Jumbo Stay 747 Hotel – Stockholm, Sweden Arlanda Airport

In October 2014, I spent a few days in Stockholm, Sweden. On the way from the airport to the city, I took the photo above of the hotel I’d heard about that was built inside an old 747 jumbo jet. Although I didn’t stay there on that trip, Jumbo Stay Hotel would be the perfect place to spend the night prior to an early flight departure.

Here are photos and other information about this unique hotel. It is a chance to enjoy a night on a 747 if you ever visit Stockholm. Having a lie-flat experience is guaranteed.

Jumbo Stay Hotel

Jumbo Stay converted the decommissioned Boeing 747-212B airframe of an aircraft that was originally built in 1976 for Singapore Airlines. The plane’s last air operator was a Swedish charter airline, Transjet, based at Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN), that went bankrupt in 2002.

Jumbo Stay managed to fill the jet with 33 rooms and suites, a cafe and a lounge. Most rooms are dorms with four beds each. The hostel offers a total of 76 beds. Typical rooms occupy an area of about six square meters.

All rooms have a flat screen TV. Free WiFi is available throughout the flight, I mean hotel. All rooms have access to private but shared showers and toilets, except the Cockpit suite, the Black Box suite and one single room which have an ensuite shower and toilet.

You can even book a room in a converted engine nacelle.

The hotel has a cafe that provides breakfast service as well as snacks, and warm meals throughout the day.

Non guests are welcome to use the cafe and have a look around inside the airplane. The cafe has a full bar.

Another cool feature is the observation deck built on one of the massive wings.

Room rates start at about $50/night for a bed in a four-bed dorm and top out at $200/night for a suite. That is reasonable for the area considering the convenience and experience. Towels, bed linen and cleaning are included in room rates.

I wish I had booked a night here, but I was being loyal to Starwood Hotels and my Platinum status and stayed at the Stockholm Sheraton Hotel in downtown Stockholm. It is a wonderful hotel with a very nice executive lounge and views of some of the waterways of the Stockholm Archipelago. That week happened to be the host hotel for the 2014 ATP Stockholm Open. The hotel pulled a surprise when it invited me to its suite to watch the singles and doubles finals. Tomáš Berdych defeated Grigor Dimitrov in three sets to win the singles trophy.

Final Thoughts

Airlines have turned away from four-engine jumbo jets in favor of more efficient two-engine models and are phasing them out of their fleets. The pandemic has only accelerated the demise of those venerable aircraft. I expect that in the coming months a few of these birds will be converted to hotels at several airports around the globe.

As a huge fan of The Queen of the Skies, the opportunity to spend the night in a hotel in a converted 747 is a bucket-list item I won’t pass up next time. How about you? Would you spend the night in an airport jumbo jet hotel? Or maybe just arrive early for a flight and take the shuttle bus from the terminal for a tour of the facilities including a walk on one of the wings.

Update: Rei89 very recently stayed at this hotel reports several problems staying including gaining access to the room and no food or other service. See the comments, below. Jumbo Stay’s website acknowledges currently reduced staffing due to the pandemic.

All uncredited photos except the first and last are by Jumbo Stay.