LIRF/FCO - Rome Fiumicino - Mercure (also Best Western) - November 2024

Mercure Hotel Fiumicino Airport.  Looking at its location I expected it would have a good view of departures off 16R, the usual departures runway, and it did.  There’s a Best Western in the similar area but my points prejudices don’t allow me to stay there!  Rooms ending xx01 to xx19 have the required easterly view. There’s nothing in the way at ground level and departures are sufficiently high that any floor is OK; there are five floors in total.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/GgJTxkgNQJotDMnb8

Getting there is the challenging part….

1. There is a hotel shuttle bus that charges €6 each way and operates between 05:50 (first departure from hotel) to 22:30 (last departure from airport).  These operating hours are quite rubbish for an airport hotel.

2. Taxi mafia – as I arrived late, around 23:15, I tried Uber: €35 it said, which seemed ridiculous for c. 2 miles.  So I got a regular taxi from the terminal front.  €35 the driver said, giving some sob story about late night charges in the area.  So, it would seem there is a definite taxi mafia here that will sting you whatever (and reading more about it, it seems Uber only got a licence here under conditions set by the taxi drivers mafia).

3. Walk, it is doable and takes you round the runway threshold/16R climb out, so wouldn’t miss anything that you’d see from the hotel.

4. Local bus.  Refusing to pay €6 let alone 35 (and not being particularly enamoured with walking) to get back I went exploring.  To the immediate north of the hotel is a small bus terminus, marked on Google Maps as ‘Capolinea Bus’ but known locally as ‘Foce Micina’. Google does not have any bus information.  Route number 8 leaves this terminus on the hour and half hour between 05:30 and 23:00 except 21:30.  It serves Terminal 3 on the arrivals level on the outer road, at a stop marked ‘Shuttle to Fiumicino City Centre’, and is just before the hotel shuttles. It is only a few minutes to get there from the terminus, and it’s a circular route. Bus fare is €1.50 if bought on the bus and €1.00 if bought from a machine. There are no machines at the airport, and those in Fiumicino town are actually repurposed car park ticket machines and still have the blue ‘P’ on them!

Local bus map: https://www.trotta.it/pdf/mappa_fco_inverno_2023.pdf route 8 is the red one, the numbers are the stops, of which there are only six on the entire route!

Departure times: 05:30 - 06:00 - 06:30 - 07:00 - 07:30 - 08:00 - 08:30 - 09:00 - 09:30 - 10:00 - 10:30 - 11:00 - 11:30 - 12:00 - 12:30 - 13:00 - 13:30 - 14:00 - 14:30 - 15:00 - 15:30 - 16:00 - 16:30 - 17:00 - 17:30 - 18:00 - 6.30pm - 7.00pm - 7.30pm - 8.00pm - 8.30pm - 9.00pm - 10.00pm - 10.30pm - 11.00pm 

https://www.trotta.it/active/linee_invernali_fiumicino.aspx?m=1#undefined19

Terminal 3 map, local bus 8 goes from immediately east of the hotel shuttles 

https://www.adr.it/documents/10157/31899622/Terminal-3-q.ta-2.jpg/27b4daa9-f45e-239d-2fe2-adabb679c075?t=1718360223018

RJAA / NRT - Tokyo Narita - Marroad International Hotel Narita - November 2024

I booked the Marroad International Hotel Narita directly. Initially although they showed Runway view rooms, they could not be booked, but 3 months to the day before the trip they became bookable. I had room 1296 and the view was excellent from the 12th floor. A selection of photos can be found here on Flickr.

Rooms with views South towards Terminal 1 were 602, 604, 606, 608, 610, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 622, 624 & 626 - 626 is by a end of corridor window. Floors 7 & 8 were the same layout. Higher would be better but the 6th floor was fine for watching departures once the observation decks were closed.

In the morning, I actually decided to stay in the room for an extra hour taking pics, rather than going to the T1 deck at opening time. Overnight they had changed to arrive from the North. The room only allowed arrivals and departures on 16R to be seen so eventually I needed to leave. But it should be pointed out the breakfast was on the 13th floor and from there it was possible to see both runways. So, you could also probably enjoy a few beers in the evening up there in the bar/restaurant.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/rfGAtf6pTKjvqVeQA

Breakfast room view of 18R threshold.

View of cargo ramp from room.

ZSPD/PVG - Shanghai Pu Dong - Da Zhong Airport Hotel - November 2024

Once public side side with luggage, follow the signs for “Hotel” or “Metro” and you should end up in a long corridor called “Wuzhou Middle Path” which connects Terminal 1 to Terminal 2. Half way along this walkway, follow the Hotel sign which should lead to a lift, go up and you will arrive outside the Da Zhong Airport Hotel, which is slap, bang in between the two terminals. It is a very strange design and only the end points of the North or South wings will give views of all the runways.

As we arrived late, we had no choice of rooms but the staff did try to help. Four of the rooms (8743, 8745, 8758 & 8760) in the South wing, faced North towards the closed walkway that used to connect the North & South Wings. This gave views of departures to the North as they came off runways 34L/34R & 35L/35R, but you couldn’t see any arrivals. When we checked back in two days later, we were earlier and so was able to request rooms 8800, 8801, 8802 & 8806 which are in the South facing bit of the South wing. From those you can see all arrivals on runways 34L/34R & 35L/35R and some departures if they climbed quickly enough. If the wind direction changes, you’d see all departures instead. I booked “Superior standard room (south)” through trip.com. You need level 7 or 8 to be able to see over the terminal buildings…..

8th floor room numbers 8803, 8805, 8807, 8809, 8811, 8813, 8815, 8817, 8819, 8821, 8823, 8825, 8827, 8829, 8831, 8833, 8835, 8837, 8839 & 8841 would give views to the East of 16L/16R & 34L/34R, looking out over Terminal 2. 7th floor room numbers on this side are the same but 87** (odds)

8th floor room numbers 8808, 8810, 8812, 8816, 8818, 8820, 8822, 8826, 8828, 8830, 8832, 8836, 8838, 8840, 8842, 8846, 8848, 8850, 8852 & 8856 would give views to the West of 17L/17R & 35L/35R, looking out over Terminal 1. 7th floor room numbers on this side are the same but 87** (evens)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/4mnetRHuCXTuQM3f9