World’s Best Airport Hotels
Feb 10, 2009 | Comments 0
Forbes Traveler picked its favorite airport hotels. Here’s their top picks:
Radisson SAS Stansted, London
With London’s two major airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, operating at near capacity thanks to an increase in low-cost carriers, more airlines are cleverly opting for Stansted (American Airlines, its should be noted, stopped service to the airport in July 2008 in an effort to cut costs). The increased traffic is good news for the Radisson SAS, which opened next to the airport in Summer 2004. The angular building features 500 rooms, designed in one of three funky styles (Chili, Ocean or Urban) each with free wifi, four restaurants and Europe’s lone wine tower: a 12-meter-high, 4,000-bottle atrium where the sommelier doubles as a flying “wine angel.”
Westin Detroit Metropolitan, Mich.
With its Zen-style water features, bamboo thickets and Asian-inspired restaurant design, the 414-room Westin Detroit Metropolitan Airport brings fusion flair to Motor City. Each room features Westin’s Heavenly Bed, but with three lounges, including one with views of the tarmac and a fitness center with a whirlpool and a heated indoor pool, guests are not likely to be holed up in their rooms for too long.Kempinski Munich, Germany
German-born architect Helmut Jahn’s soaring steel-and-glass showpiece, the five-star Kempinski Munich Airport Hotel, is conveniently located adjacent to both Terminals 1 and 2. Beneath Jahn’s trademark stark skeletal construction are 389 airy rooms and suites, including a spacious Presidential Suite—each with floor-to-ceiling windows. The hotel also features a wellness center, gourmet restaurant and meeting spaces.Grand Hyatt, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
The winner of the AAA’s coveted Four Diamond rating, the Grand Hyatt DFW is a two-year-old property with a raft of luxuries that have also impressed cynical seasoned travelers. In fact, according to Tripadvisor’s popularity index, it’s ranked number two out of 169 Dallas-area hotels. Why? Because in addition to stellar food and lovingly assembled interiors it features Hyatt’s signature Grand Bed, state-of-the-art 32-inch flatscreens and a granite-top work desks.Radisson SAS Frankfurt, Germany
Located mere steps from Europe’s third busiest airport for passenger traffic, this dramatic 19-story steel-and-glass disc-like structure features 428 modernist rooms, bathed in earth tones and natural materials. It is topped by a stunning 5,300-square-foot wellness and fitness center, with an infinity pool from which guests have panoramas of downtown Frankfurt. Four eateries encircle the Lobby Bar, whose enormous free-hanging glass wine tower holds 1,500 bottles.Sofitel London Heathrow, England
With no less than 607 well-appointed rooms, this is an airport hotel unlike any other. Kitted out in a multi-culti theme with an interior décor that pays homage to different continents (reception, for example, gives a nod to Antarctica, with a water feature spilling onto floodlit ice blocks), the $395 million hotel, opened in July 2008, boasts all the usual business accoutrements as well as some learned firsts, including triple-glazed windows to reduce noise and the first Swarovski Crystal bathroom in Europe. Khuan Chew, the hotel’s London-based interior designer, was also behind the genius of the six-star Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai.Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport, Singapore
Changi Airport Opened in May 2008 at one of Asia’s biggest transport hubs, the ultramodern Crowne Plaza Changi Airport—20 minutes by train to downtown Singapore—is a stone’s throw from Terminal 3. And were it not for the fact that you can watch takeoffs and landings from your bed, you’d never believe you were at an airport. The hotel provides guests with iPods loaded with relaxing tunes to soothe their travel-weary souls. Yoga routines are piped into TVs in the rooms. And the enormous outdoor tropical pool is the perfect place to kick back before traveling trans-Pacific with no access to fresh air for hours.citizenM Amsterdam Airport Hotel, Holland
Getting stuck at Schiphol has never been so appealing. Contemporary, civilized and entirely affordable (rooms start at 79 euros per night, or approximately $110), citizenM delivers pure European chic in incredibly cozy surroundings—and just a few minutes by foot from the terminal. The rooms are uniform, and feature super-sized king beds, LCD screens and electronic “mood pads” for incorporating colored mood lighting and ambient music into the super hip vibe. The common areas are equally enticing, with chaise lounges, interesting art books to peruse and strong Dutch coffee always at the ready.The Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel, Canada
Take the elevator skyward from the International Departures terminal at Vancouver International Airport for a total escape from travel fatigue at the luxurious Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel. The Fairmont is the airport’s only soundproofed luxury hotel. For nature, there are snowcapped peaks in the distance. The 392 rooms manage to be both cozy and contemporary, with decadent bedding and large windows. At the hotel’s signature restaurant, Globe@YVR, innovative West Coast cuisine is served with thrilling views of the runways. Bonus? Even if you’re not spending the night, day rooms offered from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. are available for a reduced rate.Pan Pacific Hotel Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
Our most traditional pick, the Pan Pacific Hotel KLIA, opened in 1998, is consistently ranked among Asia’s top business hotels. A five-star establishment, the hotel is linked by skybridge to the airport, which can be reached in five minutes by foot (there’s even a complimentary buggy shuttle service should you find yourself too travel-weary to be ambulatory). The hotel’s design conjures traditional Malay culture, with lush tropical foliage and fishponds throughout. And humans can enjoy a refreshing dip in the enormous outdoor swimming pool before sealing up in a steel tube for hours on end.
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