- Introduction: Zimbabwe Via The Cockpit Suite
- Review: SWISS First Class Boeing 777 (MIA-ZRH)
- Review: SWISS First Lounge Zurich Airport Terminal E (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS First Lounge Zurich Airport Terminal A (ZRH)
- Review: SWISS Senator Lounge Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Review: Corendon Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Marriott Tribute Portfolio
- Review: Corendon Amsterdam New-West, Marriott Tribute Portfolio
- Review: KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS)
- Review: KLM Business Class Boeing 777 (AMS-JNB)
- Flying Federal Airlines To Buffalo Range, Zimbabwe
- Review: Singita Pamushana Lodge, Zimbabwe
- Review: Emirates Lounge Johannesburg Airport (JNB)
- Emirates Premium Connections Service Dubai: My Experience
- Review: “New” Emirates First Class Airbus A380 (DXB-IAH)
During my trip to Zimbabwe, I intentionally planned a two night layover in Amsterdam. I did so in order to enjoy two intriguing aviation geek experiences:
- I spent the first night at Corendon Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, which has a real life Boeing 747 parked out front; I reviewed that hotel in a separate installment
- I spent the second night at Corendon Amsterdam New-West, which has a Boeing 737 cockpit suite that I stayed in; I’ll be reviewing that hotel in this installment
Both of these properties are part of Marriott Tribute Portfolio, which is one of the independent hotel collections belonging to Marriott Bonvoy. Furthermore, Corendon is a Dutch and Turkish leisure company, with hotels, an airline, and more.
With that background out of the way, let’s get into the review. I have to say, there was quite a novelty to staying in a Boeing 737 cockpit suite, though I think it’s an experience I only need to have once, at least if traveling solo.
In this post:
Booking the Corendon Amsterdam New-West
The Corendon Amsterdam New-West is one of the most reasonably priced Marriott properties in Amsterdam, and rates for standard rooms are regularly under €100 per night (for my night, the AAA rate was €80).
However, I wasn’t staying at this property in order to book a standard room, but rather I booked the property’s top suite, which is the Boeing 737 cockpit suite. Yes, the suite literally has a cockpit in the room. This retailed for €349, but with the AAA discount, the price was just €279. That’s one of the biggest AAA discounts I’ve ever seen!
Obviously that was significantly more than a base room, but then again, it’s not often that your hotel room comes with an aircraft fuselage, so I thought it was reasonable.
Corendon Amsterdam New-West location
Let’s start with the biggest downside to this property, which is the location. I’m no expert on Amsterdam, but this property doesn’t seem to have a very convenient location for most purposes. The hotel describes its location as being “in an emerging, colorful neighborhood of the city,” so make of that what you will.
As the name suggests, the hotel is in the western part of Amsterdam, roughly halfway between the center of the city and Schiphol Airport. The hotel is just a short distance from a tram, offering access to many of the city’s attractions.
In my case, I was just going to and from the airport area, and Schiphol Airport is about a 10-15 minute drive from the hotel.
The 263-room Amsterdam Corendon New-West doesn’t have a particularly inspiring exterior, but fortunately it’s much cheerier inside. That’s because the building is quite old, but it only became a Corendon property in 2023, so the interior is basically new.
Corendon Amsterdam New-West lobby & check-in
The Corendon Amsterdam New-West has a fun lobby, which feels a bit like what you’d expect from a modern limited service property in terms of design. The lobby has plenty of seating, including couches, communal tables, and more.
The check-in process was efficient, and the two ladies working the front desk were friendly. Within a moment, I had a key to my room.
Just to hit on a couple of other points, just off the lobby there’s a 24/7 market, where you can buy some basic food and drinks, which is convenient.
Furthermore, by the set of elevators there’s a Starbucks coffee machine, where you can make your preferred drink any hour of the day. This isn’t complimentary, but you can pay directly by credit card. I appreciated having access to that, as someone with a weird schedule (and especially given that I was checking out of the hotel at around 4AM).
Corendon Amsterdam New-West Boeing 737 cockpit suite
The Corendon Amsterdam New-West goes up to the seventh floor, and that’s where my room was located.
The Boeing 737 cockpit suite at this hotel has the room number… you guessed it, 737! What a coincidence. 😉
At 1,291 square feet (120 square meters), this suite is massive, though it has an odd design. Rather than feeling like a suite intended for hotel guests, the suite is basically a bedroom and a conference room. As you enter the room, you’ll be in the bedroom if you turn left, in the conference room if you turn right, or in the Boeing 737 fuselage if you walk straight ahead.
Let’s start by looking at the bedroom. The bedroom has a comfortable king size bed, right next to a Boeing 737 fuselage. The mattress is soft and comfortable, though oddly there are no outlets on either side of the bed.
There’s a chaise lounge next to the bed, and then a wall-mounted TV across from the bed.
In a room to the side of the bedroom is a desk, which also has a Nespresso coffee machine, a kettle, and a mini-fridge, containing a couple of bottles of water.
There was even a welcome amenity, consisting of a voucher for a free drink at the bar, plus a box of chocolates. Corendon properties really have excellent elite recognition!
The bathroom is back near the hallway at the entrance. There’s a small room with a toilet and a sink.
Then there’s a separate bathroom with double sinks, a bathtub, and a walk-in shower.
Now let’s look at the other side of the suite, which you’d assume would be a living room, though in reality it’s more of a conference room. It has a long conference table, a couple of TV screens, and even a whiteboard.
