea level club.
You probably already know this but the Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu has an actual working 737-800 simulator in one of the rooms as well!
Video of that
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU31s6kSxUg
That suite looks pretty solid - it would be indeed nice to have it on more places. In Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, it is quite common (at least compared to other countries) to find a café or a restaurant that uses a retired airplane, while airplane hotels are commonly found in Europe, in my understanding.
But that leather seats in the 737 cabin look rather grim... though not a major issue.
...That suite looks pretty solid - it would be indeed nice to have it on more places. In Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries, it is quite common (at least compared to other countries) to find a café or a restaurant that uses a retired airplane, while airplane hotels are commonly found in Europe, in my understanding.
But that leather seats in the 737 cabin look rather grim... though not a major issue.
Plus, not exactly related to the post, but it seems like JAL plane had some kind of incident at San Diego.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/02/14/japan/jal-plane-crosses-runway-stop-line/
On a separate note, do the plane windows open?
No, it's not an Alaska Airlines jet.
More importantly for Ben's sake, do the seats have individual air nozzles?
I looked at the aircraft that KLM is flying to Johannesburg, and feel like I now know why you're deciding to go via Amsterdam...
(Will be looking out – there seem to have been a couple of equipment swaps lately)
I guess Ben wants to fly KLM's new business class suites.
Ah makes sense. I was hoping for Kenya airways to Nairobi