Ted’s back from his holiday! Which means you’ll need to be on the look out for new posts soon. Ted is getting some ideas for an interesting something, hopefully it will be good. Do you want to know what me and Ted (mainly Ted) got up to on our holiday? Well Ted had lots of fun in the U.K, namely in Wales. Where he enjoyed driving some go karts- Ted said they were “sick”! Walking in the outdoors and eating pies with his face. I don’t have any pictures of that. We also went to a nice open wildlife park. Ted met a tapir and touched some wallabies. On the first night (before leaving Heathrow, London) Ted stayed at the Yotel at Terminal 4. A small hotel with cabin-like rooms. For Ted they were big, but for people they are suprisingly small.  They had everything Ted needed for a quick stay.

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Day one: Traveling to Vancouver

Good times in my Yotel!

I eventually made it to Heathrow after a long afternoon of traveling from Jersey.  After fighting with the automated check-in desk I made it into my Yotel room. It’s very small. I can imagine it’s a little like being on a space ship minus all the good bits; a view, weightless-ness and other cosmonauts. So I passed the time taking this panoramic photo, and by watching Yes Man with Jim Carrey. Which I’ll sum up briefly with ‘No Man’.

After the hilarity of the above events, I went to sleep. Only to be woken-up an hour later by a mixture of strange sounds, resulting in two hours sleep. Yotels are rubbish.

via DesignYouTrust

Luksa baudītājiem The Helicopter piedāvā jaunu veidu, kā papildināt savu ceļojumu albūmu ar unikālām bildēm no helikoptera – pieczvaigžņu viesnīcas.

Ar šo helikopteri jums nevajadzēs pārvietoties iesprādzētam sēdeklī. Varēsiet droši novilkt apavus un pastaigāties pa klāju pa kuru izklāti Ēģiptes paklāji. Uz klāja varēsiet atpūsties SkySpa un baudīt dažādas episkas masāžas vai varbūt ieslīgt džakuzi, vai sausajā saunā kādu vel nekad nebūsiet baudījis atrodoties helikopterī.

The Helicopter piedāvā 18 luksus klases numuriņus ar milzīgām gultām, individuālu termoregulāciju, burbuļvannu, mini bāru un unikālu gleznu pie sienas. Protams, pieczvaigžņu numuriņš neiztiktu bez interneta, telefona, plazmas televizora un Wii, lai televizoru varētu izslēgt no attāluma. Dizainu numuriņiem izstrādājusi Yotel.

The Helicopter modelēts uz krievu Mil V -12 lidaparāta bāzes ar papildus stāvu un uzlabotiem tehniskajiem parametriem. The Helicopter garums ir 42m, augstums 28m, maksimālā celtspēja 105850 kg, maksimālais ātrums 255 km/h, bet kruīza ātrums 237 km/h.

Arī uknowtech uzķērās uz ziņām joka.

UPDATE: 12:30 P.M. Tuesday, March 31: Since this story was posted, Hotelicopter has posted a press release (.pdf) on its web site saying it purchased a Mil V-12 helicopter prototype in 2004 and “has been engineering the world’s first flying hotel ever since.” The company states in the press release that “the interior of The Hotelicopter was designed by Yotel, the brainchild of UK entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe.” The press release includes contact information for spokeswoman Alison McNeill at FutureWorks PR. We’ve left two messages and an e-mail for McNeill and we’ve also left a voice message and e-mail for the director of marketing at Yotel.

UPDATE, Wednesday, April 1: Jo Berrington, director of marketing at Yotel, got back to us via e-mail and said, “Yes we are involved – as a bit of an April Fools spoof – we agreed to take part as our design is actually all about luxury design in small spaces so this is really not outside the realm of possibility for us!”

Experience the adrenaline rush of taking off and flying high in the largest helicopter ever produced. The Hotelicopter features 18 luxuriously-appointed rooms for adrenaline junkies seeking a truly unique and memorable travel experience.

Each soundproofed room is equipped with a queen-sized bed, fine linens, a mini-bar, coffee machine, wireless internet access, and all the luxurious appointments you’d expect from a flying five star hotel. Room service is available one hour after liftoff and prior to landing.

A few of the amenitites include:

In-cabin technology:

Internet access, cell phone reception, flat screen TVs with extended channel selection (let us know and we’ll pre-arrange parental control), DVD players, and Wii

Room service & dining options:

Complimentary champagne upon arrival, room service offering breakfast, lunch, dinner, and specialty items (including coffee and gelato).

Hotelicopter amenities:

“On-call flight attendants” attend to your every need, business center, concierge, fitness center, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, spa/salon offering massages and tanning, common space area with live music at select destinations, blackjack table, art gallery, wine tasting, yoga studio and hydro-garden, tea garden, Japanese garden with koi pond.

