Adventures With Airport Sleeping Pods: YOTEL Paris

I've been obsessed with cozy airport sleeping pods for years. I finally got my chance to try one when I stayed at YOTEL Paris. Here's what I wish I had known in before my trip.

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I'm in! Airport sleeping pods are smaller than you might expect. Here I am at YOTEL Paris, checking things out.

For as long as I can remember, I've had one very specific, very peculiar thing on my travel bucket list: To sleep in airport sleeping pods. I bet you've heard about them before. They're teeny-tiny hotel rooms designed to offer airport based travellers a place to sleep - if only for an hour or two. Some are so tiny they really do resemble a pod, or perhaps a bunk bed-turned-bunker. They're not unlike the berths you find on overnight trains, albeit with solid walls, a door you can lock, and an external ladder that leads you to your perch. Other airport sleeping pods are a bit more generous. They're like micro-rooms, offering ensuite washrooms and a few feet of floor space. In every case, they're adorably, maddeningly tiny and cute and I'm just obsessed with the concept. They're cozy, in every sense of the word.

Maybe it has something to do with all those bargain basement overnight flights I've taken throughout the years which have been me walking around terminals like a little zombie. I've just always wanted to stay in a pod and, on a recent trip to France, I finally got my opportunity. After flying overnight into Paris, I had a suitably long layover before I had to board my plane to Bordeaux. My moment had come!

Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport is home to a branch of YOTEL, a UK based hotel chain that has airport sleeping pods around the world, as well as micro-hotels in cities like New York. After so many years of anticipation, I finally had my moment - and I learned a whole lot during the process. This post is a little bit of a review of the Paris YOTEL, but more generally it's about what I wish I had known before booking any airport accommodations. I hope it helps you have sweet dreams!

Expect LONG walks

It was a long, hot walk!

Your pod hotel will likely be advertised as being conveniently located "just" next too, well, wherever it is you need to be. You'll get the impression that you'll disembark from your aircraft and be in your bed in just a few minutes. The reality is that long walks and possibly a train, are ahead of you. 

In large international airports, certain gates or terminal sections require transfer via bus or monorail or train. There are lengthy walks from the aircraft to the main part of the terminal. And when you're finally in the right area, you have to hike past all the shops and attractions and head down long, quiet hallways past administrative offices. In truth, it makes sense. Hotels need to be in quiet sections of the airport and they take up a lot of space. But when you're counting down the minutes 'till you flop in a bed, it can be tiring!

(Side note: It wasn't a pod hotel, so not strictly part of this post but it took us close to 90 minutes to get from our gate to the airport hotel in Dubai. I was crying by the time we were done. Our journey took us to near-abandoned gates where we had to wait 30 minutes for an inter-airport train and past moving sidewalks that had posts in front of them to ban anyone from using them with a luggage trolly. We opted to stay in the airport thinking it would save us time and aggravation but in truth we could have cleared customs, gone downtown, and checked into a fancy hotel in less time! Okay, rant over. You know what you did, Dubai.)

It feels weird to go against the grain

You know the drill. You land somewhere, anywhere, and no matter what time it is there or at home, you feel like the walking dead. Sure, there are signs everywhere but everyone is really just following everyone else. You just keep marching until you reach some distinctive fork in the road and half of you go on to customs and exit the airport and the other half head on to transferring flights.

But then there's you, going against the grain, following the signs for the pod hotel. It felt SO WEIRD to be actively choosing a different path. Like, almost as if I was trying to sneak away even though everything I was doing was absolutely legit. 

Helpful signs were everywhere 

I'm sure it varies by airport but I was impressed by how many signs there were for the YOTEL in Paris. Even when signs for other basic services were missing, the hotel's information was visible at all critical junctures. I like this kind of reassurance!

Photos can be misleading

I'm standing in the only floor space available to take a photo of the room - beneath the TV is a tray that flips down into a desk of sorts.

Everyone wants to put their best foot forward and hotels are not different. After arriving at my YOTEL in Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport, I realized that my petit hotel room was even smaller than I had anticipated. Piecing things together, I determine that a lot of their online photos featured the hotel's wheelchair accessible room (which has a lot more floorspace) or were taken with a wide angle lens. 

As a lover of tiny rooms, this didn't bother me too much but if you're someone who leans towards claustrophobia and you're using online photos to assess just how much space you'll have, know that the actual rooms are much tinier than they appear.

So can prices!

A lot of airport pod hotels advertise themselves as starting from just X dollars an hour, perfect if you want to spend the night or just rest a bit between flights. But there is a minimum number of hours you must pay for (in most cases, four). In my case, that meant I paid 75 Euros for four hours of room time, even though I only ended up spending two hours in the room. I thought it would be closer to three but after my long hike to get there, I wanted to give myself ample time to make the return trip and pivot over to the domestic terminal. 

​Still, I think it was worth it. 

Shameless request: This is my booking link for the YOTEL Paris. If you use it, you'll support the blog!

A cool, quiet room was GLORIOUS

Me. On the plane to Paris. Boiling hot. Haven't even left the ground and I've already ditched my sweater.

You know what's the worst piece of travel advice? It's the one that goes on about how you should bring a shawl or scarf on the airplane because you'll always be cold. I can count the number of times I've been cold on a plane on one hand. I am always, always, always warm. I used to think my sweaty travel nature was thanks to shlepping a backpack through the terminals but now that I'm using a rolling bag, turns out that it's just me.

Nice.

