ZGGG/CAN - Guangzhou - China Southern Pearl - May 2025

Our Hotel was the China Southern Pearl, on the Southern approach to this huge airport. My last visit here was in 2015 & the place has certainly grown.

Our room was 4011, the Pearl only has 6 floors, it gave a view towards the Terminal & depending on ops/weather landers or departing traffic could be seen, again the intermittent nature of FR24 in China meant this kept you on you toes.

In previous visits here the group had access to the rook, but the 6^th floor & roof were undergoing refurb, which was good & bad news. Bad news in that the roof on the hotel wasn’t useable, however they did allow access to the roof of another China Southern Building, weather permitting. If it rains there’s now cover but the view of the Southern half of the airport is hard to beat. That said you’re more to the left on this roof making reading landers on the right tricky & in bright sunshine reading the electronics is also tricky, but better than nothing.

The refurb of the 6^th floor had also created a meeting room with a view towards the airport. It was ideally sized for 18 I suspect, but our group of 25 or so just about fitted in. Again depending on which side of the room you are depends how much concentration & patience is need to see the movements, especially landers, stuff on the cross taxiways can be read, there’s the obligatory wifi & a loo down the corridor. We retreated in here as & when the weather or laziness dictated. A great asset. As I said during our visit they were still testing the 6 Floor with Fire Alarm test & such so when in action I suspect it’d have to be booked & a fee would probably apply. As for the roof access whether that would available to individuals I’m not sure, sometimes there is an advantage to numbers. The glass is sloping & photography will possible would mean block the views of others while you’re taking the photo, so it was a number crunching exercise

Foodwise the hotel has a canteen style Buffet, aimed at its core market, China Southern Aircrew, breakfast was so appealing I didn’t bother on our second morning. This canteen runs a buffet in the evening for about £10, however no alcohol & very Chinese. The alternative on site is the Chines Restaurant on the 3^rd floor, they do serve beer and the menu is in English, we ordered more food than would fit on the table & very nice it was and including a couple of large bottles of beer the price struggled to get to £20, I recommend the deep dried Prawns, so good we ordered a second helping!

Credit: Andy Vass 

 

LBSF/SOF - Sofia Airport Ibis - May 2025

The combination of stored, preserved frames and the Bulgaria Air A220 fleet meant Sofia was high on my agenda.  My stay was at the Ibis.  I only transited SOF for a short period (2230-0930) to maximise frames and minimise time.  

You have views of movements and part of the runway/taxyway system from odd numbered rooms.  Highest floor is 5.  Floors 6 and 7 are offices.

There are various locations you need to walk to if you want to see the stored frames.

For locations use this map:-

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=19RYYcuq6zreGMmnZi8oesLR5ChiBTG0&usp=sharing

(Note this map is only up-to-date as of 24 May 2025 and will not be further updated)

All locations were accessed by foot on Saturday morning between 0600 and 0930.  There are paths between all the locations I mention.  All in all a worthwhile visit.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/kLVApgVgnd3EEZ719

VHHH/HKG - Hong Kong - Novotel Citygate - May 2024.

I stayed at the Novotel Citygate in room 1727, you need to ask for an airport view.  It’s a very nice hotel and a buffet breakfast is included in the room rate of £120 per night.  Take a ziplock bag or a Tupperware to breakfast and fill up with pastries for lunch.  In the evening, there is a plethora of dining establishments within a short walk.  Western style eateries include McDonalds, Pizza Express and Outback.  Look online for Citygate Outlet Tung Chung, you can do some shopping too if you want. Views for spotting aren’t the best but I’d say they are adequate as you can see both arrivals and departures even when they change ends which is twice a day.  Arrivals are on 07L/25R.  When on 25R, you need to see them through the construction work or one of the 2 gaps in the buildings where you can actually see them on the runway.  Doesn’t always work if they turn off short.  I used a mix of FR24, SBS with Aerodata and ADS-B Exchange.  You’ll need to be on the ball as the distant runway can be a challenge. 

Note the new runway has opened since this report. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/u2NYV48b75P4KJLx8

Credit David Fogwill

CYYZ/YYZ - Toronto - Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and conference centre - May 2025

 I stayed in the Toronto - Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and conference centre earlier this month, its a cheaper alternative than the Sheraton Gateway in the terminal. We had room 723 which gives the below views. If its not a full on spotting visit then its suitable alternative and considerably cheaper to a downtown hotel (if there is no convention on), Its is a good standard with a small pool and nice bar area. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3rZBptU1RmwGEYah7

  landing on runway 24R

landing on runway 23.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qHoc2TFmzCpmCJyB6

I can highly recommend the local Jack Astors Bar and Grill, which is a short distance away  where, if you sat in the right seat at the bar, you can see the inbounds to runway 24 or provided you don't all leave the restaurant at once see them from the front entrance.

     

 

WADD/DPS - Bali - Holiday Inn Express - May 2025

Logged on arrival and from the room/roof pool of the Holiday Inn Express.  High numbered rooms on the 80s and 90s look out to see and can see the approach.  There are only rooms on the 2^nd and 3^rd floors; the 4^th floor is a roof pool and bar and arguable has a much better and clearer view of proceedings than the rooms. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ELgV2jqHqhbQZZYp6

EDDF/FRA - Frankfurt - InterCity - May 2025

In the opinion of the submitter still the best hotel for spotting at Frankfurt.  The Intercity is a 10 min walk to the spotting area at the end of the runway.

