A Futuristic Hotel Revolution Has Started with Yotel

Are you the kind of person who books a flight then spends hours wondering whether it’s worth booking a hotel room the night before in order to make your life that little bit easier on the day of departure?

Do you sift through website after website looking for a great deal to justify the often short overnight stay just so that you are close by and ready to catch that early flight the next morning?

Well, what if we told you there was a company that not only lets you book a room by the hour (but not a dodgy way), has design and innovation at the heart of its brand, and has accommodation right inside the airport terminal itself.

Sounds perfect right?

Introducing the Future of Airport Hotels With YotelAir

When a hotel advertises itself online you already have some idea on what you are going to see. A hotel room after all usually consists of the same components, so when we saw Yotelair online it intrigued us.

Would we feel claustrophobic? Would we be getting our moneys worth? Was it more gimmick than comfort?

The fact that there is no natural light and you are actually sleeping underneath the south terminal concourse at Gatwick Airport  may be enough to turn some people off, but for us, this added another dimension to the “airport experience”, something new, something different.

 Yotelair Gatwick

Whilst many other hotels located within the vicinity of the airport are instantly noticeable because of their typical high-rise construction Yotelair Gatwick, created by Yotel, is somewhat different.

Heading into South terminal we were slightly concerned. Would we find it?

After-all airports are hectic places and a little sign is easy to miss.  However our fears were quickly dismissed. Following the directions that were sent with our confirmation we headed for Costa Coffee, and within seconds of turning the corner, there emblazoned in purple and silver hung a large sign big enough for all to see.

Simply follow the sign, head down to the first floor in the elevator and the hotel appears in front of you, In fact I would go as far to say it was one of the easiest hotels to find and we have stayed in our fair share.

Wandering out of the elevator we arrived at mission control’s reception desk, yes, that’s right, mission control where two gentlemen gave us a warm and friendly welcome with the offer of a free warm drink whilst we checked in.

For me this is a big bonus, mini bar prices are usually pretty expensive and although I am in the holiday spirit i am still frugal when it comes to paying for drinks in your room. So knowing that all hot drinks and water come included in the price added to the appeal of our booking.

What Is It Really Like To Stay In A Yotelair Premium Cabin?

OK, so maybe the biggest downside is that there is no natural light but in all honesty we really didn’t notice and for the amount of time we were staying I don’t think it is a big issue.  Instead you have several different levels of lighting,depending on your requirements, plus there is a large window that, from your cabin, looks out into the corridor so the room feels a little bigger than it actually is.

The most striking thing is the purple lighting inside the hotel and the room when you first arrive. We thought it looked very stylish and gave the place a very futuristic look and feel.

Once inside the room, the quirkiness continues.

Considering that any normal hotel room would be around 30 sqft, our premium cabin measured in at a modest 20 sqft, but as many people keep reminding me, ‘big things come in small packages’ and initial impressions are, on occasion, deceptive.

A Small Space With a Big Heart

As you gaze through the large rectangular window you can see the smart bed set to its seating position (yes, smart bed!) and the desk and chair folded neatly away beneath the TV.

Storage was another pleasant surprise, there’s lots of it! We found more than enough room for our checked baggage and carry on bags plus there was still plenty of space for hanging clothes.

The large TV is located directly opposite the bed as you’d normally find in other hotel rooms offering a large selection of channels to choose from, plus free high speed internet comes as standard.

Finally, and this was the selling point for me,  each room comes with a fully functional en-suite with rain head shower.

How Good Is The Design?

Space may be at a premium but with clever design features incorporated into the layout nothing has been forgotten.

The cabin is just as comfortable as a regular hotel room, but with an ace up its sleeve; ‘the smart bed’. This is a very clever piece of engineering that allows for more space when you need it – perhaps you need to get that latest article written at the fold-away desk or prefer to relax watching your favourite TV show sitting in an upright position.

The bed has two uses, firstly when you arrive the bed is set to it’s seating position akin to a large futon, providing you with more floor space, whilst the second is the bed position. The mattress itself was nice and thick plus extremely comfortable, considering it has two functions, which made for a great nights sleep. To change between the two settings there is a panel to the side of the bed; this panel also controls the lighting inside the room. With a simple press of a button, the bed changes from it’s seating to its bed position in less than a minute, and when you combine that with the different lighting settings, from reading with the overhead strip light to the illuminated purple mood glow, then you feel like you should be in an episode of Star Trek.

The All Important Bathroom Features

I am a sucker for a nice bathroom, it is something I believe can make or break a hotel room, although when considering the size of the cabin I knew a bath wouldn’t fit.  However, Yotel if you’re reading this, if you ever design a room where the bath pops out of somewhere then please let us know.

Realistically a bath is what usually makes a place stand out for me but on this occasion curiosity got the better of me. It was the one thing that, until I saw it for myself, I just couldn’t believe that, on top of the bedroom area, a fully functional en-suite could fit into such a compact space.

Would We Book A Yotel Room Again In The Future?

The short answer is yes.

The whole Hotel experience was something a little different, something new.  A fresh idea in the world of bland and boring hotel rooms.

Yotel and YotelAir are truly forward-thinking when it comes to hotel design and small spaces.

We loved the concept and the styling at Yotelair Gatwick, design is definitely at the heart of this company and with more hotels opening in Boston and Singapore this year we will definitely look at staying with Yotel in the future.

Have you stayed at a YotelAir Hotel before?  Is it a hotel you would consider staying in?

Have you stayed in a Yotel City Hotel?  We would love to hear about your experience.

We would like to thank all at YotelAir Gatwick for a great stay.  We did receive a complimentary stay but as always all thoughts and opinions are our own.