Across the globe, there are a select club of airport hotels that go above and beyond to cater to the aviation enthusiast. Some have incredible volumes of action, some have incredible views and some have both. Today, I'll be taking a look at what I believe are the 5 coolest airport hotels in the world. I'll be going through this list in ascending order, ending with what I believe is the best one overall. 

5. Thistle London Heathrow Terminal 5 Hotel

This is one I had never heard about until my recent trip to London, and after seeing what is possible there, I had to put it on the list. They have an outdoor viewing deck that is perfectly positioned to see runway 9L, and if you get out early in the morning, the volume of heavies is unmatched. 

In 3 hours on the deck, about 80% of arriving traffic (at a rate of 1 plane every 2 minutes) were widebodies. Their rates are also pretty decent compared to the other known LHR spotting hotel, the Renaissance.