Boeing 747 Airplane Hotel in Costa Rica

What can you do with an old Boeing 727? You can sent it to a junkyard or you can rebuild it, refurbish and turn it into a hotel, like the Costa Verde Hotel in Costa Rica.

The airplane in question, a 1965 model, spent decades flying as part of the South African Airways, and later Columbia’s Avianca Airlines, fleet. When it was time for the plane to be retired a group of investors bought it and flew it to San Jose. From there the plane was divided to five sections so that trucks could transport it 150 kilometers (90 miles) to it’s current location on the grounds of the Costa Verde Hotel.

The plane turned hotel, perched up on a tree offers an unusual sight for visitors. On the outside of the plane there are wooden decks above each wing with hand-carved teak furniture. From these perches visitors can spot toucans, monkeys, butterflies and sloths, to say nothing of the crash-bang sunsets over the ocean.

Inside, nearly the entire plane has been gutted and paneled with locally-sourced wood—if it weren’t for the curvature of the walls and the shapes of the windows you’d never know you were inside a plane. The entire plane is rented out as a suite that includes a kitchenette-dining foyer, a lounging area with flatscreen TV and two air-conditioned en-suite bedrooms. Rates for the 727 suite are sky-high  - $300/night in the low season, $350 in high.