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Are Yotels Really Convenient or Simply Too Small?

Where: Gatwick Airport South Terminal, West Sussex, United Kingdom

Gatwick Airport's Yotel has been open for business for a few weeks now, so we're curious about how this sushi-spin-off capsule hotel is working out. And so far, the response is mixed.

From the first day, the Gatwick Yotel started getting spontaneous bookings from passengers stranded by flight cancellations, as well as a steady stream of guests wanting to spend a few hours there before checking in for an early morning flight (and thus getting ahead in the queues at the security checks). And for anyone crashing for just a few hours, the Yotel capsule seems to have been perfectly acceptable.

But for anyone expecting a bit of comfort, the jury's still out on that. A UK Times reviwer--who, it must be pointed out, is well over 6 feet tall, and perhaps even a touch claustrophobic--didn't exactly rave about his overnight experience at the Yotel. Booking into a standard cabin, he was unhappy when he sat at the table to use his laptop and then discovered the only place left for his luggage was in the shower. He also complained that the airconditioning was ineffective, and the room service menu was unavailable. Perhaps these are only teething problems, but it's a bit of a dampener on the long-awaited Yotel experience.

By the way, still no word on Yotel Heathrow: there was talk before of it opening this summer--any updates out there on this?

Related Stories:
· Yotel coverage [HotelChatter]
· Eventful Opening for Capsule Hotel at London Airport [NY Times]
· Yotel, Gatwick South Terminal [UK Times]