I’ve stayed in, or at least visited, some unusual aviation-themed hotels and restaurants over the years, but somehow this one escaped my radar: a new hotel in Malaysia has transformed not one, but two historic Boeing 747s into luxury hotel suites.
You Can Now Sleep Inside Two Boeing 747s At This New Hotel In Malaysia
I stumbled across a video of the 1975 Avenue & Hotel in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and initially thought it was another one of those ambitious aviation projects that had been announced but never actually opened or perhaps just AI.
After all, two old Boeing 747s have been sitting on this property for years. But no…this appears to be real, open, and bookable, even though the images (bel0w) still seem fairly CGI to me. And I very much want to stay here!
Two Boeing 747s Have Been Turned Into 18 Hotel Suites
1975 Avenue & Hotel is located in Kempas, Johor Bahru, about 20 minutes by car from Senai International Airport and within easy reach of Singapore.
The centerpiece is impossible to miss: two Boeing 747s sitting beside one another above a resort complex.
The hotel calls the aircraft Bove and Bey, with the pair containing 18 hotel suites, apparently nine in each aircraft.
The development also includes 20 more conventional rooms in an adjacent hotel building, for a total of 38 rooms.
But let’s be honest…if I’m coming all the way to Johor Bahru for this hotel, I’m sleeping in the 747.
The aircraft accommodations come in several categories:
- Premium Suite
- Business Suite
- Captain Suite
- Signature Suite
Each suite has been designed around a different country, with themes including Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and others.
Some of the rooms are quite elaborate. The Premium Suite, for example, spans two levels and includes a bedroom, separate living space, freestanding bathtub, rain shower, and all the usual hotel amenities.
(This is clearly not a case of putting a mattress inside an old fuselage, like at the old 747 hostel in Stockholm, and calling it a hotel.)
There is also a man-made beach, swimming pools, spa, sauna, gym, restaurants, event space, and other leisure facilities spread across the 14.9-acre development.
Some pictures:
Yes, It Appears To Be Open And Bookable
The hotel’s official website is now live, advertising accommodation in both Bove and Bey and offering “Book Now” links.
More convincingly, hotel booking sites are now listing actual aircraft rooms including Premium, Business, Captain, and Signature Suites.
There are even recent guest reviews. One guest who stayed in August described the property as a small hotel with “2x Boeing 747 cargo planes converted into suites” and specifically praised the opportunity to experience a first class-style suite aboard an airplane.
So unless there is some strange disconnect between the booking engines and the hotel itself (which I do not rule out), this place is now operating. Published rates earlier this year suggested roughly RM1,500 to RM3,000 per night for the aircraft suites, depending on category.
These 747s Have Some Fascinating History
The hotel becomes even more interesting when you look at the history of the two airplanes.
One is a Boeing 747SR-146B, formerly registered JA8143 with Japan Airlines.
The 747SR was a special short-range, high-capacity version of the 747 developed largely for the Japanese domestic market. This particular aircraft was delivered to JAL in 1980 and reportedly carried as many as 533 passengers in service.
After leaving JAL in 1998, it passed through several owners before eventually ending up stored at Johor Bahru’s Senai Airport. It was later dismantled and moved to the hotel site in 2019.
The other aircraft has an even more colorful history. It is a Boeing 747-121 built in 1970, registration N743PA, for Pan Am, one of the very early 747s. It also briefly flew for American Airlines under a lease from Pan Am before returning to Pan Am, where it carried names including Clipper Derby and Clipper Black Sea.
The aircraft was converted to a freighter in 1992, later operated for Tower Air and Logistic Air, and ultimately ended up in Malaysia as S2-AFA.
Both aircraft are now preserved in Johor Bahru as part of this rather incredible hotel project.
For aviation geeks, that history makes the property far more appealing: these airplanes actually flew!
This Project Was A Long Time In The Making
If you’ve seen pictures of two seemingly abandoned 747s sitting in Johor Bahru over the years, these are apparently the airplanes. The project has been discussed for a very long time. A 1975 Avenue brochure from 2022 already laid out plans for two 747s, hotel rooms, restaurants, an observation lounge, swimming pools, and even the ability to walk on the aircraft wings.
At that point, though, the project still seemed largely aspirational. Four years later, the pictures look very different.
There are beautifully finished interiors inside the airplanes, pools surrounding them, and actual guests apparently sleeping onboard. I’m really impressed…and again, I hope I’m not being hoodwinked by all of this.
CONCLUSION
The 1975 Avenue & Hotel in Johor Bahru has transformed two classic Boeing 747s into 18 luxury hotel suites, and after years of development, the property finally appears to be open and accepting guests. One aircraft once flew hundreds of passengers around Japan for JAL. The other dates to 1970 and flew for Pan Am and even briefly for American Airlines.
Now you can sleep inside them.
I’ve never had Johor Bahru particularly high on my travel list, but suddenly I have a reason to go…
images: 1975 Avenue & Hotel
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