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created over 3 years ago | Tagged: |
Sassy
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For high-fliers who want to keep their feet firmly on the ground
If you have a hankering to join the mile-high club but you're frightened of flying, Holland's brand new Honecker Hotel could be just the ticket.
A vintage four-engine plane that's been converted into a luxurious five-star hotel, it boasts a whirlpool, sauna, bar, kitchen, flat-screen televisions, wireless Internet - and it doesn't even leave the ground.
Instead, the 1960s jet is perched on the edge of the runway at Teuge airport, just east of Amsterdam, so visitors can watch other planes take off and land while remaining on terra firme.
The brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Ben Thijssen, the hotel is a converted Ilyushin 18 - one of the Soviet Union's most popular and widely-used airliners - and was a government aircraft for East German officials during its previous life.
Used to ferry former East German officials like Erich Honecker through the Cold War period, it travelled to Cuba, Russia, China and Vietnam before being retired in 1988.
Its 40-metre long suite costs €350 (£301) a night for two people, and can host as many as 15 for a conference meeting.
