London Heathrow Airport: Yotel Pod Hotel

Yotel Video Signage

I have a thing for unusual hotels. I’ve yet to stay at one but I so,so want to.

On my last trip to the UK, I had a ten hour layover until my train for Edinburgh. I knew that I’d want a shower and possibly a disco nap so I looked for day rooms that weren’t going to cost me $100 for a few hours. I discovered that LHR has a pod hotel called Yotel.

Located in London Heathrow‘s Terminal 4, Yotel is a pod hotel with everything you’d need to freshen up. If you’re facing a long layover between flights, this would be an ideal break from the airport din.

Pod hotels, also called “capsule hotels,” have rooms called “pods” that are fairly small but contain your necessities: bed, ensuite bathroom and even a desk. They are mostly concentrated in Japan but are beginning to gain popularity in Europe.

Yotel’s Premium Pod contains a double bed and is 12′ x 8.5’.  The Standard Pod contains a twin bed and is 7′ 4″ x 9′ 4″. All pods are soundproof and come with wifi, a flatscreen TV and toiletries.

The Brits love their mood lighting.

Heathrow’s Yotel has 32 pods. I recommend booking your pod well in advance. They were at full capacity when I tried to book the night before. They have a 4 hour minimum but no maximum.

You’ll find Yotel at London Gatwick and Amsterdam Schiphol Airports as well. In March of this year, you’ll find Yotel in New York’s Time Square.

Premium and Twin Pods start at £40 and Standard Pods start at £25 for the first 4 hours. Each hour thereafter starts at £6.50.

London Heathrow Airport: Showers & Storage

"Silly, tourist. She's taking a photo of Left Baggage!"

The last time I flew to London, I arrived at 7 am and had 10 hours to kill until my train departed for Edinburgh. Even if you’re sitting in business class and your luggage consists of a roller bag that fits under your seat and a purse, you’re still going to land feeling like a homeless lady wheeling a shopping cart.

I packed for a week trip in this houndstooth bag and a tote bag.

Luckily Heathrow’s got it all figured out.

Get Refreshed

You can take a shower at LHR. If you don’t have access to an airline lounge, go to Terminal 4 for a free shower. The showers are located post security near the Express Abbey entrance.

Free shower stall @ LHR.

You’ll need your own toiletries and towel but you get a private changing area and shower space. The space is clean and big enough for you to open a large suitcase and get yourself refreshed.

It's old but it's clean.

Stow It

Next stop is  Baggage Storage and Shipping.  Without the specter of 9/11 haunting them, LHR still has on-site luggage storage at every terminal. Each bag is £8.50 per 24 hours. I opted to take my bags to Kings Cross Station where my Virgin train to Edinburgh was departing. They have the same set up — bags are scanned and stored but left baggage is £8.00 per bag for the first 24 hours then £4.00 per 24 hours thereafter.

"Silly, tourist. She's taking a photo of baggage storage!"

Now, you’re free to go do something fun!

London Heathrow Airport: The Tin Goose

The Tin Goose in Terminal 1 @ LHR

I spent a lot of time at London Heathrow Airport (LHR). With a cousin in the UK and a sister whose route includes London more often than not, I find myself flying to London fairly often.

Airline employees have the privilege of flying standby to anywhere their airline flies. Flying standby means you get a seat if there are any available after all revenue passengers have boarded. Often you can get a first or business class seat. (Don’t worry, you will get your upgrade before I get that empty premium class seat.)

The downside to standby flying is that you’re not guaranteed a seat. Also, most airlines grant seats based on the employee’s seniority status. Should a group of Area Codes* decide to fly to Rome together on your flight, you may be sitting in the gate area waving goodbye to the plane.

Getting to London from the US is usually pretty easy. Coming from London to the US is more challenging, especially if it’s summer. I don’t go east past Denver from October to April.

So I spend a lot of time in LHR, going from gate to gate, all day, hoping to get a seat on a flight anywhere: California, Illinois, New Jersey, Japan, wherever.

Deserted gate area at Heathrow. It was über early in the morning and the 2nd day of trying to get out of London.

My favorite place to decompress between bouts of Gate Pong is the Tin Goose in Terminal 1.

Billed as a restaurant with “smiley American service,” it has cute decor and good food. The Brits don’t quite get American customer service. I always realize how much I take it for granted when I take a train in the United Kingdom. The service is smiley, but wholly not American. There needs to be the specter of “not tipping” for good old-fashioned American hospitality.

The bar in Tin Goose

One wall of the Tin Goose is floor-to-ceiling glass. You can watch planes taxi and ground crew scuttle about making sure your flight is ready to go.

After a week of British food, I am always happy to have my usual here: Greek yogurt, fruit compote and granola with a cup of strong coffee, rock sugar and real cream. Once served, you’re free to linger and wile away your layover.

Greek yogurt, granola, fruit compote and coffee.

You have the option of paying with pounds, Euros or dollars. Pay in pounds or via credit card. The dynamic currency converter on the bill tends to be on the high side.

What’s your favorite hideout at Heathrow?

*At my company, our employee number is six digits. Area Codes employee numbers are three digits and it means they’ve been flying almost as long as the Wright Brothers.