Hotelicopter’s travel schedule
for more information visit Hotelicopter

We have moved to our new website. Click here to go to the post.

Es una idea que surgió tras determinar la necesidad de muchas personas que debían esperar gran cantidad de horas en aburridas salas de espera de aeropuertos. Los Yoteles son pequeñas habitaciones con todas las comodidades que te puede ofrecer un hotel, pero ubicados en pleno aeropuerto. El primer Yotel fue inaugurado en el verano de 2007 en el aeropuerto de Gatwich de Londres, luego se sumaron otros dos en Heathrow (Londres) y Schiphol (Ámsterdam).

Este innovador servicio, imaginado por el empresario británico Simon Woodroffe, te ofrece la posibilidad de reservar una habitación por un tiempo mínimo de cuatro horas. Es una de las mejores opciones cuando toca hacer una escala para coger un vuelo transoceánico, pues en muchas ocasiones las horas de espera son inhumanas.

Tienen tres categorías de habitaciones: Premium (Con cama matrimonial), Standard (Con cama individual) y Twin (Con literas). Todas poseen un diseño sofisticado y minimalista, conexión Wifi gratis, una televisión de plasma y un baño con ducha. El precio por cuatro horas en una habitación standard es de 40 euros. Precio nada desdeñable si lo comparamos con cualquier habitación de hotel en ciudades tan costosas como Ámsterdam o Londres. Sin duda una muy buena opción.

[CON QUESTO POST SI ASCOLTA, AL VOLO: AIRPORT DISCO degli Athlete]

Chi non ricorda Tom Hanks in The Terminal? E chi, tra di noi, almeno una volta nella vita (almeno chi ha la sventura di passare ore negli aeroporti) non ha avuto un senso di…familiarità con gli aeroporti. Quasi maggiore di quel che si prova a casa propria?

Mai avuto voglia di dormire nel terminal? Passare una notte vicini al Gate preferito? E magari fare colazione al bar delle partenze internazionali?

Beh, ho trovato quello che fa per voi (ok, noi): YOTEL!

Dopo Londra, hanno da poco aperto delle…stanze…nell’aeroporto Schipol di Amsterdam. Poco meno di 50 euro per passare alcune ore (ebbene sì….è un moderno albergo ad ore) in una comoda stanzetta che ricorda i capsule hotels giapponesi, con tutte le comodità tra cui Internet.

Pare non ci siano limiti alle persone che possono occupare la stanza. Quindi, se siete in vena di risparmi…l’unico limite è la fisica! 

In effetti l’idea è molto carina, ammettiamolo. Quando si perder un volo e si deve in ogni caso aspettare parecchie ore, è molto meglio stendersi e dormire un po’ in santa pace piuttosto che essere sommersi dai neon del terminal e dagli annunci in airport-english (prima o poi dovremmo parlare anche di questa nuova lingua, non credete?).

Buon Yotel a tutti,

Antonio

In a little less than a month, Mr. MiddleChild and I are going on a little trip to visit my friend who is a Peace Corps Volunteer. This involves 31 hours of travel, including a transatlantic flight on the airline that almost stopped serving food on international flights and filed for Chapter 11 yesterday six years ago.

Following the 8 hour flight to London, we have a 10 hour layover before our 10 hour flight down the Dark Continent. Initially we pondered storming London for the day, but clearing customs and making it into the city and back became too ambitious.

Instead we’ll shower and sleep and bask in the fluorescent purple glow of modernity.

Heathrow and Gatwick airports are both home to the Yotel, basically the best freaking idea ever.

Being on a budget, we opted for the standard cabin – smaller than the premium shown above. Still, as the website says, “There’s as much in these 7 square metres [sic] as you’d find in most 4 star hotels.”

Why I love this idea:

1. Airports are terrible places to spend any extended period of time. That someone is putting beds in them pleases me.

2. Hello I booked this hotel *by the hour.* How Pretty Woman is THAT?

3. Excellent idea brought to life in a clean design. Makes the architect’s daughter in me happy.

4. What better way to spend hours with a loved one?  After being shoehorned next to each other for 8 hours and prior to enduring the same for another 10, what we really need is some together time in approximately 22 square feet of space.

Nur Fliegen? Ist eben nicht schöner. Es gibt Flughäfen, die so angenehm sind, dass man eigentlich nie mehr abheben möchte

Amsterdam-Schiphol ist zwar nicht der größte Flughafen Europas, aber wer in den Urlaub fliegt, darf froh sein, wenn es über Schiphol statt über Heathrow in die Ferne geht. Denn in Holland werden nicht nur weniger Koffer verschlampt – die Zeit, die man am Flughafen verbringen muss, kommt einem auch weniger wie eine Gefängnisstrafe vor.

