The Airport Hotels Our Editors Love Most
We've all been there: an early morning flight, overnight layover, or a sudden delay or cancellation means you're forced to spend the night in an airport hotel. Whether you're booking a last-minute room and hoping for the best, or scheduling a stay ahead of time to avoid the hassle of arranging cars or public transportation the morning of, it's inevitable that at some point you'll find yourself checking into an airport hotel.
When booking an airport hotel, convenience, location, and practicality are usually top of mind, but that doesn't mean you need to completely forgo style and design. There are many airport hotels out there that are absolutely incredible and worth a visit on their own—even if they're not a scheduling necessity. From New York City's very own TWA to a Marriott in Manila, these airport hotels are some of the best in the world.
Every hotel review on this list has been written by a Condé Nast Traveler journalist who knows the destination and has visited that property. When choosing hotels, our editors consider properties across price points that offer an authentic and insider experience of a destination, keeping design, location, service, and sustainability credentials top of mind.
All products and listings featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Marriott InternationalManila Marriott Hotel
Despite being just across the street from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (locally and lovingly referred to as NAIA, “nuh-ee-yuh”), this hotel doesn’t have the runway views or direct connections to terminals that you might be expecting. Still, it’s got the next best thing: a dependable shuttle bus that ferries you between the hotel and NAIA’s arrivals and departure bays. This is useful in the traffic-clogged streets of Manila. Getting into NAIA with your own car—let alone calling and finding a ride-share taxi—is an ordeal I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. My pro tip for arrivals at NAIA: Grab the shuttle bus to the Marriott, have a drink or a meal, then call a car from there to your destination. Reverse that for departures. This is my family’s strategy for whenever I visit my hometown. The idea was first proposed by my late mother nearly a decade ago and is now a core memory of mine: seeing her at the Manila Marriott’s lobby, resplendent with an Hermès scarf and a cocktail, ready to welcome me home. —Matt Ortile, associate editor
Courtesy TWA HotelhotelTWA Hotel
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Readers' Choice Awards 2020, 2021, 2023After hours of my flight being delayed, and then delayed further, and then finally canceled at 11 p.m., I quickly called the TWA hotel and scored the last remaining room. The hotel is a quick five-minute Airtrain ride from all JFK airport terminals and is definitely worth checking out for the design alone (even if you just go for a look during a long layover or for a drink before your flight). The 512-room property incorporates part of the TWA Flight Center—which was beautifully designed in the early 1960s by the legendary Finnish architect Eero Saarinen (as well as two additional buildings, and it houses several restaurants and an aviation museum. In addition to being a very convenient place to spend the night after a missed connection or before a super early morning flight (the pickings are pretty slim right around the airport), it is a midcentury fever dream— you truly feel like you've gone back in time or onto the set of Catch Me If You Can. —Rebecca Misner, senior features editor
ABACApress/Didier Delmas/Mercure Paris CDG Airport and Convention/Roissy en France/AccorMercure Paris CDG Airport & Convention
Concluding our final night in Paris, my best friend and I were determined to soak up every last moment of the city's joie de vivre. For our flight at the crack of dawn the next day, we headed to the Mercure Paris in the heart of Roissy CDG. The night had a special sparkle from the start. Ridiculously, we walked in with matching fluffy berets, had a delightful chat with the front desk staff and, on a whim, booked a suite with two separate rooms. We giggled past the lavish diamond displays in the lobby and bought two bottles of champagne. Wrapping ourselves in the softest matching robes we sipped our bubbly. After finishing the champagne, we tucked ourselves into the coziest king bed, fighting to keep our eyes open. Perhaps too cozy—we woke up the next day in a panic, two hours after our flight. Despite the convenience of the airport's proximity, we had a horrible day of traveling back home (due in large part to the champagne). In hindsight, though, what we remember as one of our best (and most ridiculous) nights together was the one we spent at the stylish and swanky Hotel Mercure in Paris. —Jessica Chapel, editorial assistant
Jeff Zaruba/Grand Hyatt San FranciscohotelGrand Hyatt San Francisco
$$I stayed here the night before a work trip from San Francisco to Honolulu, and it could not have made life simpler ahead of the early morning flight. I had a lovely breakfast at the property (the restaurant overlooks the runway, which was fun), then hopped on the AirTrain. It’s accessible right from the lobby, as the hotel has its own station stop; I was at my terminal in no more than 10 minutes. As someone who is not a morning person, it really made me see the value in staying at an airport hotel ahead of an early morning flight. —Madison Flager, senior commerce editor
Courtesy HiltonHilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
I landed in Amsterdam at around 1 a.m. and my next flight didn’t leave until 9 a.m. It was one of those annoying layovers—too much time to just sit at the gate and not enough to properly go into the city and have a meal or look around (plus it was the middle of the night). I booked the airport Hilton with pretty low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised. For starters, I could walk to the hotel without leaving the airport proper. Often, getting to airport hotels requires a bus, an airport train, or an outside pedestrian path alongside some highway and, while not a huge deal, is more of a production than I typically want, especially late at night. The next surprise was the design of the hotel—it’s super modern with rooms that all open onto an enormous atrium. I felt like I was on the Super Star Destroyer from Star Wars (in the best way possible). And as a bonus—the rooms, especially the bathroom, were very spacious, minimal-mod, and super comfortable. —R.M.