This area even has two gender-segregated restrooms…
Now, let’s talk about the actual Boeing 737 fuselage that’s somehow in this hotel room. You’re free to go into the cabin and cockpit as much as you’d like, and it can be accessed from either side of the room, or the rear.
It’s simply unreal to have this in your hotel room. This isn’t some fake gimmick, it’s the actual fuselage of a retired Boeing 737. It has galley carts, overhead bins, three rows of seats, and even a cockpit.
It’s incredible when you look at the fuselage from an angle, because you can see that the nose cone was actually cut off, and is located on the exterior of the building. How cool is that?!
Yes, this was unique and something I’ll never forget, though to be honest, I’m kind of conflicted on this whole experience:
- This is without a doubt outrageously cool, and as an aviation geek, I love this
- At the same time, the execution of this seems rather half-baked; currently it’s essentially a bedroom and a conference room, so why not make this an absolutely epic suite, and make it easier and more comfortable to spend time in the fuselage of the cabin?
- In fairness, I imagine the economics here are challenging, since this cockpit suite is at a random budget property that’s not even at the airport, so maybe there’s just not an ROI if more is invested in this
- While it’s fun to spend time in the suite, it’s a bit awkward to actually sleep in here, since there’s no way to close the aircraft door, so you can’t get the room truly dark
Corendon Amsterdam New-West Mondi Restaurant
Mondi Restaurant is the Corendon Amsterdam New-West’s all-day dining restaurant. It serves breakfast from 7AM until 11AM, lunch from 12:30PM until 4PM, and dinner from 5:30PM until 10PM. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to have breakfast here (since I left the hotel early in the morning), so I instead opted to have an early dinner here.
What a fun restaurant and bar design — I love the bright colors and the plants.
This restaurant is described as serving Caribbean soul food with a French twist, which is quite a theme. You can find the menu below.
To start, I ordered the flatbread with salsa, hummus, pico de gallo, olive oil, and green herbs, which was tasty, though not exactly what I envisioned when I ordered it.
Then I selected the signature salad, with little gem, kale, red chard, pico de gallo, french bean, and spicy vinaigrette. It was a large portion, tasty, and very spicy (which I loved).
Corendon Amsterdam New-West gym & spa
The Corendon Amsterdam New-West’s gym and spa are currently under construction, so aren’t available to guests. It seems like they’re investing a lot in a new spa, though it’s anyone’s guess if it ends up looking like the renderings in the lobby.
The hotel also has a beautiful indoor pool, which I briefly visited, but it was so busy that I didn’t feel comfortable taking pictures.
Bottom line
The Corendon Amsterdam New-West is a good value Marriott Bonvoy property. This is a modern, quirky hotel, with a nice restaurant and friendly service. Think of it as a slightly elevated limited service property. The catch is that the location isn’t ideal for a vast majority of travelers — it’s neither near the city center, nor at the airport.
Now, the only reason I stayed here is because of the Boeing 737 cockpit suite, which has to be one of the most memorable hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. It’s not every day you get to sleep right next to a Boeing 737 fuselage.
I’m so happy I had this experience, and checked it off my list. Do I need to do this again? No, probably not. The execution left a bit to be desired, as the overall suite design just isn’t very cozy, with most of the space being taken up by a conference room.
What do you make of the Corendon Amsterdam New-West?
Ben: you claim to be an avgeek but where are the details about the airframe itself -- model -- reg number -- history etc. I'm much more interested in that than what guests might have done in the cabin:-)
Apparently some guests have made pictures of themselves having sex in the cockpit ! Certainly a unique opportunity !
The 25 metre high club!
Is this the second review you've done? I swear I've seen this review before. :)
The first one wasn't the review, it was a preview of the review.
Welcome to the content reuse blogosphere!
I would think of staying here with my wife. A poor man's version of the Mile High Club.
Was thinking the same. Which I imagine many others do. Which leads me to not even want to sit on those aircraft seats, lol.
You best hope your wife does not misinterpret your post!
Ben, you need to work on your French: "chaise longue" with the "u" in the right spot.
Besides that, please keep reviewing such special hotels or rooms, great idea!
Actually it appears to be an Americanism to mutilate it into "Chaise Lounge".
Also fairly common in the UK, in my experience (just check other miles & points blogs written this side of the pond). I chalk it down to a typical spelling mistake in English, and/or people genuinely thinking it's pronounced "lounge" instead of "long".
I wouldn't want to view that cabin/cockpit with a blacklight. I'm told there have been films done there....
@ NedsKid -- SAME!
Nice review! It’s interesting to see you call it a ‘limited service property’ despite it having a spa, gym, and pool. It might be considered limited service in the States, but for the average Dutch person, this is a luxurious 4* property ;-)
@ Reyyan -- Fair point, and I wasn't trying to say that it's actually a limited service property, but rather that it had that vibe. Perhaps if the spa were fully complete, it would've felt a bit different. But the whole thing was giving me Moxy vibes... plus a restaurant!
Lots of money there in aircraft parts. I'm surprised they left it all intact.
I was wondering the same. @Ben, did you notice any missing parts in the cockpit (i.e., knobs, dials, etc.)?
@ ScottS @ hbilbao -- Just about everything seemed to be intact, impressively enough. It's my understanding that up until not that long ago, you could actually do a simulator ride in here, but I believe that has been recently discontinued.