If you ask for a room looking over the airport they will charge you 10 euro per night extra so well worth it if the weather turns bad and you need to stay inside.  Food and drink is good while the breakfast is a bit on the expensive side there is a very good choice. They do have a shuttle bus which they charge for, but the public transport bus stops right outside the hotel and costs 2 euro back to the airport.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ME2obLhdDf3uTT8s5

EGLL/LHR - London Heathrow - Renaissance - May 2025

In the submitters opinion the best spotting hotel at LHR & one of the worlds best for proximity to an active runway, The hotels website allows you to book a runway view room from which all movements on the northern runway can be read off and photographed easily.  

Movements around the terminals & on the Southern runway are easy to see & can be identified using a flight tracking app. Photography from the room is easy - if the windows are clean, obviously the higher the floor the better the view. 

Although this hotel is not the cheapest at the quality of spotting makes up for it, I usually book a 3 night stay with breakfast, for other meals I use a nearby pub (Three Magpies) as the hotel bar & restaurant food is expensive & bland.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/avSikJCqWvVCvFbW6

KNO/WIMM - Medan - Anara Sky airport hotel - May 2025

Stayed one night at the Anara Sky airport hotel – whilst it is built in to the terminal there are no airside views from it, in fact all windows face ‘in’ to the terminal.  Spotting was easy enough from within the terminal both landside and airside

https://maps.app.goo.gl/TY6nEWPnsXkN3vzc6

ZBAD/PXX - Beijing Daxing - Mumian Hotel - May 2025

 

Our hotel was to be the Mumian, which is walkable from the terminal as it is in a shopping centre complex connected via a bridge to the Terminal. 

We had room 8106, and this gave a view of the runways between the terminal & the CSN/CES maintenance hangars. Level 8 is the top floor at this hotel. The hotel is built on the centre line of the terminal & the room was a bit north of where the terminal wing runs out. Photography, not really, a bit too far away IMHO, and also you’re shooting through 2 lots of glass, the rooms double glazing & then there is about a foot gap to another layer of glass. But reading taxing stuff is doable depending on how fast & how close to the fencing it may go

FR24 worked better than expected, stuff dropping in & out & not appearing until sometime after taking off, but with a bit of concentration we managed to identify most. Views of the other parts of this airfield would be possible airside, 

The food at the hotel was Chinese & what we had we was excellent, at the Terminal end of the shopping centre there is a Family Mart for provisioning

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dUM4CeQKPeMZfYsR6 (Shows the wrong location.)

Credit Andy Vass

ZPPP/KMG - Kunming - Best Yue Hang hotel - May 2019

I stayed in the Best Yue Hang hotel, which is the only hotel at Kunming Airport.  There’s a shuttle bus from the far side of the arrivals level outside door 3, though the hotel’s website doesn’t tell you that!  It looked like it was every 30 minutes at xx10 and xx40 from the airport.  It is walkable if you know where you’re going (arrivals level, turn right, past the coach station, down a short set of steps , and keep walking through that car park and the following bus park).  The hotel is a typically extravagant Chinese hotel where demand is not what they expected so lots of cost saving measures such as no restaurants, air con turned off etc.  The toilet and shower cubicle were both glass sides and faced in to the room with no other doors! Each had a shower curtain but far from sufficient to protect modesty.  Pay for individual rooms here, higher even numbers for the airport/runway view 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qdwdni7YXtKX1UEd6

ZUUU/CTU - Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport - Joyhub Air Hotel - May 2025

I used the Joyhub Air Hotel at Chengdu Shuangliu.Room 8946 is probably the best as it looks straight onto the runway and is also next to the hallway window which looks onto the second runway and the masses of stored Airbus (PW engine issues).

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pef8CQAaHFRxboGr9 NOTE Locations in China are often inaccurate.

Credit Volker Wackernagel

ZUXK/CKG - Chongqing - Airport Novotel - May 2025

While it carries the name Novotel, it does not participate in the Accor hotel chain - so no points etc. We stayed on Floor 12 & 13. I had purposely booked a suite as it appeared to provide the best view. And it certainly did. It even has a balcony that swings around the building. Rooms xx23 & xx31 are Suites, xx25, 26, 27, 28, 29 & 30 are regular rooms. They will all work, but the 13th floor appears to be better for SBS signals than the 12th.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/xespyBkaTxPBu9MTA Note locations in China are often incorrect.

Credit Volker Wackernagel. 

ZUTF/TFU - Chengdu Tianfu International Airport - Joyhub Air Hotel - May 2025.

We used the Joyhub Cheer Hotel (there is also the Joyhub Air Hotel, but it appears the Cheer is a higher standard). Note that it is the circle building split in half, in between the terminals. The Cheer is the east block, The Air is the west block.

8th floor provided excellent views. Rooms 6804-6810 were perfectly located (8 is in this case the floor number). What cannot be seen is the east departure runway, so it would be wise to stay up long at night and get all the arrivals as the departures next morning would not be visible (and they use the east runway a lot).

https://maps.app.goo.gl/iLrCHPb7SmXDj2yJ6 NOTE Locations in chana are often inaccurate.

Credit Volker Wackernagel

VIDP/DEL - Delhi - Lemon Tree Hotel - May 2024.

I stayed at the Lemon Tree Hotel which overlooks the ARC ramp. Rooms 1324 to 1340 will give a good view, and all runways can be monitored with a bit of effort. It’s one stop on the metro from the International terminal and a five minute walk. The staff could not have been any more helpful in securing a room with a view, and no problem taking optics and camera through security. Around the corner is a shopping mall with loads of fast food outlets in the lower level.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/LjFVTxJDWF4jd7Ba7

Credit Wayne Groves