Summary
Chicago O’Hare International Airport is the busiest airport in the world by aircraft movements, with over 850,000 takeoffs and landings during 2025.
Therefore as an aviation enthusiast, it makes an excellent choice for spotting if you want to put sheer numbers of aircraft in your logbook or database.
Sadly, O’Hare does not have many great plane spotting locations. However, the Hilton Hotel located at the heart of the terminal complex more than makes up for this with excellent views across the airfield from many of its rooms.
We recently spent a couple of nights here.
Chicago O’Hare Hilton
The Hilton Hotel at Chicago O’Hare is located outside terminals 1, 2 and 3 in the central complex.
It is a 10-storey building with easy access via road and the Airport Transit System monorail which links the terminals, car parks and rental car facility.
This is a regular Hilton hotel (not a Hampton or DoubleTree), and as such offers the best quality the brand offers. However, as a result this makes it among the more expensive options.
Our two recent stays in mid-summer cost over $200 per night.
Airport Views
The hotel has excellent views of the action at Chicago O’Hare from many rooms.
For the best results, you’ll need a room on floors 8, 9 or 10. Floor 10 is usually reserved for Hilton Honors Gold Members, but is best for views and photography.
Rooms either face the southern or northern portions of the airport.
The southern area covers terminals 1, 2 and 3, the southern runways and cargo areas. It is generally busier, with more views of gates.
Views of the northern area
The northern area covers the maintenance areas, northern runways, executive parking and northern cargo area. Very few terminal gates are visible, however, parts of Terminal 5 are visible.
Most airliner movements seen in the northern portion of the airfield will typically be visible in the southern portion at some point, so we’d recommend choosing that side (even-numbered rooms).
If you do choose a south-facing room, you can always visit the windows at the ends of the corridors, as well as the windows next to the ice machines, for views of the northern area.
Spotting and Photography
Seeing aircraft registrations is easy with binoculars from the rooms, and many aircraft will be quite close as they head to and from their gates or runways.
Photography is also possible but, as with many hotels, windows are double-glazed which can affect the sharpness of photographs depending on the angle you use.
Our visit during the summer also posed a problem with heat haze on longer-distance photographs.
We used a 300mm zoom lens, which was enough for most shots.
Rooms and Amenities
The rooms at the Chicago O’Hare Hilton are modern and comfortable, with decent beds, bathrooms, and sitting areas by the windows.
There are plenty of charging points for both standard plugs and USB chargers. WiFi is available for guests.
As mentioned, this is not the cheapest hotel, and this is also reflected in the cost of food options. The restaurant and room-service options were plentiful, but came at a cost.
If you’d prefer something cheaper, there is a shop next to reception which sells snacks and drinks at more affordable costs.
Chicago skyline and Terminal 5 from the ice machine lobbies.
Overall this was a great hotel to try out and offered fantastic views of the action from the room.
Whilst O’Hare is extremely busy, movements were dominated by American Airlines and United Airlines aircraft, which can become repetitive after a day. So it’s not a hotel you would want to spend too many nights at if you want variation.
Chicago O’Hare Hilton
[Website]
World Airport Spotting Guides
For more tips on plane spotting and spotting hotels at Chicago O’Hare and over 400 other worldwide airports, try our guide book World Airport Spotting Guides.
It features maps, tips on the best plane spotting and photography location and details on what you’ll see at these airports.
