A room with a view


Most folks want oceans, mountains, lakes or other beautiful nature when looking out of their hotel rooms. I like that stuff, too, but if I’m staying at the airport hotel I’m hoping for a room with decent views of the runways. At an airport like Los Angeles International, where the airplanes coming and going are more varied that desire is even stronger. I love that I got to watch a Yangtze River Express 747 freighter land this morning as the sun was coming up and that I got to watch the sun disappear into the sea just off the end of the runways last night as planes came and went. Besides, the LAX runways have mountains (ok, hills) and ocean surrounding them so everyone wins.


A Southwest 737 prepares for takeoff with a Virgin America Airbus right behind.


A Southwest B737 just off the ground with an Air China B747, Air France B777 and Alaska Air B737 in the foreground


A B747 freighter arriving from China


Look up a bit from the horizon and you cannot even tell it is an airport.

Yeah, it may not be for everyone, but this is a room with a view that is pretty much perfect for my somewhat “different” outlook on the world. For those curious, room 1438 at the Sheraton Gateway LAX.

Never miss another post: Sign up for email alerts and get only the content you want direct to your inbox.


Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

4 Comments

  1. Nice pictures. What kind of camera are you using?

    Incidentally I am reading this post while I am ‘stuck’ at LAX. Could be worse given the plane watching opportunities. Not only did I see my first in-service A380 — no, Qantas had TWO of them here tonight. And three 747s.

    Now if T-Mobile could keep the WiFi going for more than 10 minutes at a time, I’d be content sitting here for a while.

  2. The Hilton LAX is situated great too, because the premium suites in the top floor have great views of the incoming flights on approach to the runways on either side of the hotel.

Comments are closed.