Airport Hotels Get Swanky

...and it's about time! Airports around the world are seeing the debut of sexy luxury hotels. From the cutting-edge Radisson SAS in Zurich Airport's Terminal 1 to the stylish, "cheap-and-chic" Aloft hotels in North America, these new offerings at international airports are actually giving city-center hotels a run for the money. These are-- to quote the recent article in the New York Times-- "airport hotels that invite lingering." You can find personalized iPods at Singapore's Crowne Plaza, but perhaps the finest of the bunch is the new Sofitel at Heathrow:

Sofitel's six-month old, 607-room Heathrow property cost a cool $400 million to build — and looks it — with interior design by Khuan Chew (also responsible for Dubai's ultra-luxe Burj-al-Arab hotel) and bathrooms fitted with Swarovski crystal fixtures... (It) includes a brasserie by the Michelin-starred chef Albert Roux and a spa with five treatment rooms.

Image Via PeterGreenberg.com