Hours of boredom, cramped seating and stale sandwiches—layovers are well known to be anything but fun.
In addition, according to Rick Perdue, head of the department of hospitality and tourism management at Virginia Tech, layovers have gotten significantly longer because airlines fly bigger planes and have reduced the number of flights.
Here's the good news: In response to this woeful trend, a handful of well-managed airports around the world are taking their services and amenities up a serious notch.
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Perdue points to advances in security processing such as the Global Entry program, which makes it much easier to navigate security without the need to take off your coat, remove your computer from its sleeve or slip off your shoes. Other improvements include shopping areas packed with haute boutiques (C'est la vie, standard duty free), hotels located within the security zone and varied, high-quality restaurant options, especially abroad.
But for Perdue, the one amenity that really matters is far less tangible: silence. Or at least something in the ballpark of peace and quiet. Many European and Asian hubs—such as Singapore's Changi International Airport and Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea—do an especially good job of reducing ambient noise, which contributes to stress and can permeate even the most exclusive clubs.
Changi, for example, has movie theaters, a butterfly garden, a 40-foot slide, a rooftop pool and other fun distractions, but also provides designated quiet zones where public announcements aren't piped in. To make sure you don't miss your flight, you can sign up for cell phone calls with airline updates.
Closer to home, San Francisco International Airport receives accolades for well-rounded offerings such as a SFMOMA Museum Store, a distinguished airport museum, a branch of the city's Steinhart Aquarium and seasonally sourced local grub (be sure to order a glass of California Cabernet at Vino Volo in Terminal 2).
Dubai International Airport ups the ante with the kind of unapologetic extravagance the city is known for, this time in the form of the world's largest duty-free shop at 58,000 square feet, open-air gardens and shopping stands where you can purchase actual gold bars. (No, there's no chocolate inside.)
Outrageous design elements like these certainly grab headlines, but at the end of the day—or the wee hours of the morning, depending on your layover—the formula that matters is simple, explains road warrior and India-born travel agent Pallavi Shah of Our Personal Guest: “Easy connections, Wi-Fi that works, great meal options, clean carpets that don't make a mockery of your wheeled luggage, comfortable seating and hotel rooms deliver the best layover experience. A lounge attendant who will actually make sure you don't sleep through your flight call? That's a rare but special touch.”
London Heathrow
Created with business travelers in mind, Terminal 5's Heathrow Boutique offers complimentary personal shoppers to help plan your travel wardrobe or select a gift. Thomas Pink, for example, will iron your new suit and put it in a flight-ready package.
The terminal also houses an 11,000-square-foot Harrods and, for the culture-minded, a gallery showcasing sculptures by emerging British artists.
Of the 105 restaurants, we recommend making advance reservations at Gordon Ramsay's sleek Plane Food to relax with a pint while watching busy chefs whip up roasted cod with herb gnocchi and wild mushrooms in the glass-enclosed kitchen. Year 2014 will bring in even more ways to kill time:
The Queen's Terminal (2) debuts next June with 52 shops and 17 restaurants.
Tip: If you've got to spend the night, check into the Sofitel London Heathrow (from $147). It's connected to T5 via a walkway and has a spa, 24/7 fitness center and 45 meeting rooms. heathrowairport.com
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
With nearly 100 years in the same location—it's the only airport able to make that claim—this one-terminal hub has a long record of pleasing passengers.
It's got the world's only museum to be annexed in an airport, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (free), which showcases paintings by Dutch masters such as Jan Steen and Ferdinand Bol. You can also settle into an armchair at the world's first airport library, stocked with print and e-tomes available in 29 languages.
Business travelers appreciate the free Wi-Fi, multiple spas (where you can opt to have Garra rufa fish nibble on your feet) and showers at Departure Lounge 3's Mercure hotel. Unwind with a glass of champagne at Bubbles Seafood & Wine Bar (Departure Lounge 1), or get some peace and quiet at the totally device-free Silence Centre.
Tip: A five-star Hilton Hotel will open here in 2015; in the meantime, stay at the Sheraton, which can be accessed via the airport's arrival and departure halls. schiphol.nl
Munich International Airport
Whether you're spending time in Germany or simply passing through its Bavarian capital, you can sample some of the country's best brews at Airbräu.
The airport's traditional tavern houses a beer garden shaded by chestnut trees (open October–May) and an onsite brewery and has live music.
Other options: Stretch your legs in the über-modern Terminal 2, take a nap in the hub's individual sleeping pods equipped with iPhone and USB ports (T2 levels 4 and 5; about $20 per hour), or, if your itinerary includes an overnight, check into the Kempinski Hotel Airport, which is one minute from Terminal 2 and a five-minute walk from Terminal 1. Here, execs en route can take advantage of offices and meeting rooms at the Municon Conference Center and a comfortable VIP wing. To make things smoother for the up to 11 million more passengers a year, the airport will open an $862 million satellite location, Terminal 2, in 2015.
Tip: If you've got a three-hour-plus layover, consider taking a 20-minute taxi ride to the renowned Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan for a pint, bratwurst and views over the quaint town of Freising. munich-airport.de
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