Arthur Frommer Online: A few new hotels with tiny cruiseship-like rooms are presently operating and might suit your cost-conscious needs

Sep 6, 2007

A few new hotels with tiny cruiseship-like rooms are presently operating and might suit your cost-conscious needs

Four chains of "tiny hotels" are presently operating in Europe and New York -- easyHotel, YOTEL, Pod Hotels and Qbic -- but they have so few branches at the moment that they are unlikely to provide lodgings to a great many travelers. Still, for that odd occasion when you might stumble across one, I'm attempting this brief survey.

EasyHotels, from the people who gave us easyJet and easyCruise, operates three easyHotels in London, one in Basel, Switzerland, and another opening this October in Budapest. Rooms -- which you can reserve only through www.easyhotel.com -- are miniscule and bathrooms have been compared in size to those on airplanes. Cheapest rooms are without windows and rent in winter for £25 (about $50), going up in warmer seasons to $75-$100 a night, all phenomenal bargain rates for high-priced London.

YOTEL, which has its lone property at London's Gatwick airport, rents its compact, seven-square meter "cabins" for as little as four hours at a time (for about $50). A full night costs at least double that. Units are equipped with 20-inch flat screen TVs (no extra charge), iPod docking stations, and work areas. The company has plans to open a dozen more properties, though where and when remains up in the air. Call tel. 011-44-20-7100-1100 or go to www.yotel.com for reservations.

Based in the Netherlands, Qbic opened the first of its futuristic properties in Amsterdam this past July. Rooms are an interesting, cube-shaped design, and the lobby has vending machines for checking in and accessing snacks. Room rates start as low as $53, though the price a guest pays is partly based on when the reservation is made -- the earlier you book, the less you pay. Another Qbic hotel opens later this year in Antwerp, Belgium, and a third is slated for the Netherlands city of Maastricht in 2008. Contact the company at tel. 011-31-43-321-1111 or www.qbichotels.com.

Finally, New York City's Pod Hotel opened earlier this year with rooms -- that yes, many people have compared to ship cabins -- starting at just $89. The least expensive units are singles with shared bathroom, and during peak travel months even those can set the traveler back $159; $89 is a winter rate for the same room. In pricey New York -- and especially at such a great midtown location, on East 51st Street a few blocks from Fifth Avenue -- these rates a bargain (tel. 800/742-5945; www.thepodhotel.com).

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Labels: accommodations