So after a warm airplane and a heat-generating hike through the terminal and probably a bit of anxiety around whether or not I'd get to the right place, I was warm. And sweaty. And my clothing was kind damp. To suddenly stop moving and be in a space, albeit tiny, which was entirely my own, was nothing short of glorious. It felt incredible to change out of my clothing (throw-away packing for the win!) and pull on my sleep shirt (craftily placed in my suitcase's external pocket). 

I also hadn't realize how casino-like an airport is until I was suddenly in a very un-airport-like space. I was suddenly free of all noise, all blinding lights, smells, advertising, everything. I've heard people describe airport lounges as being peaceful oasis but in my opinion, after being in a pod hotel, there's no comparison.

... However, it wasn't really luxurious

The vinyl wrapped bed frame was chipped and flaking (and could use a scrub).

Grout with yucky black marks between the shower floor pan and the wall.

I've noticed that there is a tendency for pod hotels to market themselves in such a way that implies that, while they may be short on space, they are long on luxury. Yeah, that wasn't the case in Paris. Everything was clean and comfortable and well organized but a YOTEL is essentially a budget hotel. The towels aren't the fluffiest, there was peeling vinyl on the bed frame, and the bathroom featured lukewarm water and grout that had seen better days.

You know that feeling when you walk into an otherwise perfectly acceptable hotel room that's showing its age and you shrug and say that it's fine. That's what I felt at this particular YOTEL. And that's okay, because I was paying for clean and safe and private and comfortable and that's exactly what I got. But the heart always yearns for fancy....

I had to assemble my bed (kind of)

In the Paris YOTEL, the beds double as sofas. After all, not everyone wants to sleep in their pod room. They might just want a quiet place to read, work, and watch TV. It's a plus, really. But my bed was in the sofa position when I entered the room. Um, how exactly was I going to make it a bed? Remember, I'm all but a zombie after my overnight flight!

I instantly thought about old-fashioned living room sofa beds that were notoriously hard to assemble or train berths that my friends couldn't figure out how to flatten into bunks despite hours of effort. Ugh! Thankfully, there was a button on the side of the sofa/bed that you simply had to push for the whole unit to flatten down into a bed. Easy-peasy. But I wish it had of been pre-set as a bed when I arrived. A tired mind is not a sharp mind.

In addition to the adjustable bed, rooms come with a fold-down tray to use as a desk, a TV, plenty of plugs, free Wi-Fi, reading lights, all your bedding, linens, and towels, bathroom toiletries, and there is space under the bed where you can slide your carry-on sized suitcases.

I didn't really sleep (and that's okay)

God love those of you who can see a bed and fall asleep five minutes later. Even though I was in the perfect sleep environment and it was 2:00 AM according to my internal clock, I didn't really sleep. It wasn't the fault of the room. I think I was just overstimulated from the trip, the airport, my epic journey to find the hotel. Still, I was grateful for rest in the dark, quiet room (and to be de-sweatified!)

Incidentally, the room is so tiny that the floor space isn't adequate to sit on or lie on or even to stand and swing your arms back and forth. So if you have some calming yoga in mind, it will have to be the kind that you can do while sitting on a bed.

I kinda regret not checking out more

I stayed in my room as long as I could before I felt like I had to depart for my next terminal. As such, I breezed out of the hotel. But I did notice that there was a lounge-like area which was serving up free coffee and, in hindsight, what looked like free and delicious croissants. WHY didn't I stop for the free pastries? It might have been that I was a bit confused by how many people were just hanging out in the lounge area. So perplexing? If you paid for a hotel room, why wouldn't you use it? If you wanted a lounge environment, there are cheaper options. If you have tons of free time and get bored, why hang out here? SO MANY MYSTERIES. 

​I should have grabbed a croissant

I would absolutely do it again

The bathroom is so, so tiny but it was all mine and I appreciated the privacy.

True, I did have to hike across the airport and I didn't even really sleep when I got to my room. If my layover had been shorter, I would have just sucked up my fatigue and soldiered on. Had it been longer, I would have rallied, left the airport, and enjoyed a short tour of Paris. But for those Goldilocks-style layovers, when things are just right to stay and nap, it was well worth it. I was still thrilled to be in the room, to have a reprise from travel, and be in a calm, quiet place to rest, with a private bathroom and a chance to wash-up and change my clothing. Based on my time in Paris, I'll be seeking out more airport sleeping pods in my future trips and I'll used this experience to know what to expect and how to prepare so things go ever more smoothly down the road.

Practical information to consider for YOTEL Paris:

The hotel is located in Terminal 2E. It can only be accessed by passengers with a departing international flight outside of the EU flying from Terminal 2E (gates K, L, M) OR passengers that are in transit to and from an international flight outside the EU in that terminal. In other words, if you want to sleep at this hotel, you MUST have a boarding pass that allows you in Terminal 2E (Gates K,L, or M).

While I used the YOTEL for rest after I arrived in the EU and before my domestic flight, a lot of people use it to sleep overnight when they have a very early departure from Terminal 2E. So if you're catching an early flight home to North America and don't want to ride the metro at dawn, you can arrive at the airport the night before, check in and proceed through security like you normally would, and then proceed to the hotel and spend the night. 

If lots of flights and airport time is your future, you'll want to check out these posts:

Readers Want To Know: Will I Make My Connection
Readers Want To Know: What Do I Do When My Flight Is Delayed
Luxury Layover: The Free Hotel Trick We Just Discovered