Review: Sleeping in the 747 Cockpit Suite | Jumbo Stay Hotel

While I love the convenience of chain hotels and their loyalty programs, I also love unique properties. When I first heard about the Jumbo Stay Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden (at the Arlanda Airport), I knew that I had to stay there! The opportunity finally came up this last December and I jumped at the chance. If you are an aviation fan, you have to stay at the Jumbo Stay Hotel sometime!

Review: Jumbo Stay Hotel | 747 Cockpit Suite

Link: Jumbo Stay Hotel

The Jumbo Stay Hotel is a converted Boeing 747 that sits near the Arlanda airport in Stockholm. It was built for Singapore Airlines and also used by Pan Am. It has been open since 2009. There are a host of available rooms located throughout the aircraft and you may just be hard pressed to pick which would be your favorite room to stay in! I think the cockpit suite would be high on everyone’s list but there are actually some other interesting options as well.

Location

The Jumbo Stay Hotel is located near Arlanda airport and is easily accessible via a shuttle bus that goes from the airport to various stops on the route. The ALFA bus would be the best option since it will drop you right at the hotel. It leaves the airport every 15 minutes except for midnight to 4:00am when it operates every 30 minutes. Another option is the much more frequent BETA bus that leaves about every 5-10 minutes. It does not stop at the Jumbo Stay hotel but does go near there so that it is just a short walk away. It only takes about 10 minutes to get back to the airport from the Jumbo Stay hotel when it does come time to leave.

Check-In

Check-in is like nothing I have ever had at another hotel! It is so cool to walk into this 747 and know that this very familiar aircraft is actually a hotel now. You will need to take off your shoes upon entering the airplane (which I actually like as it keeps it quite clean) and you can choose to either leave them at the entrance on shelves or you can take them to your room.

The staff member at the desk was incredibly kind and knowledgeable about the 747 hotel. Even though I was arriving a little past midnight, I had to stay there and hear him tell stories about this 747 hotel. He knew a lot about the aircraft itself and also shared a few things about some of the visitors that they have had. He mentioned one older gentleman that came with his family one time. The man had been on the line building the 747 planes and was almost in tears as he walked around the same kind of airplane that he had spent his life constructing. You don’t hear stories like that at the downtown Hilton!

The check-in agent was dressed like a crewmember, which was a nice touch. He was very kind and helpful and even mentioned some about what it was like to stay there in the summertime (longer days make for a much better stay than when I was there in the snow and ice!).

Rooms

There are a number of rooms you can choose from and they are located throughout the airplane. Here is a breakdown and description of the rooms available:

• Double Standard Room
• Twin Bed Room
• Single Room
• Engine Room
• Two Bed Male Dorm
• Two Bed Female Dorm
• Single with WC
• Wheelhouse Room
• Four Bed Male Dorm
• Double Bed Ensuite Black Box
• Triple Bed Room
• Single Bed Ensuite
• Double Bed Ensuite Cockpit
• Four Bed Female Dorm

The prices vary depending on the type of room selected and how many people are staying there. You can stay by yourself or in a dorm-styled room for up to 4 people. The prices range from as low as $51 for one person in a four person dorm to $420 if you have two people in the cockpit suite (half that with one person).

Some of the rooms of interest include the Engine room (yes, located in the engine compartment and accessible by stairs or the wing!), the Wheelhouse room (located under the plane with private entrance), the Black Box suite (located in the back of the airplane), and, of course, the Cockpit Suite.

I was only there for a few hours overnight and did not get a chance to explore the whole plane but will be going back this year with my sons so should have some more photos of the whole plane and various rooms then.

The Jumbo Stay 747 Cockpit Suite

Of course, I had to stay in the cockpit suite! I mean, I have literally slept all over the 747 aircraft as I have flown in economy, business, and first class so I definitely wanted to go for the cockpit.

The cockpit, while the most expensive, is actually a very good deal. It comes with the whole upper deck part of the aircraft. Unless it has been booked, you have access to the conference room space that has first class seats that are there for conference room chairs (yes, very cool!). It makes a great place if you are traveling with your family and you wanted to spend some time in the airplane. The cockpit suite also has its own balcony.

The entrance to the cockpit suite is via the spiral stairs near the check-in desk which the clerk “locked up” with a safety strap after I went up. Once upstairs, you have the conference room to your right and the cockpit room to your left. The cockpit room has a door with a lock on it so you have total privacy (as well as having curtains for the cockpit windows).

There is a small bathroom off the cockpit room as well so it is all right there! It is a somewhat tight space which I had no problem with but something you should be aware of if you don’t like tight spaces.

Comfort

Though this was certainly not why I stayed here, I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the beds were and I slept very well. The space, though small, was very comfortable and the clerk said it was completely possible to stay in the cockpit suite with more than just 2 people (even though the site only references 2 people).

Playing Pilot

They have left the controls pretty much intact as well as having many other, original aspects still in the cockpit. I spent quite a bit of time just pouring over all the controls and checking out the cockpit itself. I have to say, for the first time in any of my hotel stays ever, I actually felt this was crossover hotel/museum. While the place is not the cheapest of hotels, it could certainly be looked at as an admission ticket to a 747 museum and a hotel room.

I only had about 5 hours in the plane but would definitely see this as a hotel where you could stay for the whole day and night in it. I know kids would have a wonderful time exploring this Queen of the Skies as well as the little amenity gifts. I had luggage straps with the Jumbo Stay design and lanyards with the same design. The desk clerk thoughtfully gave me some postcards for my kids as well.

Takeaway

The Jumbo Stay 747 Hotel was a fantastic stay! The cockpit suite was just incredible. I really have nothing bad to say about any aspect of the hotel or the stay. If you are flying into Arlanda at some point and you want a one-of-a-kind stay, you have to stay at the Jumbo Stay Hotel. It will be a memory for sure!