Middle East - schedule change - now have 17 hours instead of 5 in Amman -visa? and options?

Hi
Due to schedule change I now find myself landing at AMMAN approx 3am and leaving the same day at 8pm- and am coming in on Malev on a separate ticket to the one i'm leaving on with RJ
I had planned on spending the 5 hours in the RJ Lounge but that is not now an option !
SO do I need to now get a visa on arrival or a transit visa? Is there any difference ?
And what is my best course of action - I would like to sleep I think for a while - though don't like the thought of paying for a hotel from 4am until noon or whenever their check-out time might be
Is the Golden Tulip at the airport as bad as many seem to think?
Would I be better off going into the City and spending some time exploring?
All advice most gratefully received
Thanks!

I don't think there's such a thing as a transit visa -- you would just buy a normal entry visa, which cost JOD 10 (about USD 14) last time I was there a year ago, but someone reported that it is now JOD 20.

There are many reviews of Amman here, and you will see that there is not much to do, particularly at 3:00am. However, staying at the airport would be horrible, so you don't have much option. You could take a taxi into the city and stay at a better hotel (e.g., the Holiday Inn if you don't want to spend five-star money) until noon, then leave your luggage there and explore for a couple of hours before returning to the airport. That's what I would do in your situation. Note also that it will be very cold and possibly snowing if you're going soon.

If you like cars, the Royal Automobile Museum is worth going to. The next best thing to do is eat, so find a shami restaurant and fill up.

or head the other way - go to the Marriott Dead Sea resort and spend the afternoon in the hotel spa

Depending on what passport you have you may qualify for a visa on arrival. If you do, getting the visa is a simple process but you will need local currency, JOD 20 per person. Amman is far from the airport and offers very little in the way of tourist sights - I would not bother going to Amman, there are more interesting places in Jordan to visit.