Space Age Accomodations in London

There is a Yotel at the London airport. A Yotel is a hotel with very small rooms that can be rented for as little as 4 hours. Unlike most hourly rate hotel rooms, these are quite respectable.

When I say the rooms are small, I mean they are small. As you can see in the pic, Chris is in a little cubby. Below him is the bed for the next room (which, of course, we could not see). In front of him on the wall is a flat screen t.v. which he is sleepily trying to work the remote for.

Next to the sleep cubby is a narrow passageway just big enough for a couple bags and for getting in and out the door. Next to that is another narrow hall that serves as the bathroom, with a shower on one end, a toilet on the other, and a sink in the middle. The whole thing is cordoned off by a shower curtain.

The lighting in the photo is the normal lighting for the hotel. The entire thing is done in soft neon. The hallways look like something out of Star Trek. You check in on a machine, but there is one staff person there to help you if you are a moron or just very, very tired travellers. I'm going to say I was in the latter category.

Since we arrived at Heathrow too early to check into our hotel, we were able to use the Yotel to catch an extra hours sleep and to take quick showers. It was a lifesaver for me and worth every penny of the $60 or so we paid for 4 hours. I think it probably helped Chris a little too, although he didn't sleep much on the flight over - or the night before - so he was a zombie by the time it hit about 7:00 p.m.

So that was the beginning of our trip to London.