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Now open YOtel (Yotel.com), a pod hotel in Gatwick Airport's South Terminal. Its 60 rooms, just 10-feet square, were inspired in design by British Airways' first-class service, with a soupcon of Japanese capsule-hotel thrown in. The shrinking hotel room, especially in the form of the pod hotel, is a growing phenomenon as travellers demand lower-priced rooms with boutique style. The first pod hotel was the Capsule Inn Osaka, designed by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa and opened in 1977. With more than a passing resemblance to the drawers in a morgue, it was a weird but nifty addition to Japan's space-starved cityscapes. The pod hotels are becoming as popular for their cool design solutions to small spaces as for their price tag. Qbic (www.qbichotels.com), a Dutch company, is behind a mini-chain of high-design pod hotels. The first Qbic opened in Amsterdam's financial district in the spring, and two more will open this winter in Antwerp and Maastricht.At Qbic you get a lot of cool design for your seven-square-foot room and 39 euro rate. Rooms, called Cubis, are a cube-shaped coloured plastic living space with an extra-long bed, Philippe Starck-designed bathroom and all the techie essentials: LCD TV and high-speed Internet in the cube's work and dining area. You can even change the colour of your Cubi to suit your mood: to yellow, red, purple, etc. Check-in is self-service; you get your room key from a dispensing machine. There is a communal space with work station, games console and a Grab & Go corner with vending machines offering pastries from local bakeries Source:The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007 Karen Burshtein, For CanWest News Service | Daily Extras! Eclat Me | Success Tip of the Day| 1DailyDiversion| Eclat Web - Must Visit Websites! A Beautiful Pic Every Day! Word of the Day| Quotation of the Day| Make Money! Immigration News! Desire- WOW Stuff! Stock Mkt Updates |
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