Plane Spotting Hotels: ICN

The Hotel Ora is a fantastic spotting Hotel with a view similar to that of the Renaissance concourse in Atlanta. It has 8 floors and rooms x07-x12 offer a view with 807 being the best view. odd numbered floors have a bit of the external hotel structure that blocks the view of terminal 1 so it’s best to ask for an even floor. In the event you don’t get allocated one of these all is not lost as there is a small internal spotters deck on the 8^th floor near the lift where everything can be seen.

The hotel has room service however there is no breakfast in the morning but they do offer everyone a free egg sandwich and can of hot coffee. Aside from that there is nothing else is around the hotel so equip yourself with rations before checking in if you don’t want to use the hotel facilities.

Gimpo movements (whichever runway configuration is in use) can be seen from the hotel if the weather and haze conditions are right however the time taken to find them will likely impact spotting at Incheon if you are trying to log everything.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nsPFNNQYBvPtuRu67

Photos from room 807...

Photos from room 611... (Credit Neil Martin)

On arrival at the ibis Styles Ambassador Incheon Airport T2, we checked in and were allocated at least these room numbers – 516, 619, 819 & 1119. So all over the place on the 5th, 6th, 8th & 11th floors and were a mixture of Superior Double Room & Superior Suite with Three Single Beds. None of us had a issue with our views as they can be made to work. This a L shaped building and so room numbers 801 to 815 give a view on what is happening on runways 15L/15R & 33L/33R. room numbers 816 to 825 & 833 to 839 give a view on what is happening on runways 16L/16R & 34L/34R. There are windows at the end of the two corridors and we found that the one by room numbers 815 & 816 allowed you to cover all four runways. I checked floor 7 to 11 and they were all the same format as the graphic I provide you here. Floor 12 was a different configuration but I have no notes to further elaborate on this. I drew a graphic to show the position of this hotel relative to the airport and the also show the room numbers from the 8th floor...

From the ground around the hotel, you can read off a number of the stored frames and there is a public area on the second floor that allows a few more to be read off. The lifts require a key card to get to the higher floors. The hotel is close enough to the airport that you can’t order an Uber to it as the app pulls back to the T2 uber pickup point which is too far away to walk to so you are reliant on the hotel shuttle bus that runs every half hour.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CCbZyjbfxuZCsZTa8