Amsterdam Schiphol

Die Sitzplätze sind gemütlicher (Liegestühle!), die Internetverbindung besser (null Euro!) und das Freizeitangebot beschränkt sich nicht auf ein schlecht gefälschtes Irish Pub, sondern bietet neben einem Kunstmuseum und einem Casino sogar Trauungen auf der Rollbahn an.

Selbst Übervielflieger wie der Chef des Monocle-Magazins Tyler Brûlé finden hier ihr Glück: Der ehemalige Herausgeber des Magazins Wallpaper hatte sich vor einiger Zeit halb im Scherz für eine separate Vielflieger-Schlange bei der Sicherheitskontrolle ausgesprochen. In Schiphol ist das Realität: Wer bereit ist, einen Scan seiner Iris speichern zu lassen (und eine Jahresgebühr von 199 Euro entrichtet), kann bei jedem Schiphol-Flug an den Wartenden vorbeigehen. Das Einzige, was man als Durchreisender vielleicht vermissen mag, ist eine Terrasse, auf der man kerosinschweren Wind schnuppern kann.

Ansonsten ist der Abflug- und Transferbereich vom Designer Paul Mijksenaar so übersichtlich und elegant gestaltet worden, dass man traurig ist, wenn man weitermuss. Weil einen die Lautsprecherstimme in ebenfalls weltweit einzigartiger Strenge zum Gate mahnt: »Gehen Sie sofort zum Gate! Sie verzögern den Flug! Wir werden als nächsten Schritt Ihr Gepäck ausladen!«
***

TIPPS:

Rijksmuseum: Das weltweit erste Museum in einem Flughafen bietet eine permanente Kollektion sowie wechselnde Ausstellungen. Holland Boulevard zwischen Gate E und F.

Restaurant Bubbles: Austern und eine exzellente Weinauswahl statt Pappsandwiches und Tomatensaft. Lounge 1.

Holland Casino: An fünf Spieltischen und über 100 Automaten  kann das Geld für die nächste Reise er- oder verzockt werden. Holland Boulevard zwischen Gate E und F.

Baby Care Lounge: Durchgestylte Oase der Ruhe, in der Eltern ihre Babys baden, füttern oder einfach schlafen lassen können. Holland Boulevard zwischen Gate E und F.

Yotel: Luxuriöse Schlafwaben mit Flatscreen und Nasszelle lassen – stundenweise gemietet – auch den Ärger über einen verschobenen Flug verrauchen. Ab Herbst 2008, Obergeschoss Lounge 2, nahe Gate D, www.yotel.com.

Privium: Vielflieger können bei diesem Vorreiterprogramm mithilfe eines Iris-Scans und gegen 119 Euro Jahresgebühr an fast allen Schlangen und Sicherheitskontrollen vorbeischlendern. Service-Punkt am Holland Boulevard zwischen Gate E und F.

Back to Life Aqua Massage: 36 Wasserdüsen kneten die vom Langstreckenflug verschobenen Knochen wieder zurecht, bevor es weitergeht. Holland Boulevard zwischen Gate E und F, backtolife.nl.

Hochzeit: Ob auf dem Rollfeld oder dem Dach des Flughafengebäudes: Der Weg in die Flitterwochen war nie kürzer. Beliebtester Spot ist allerdings das Restaurant Dakota, Obergeschoss Abflüge 1, www.schipholweddings.nl.

Text: Christoph Koch
Erschienen in: SZ-Magazin
Foto: Jessica Braun

Den Plan, für den ich leider nicht die Rechte besitze, kann man sich hier ansehen.

Los aeropuertos de London Heathrow y Gatwick tienen un nuevo servicio para aquellos que tengan que esperar a que salga su vuelo. El Yotel ofrece todo lo que se puede esperar de un hotel de lujo, en un espacio reducido y cerca del check in. Las cabinas (similares a las del tren o barco) cuentan con baño, TV y conexión wi-fi gratuita, y pueden alquilarse desde solo unas horas a más de un día.

Pronto abrirán uno también en Amsterdam.

Vía: Infonomia 

The good news is that Jon and I have a flight to Athens tomorrow morning. The bad news is that the flight departs Gatwick Airport at 6:40 am.

Rather than wake up at 4 am and pay £50 for an early-morning taxi to Gatwick, we decided to spend the night at the Gatwick Airport Yotel for £56.

It seems so fitting, given all my recent raving about sushi (mercury scares notwithstanding) that the owner of the Yo! Sushi chain has branched out of the restaurant business by building this pod hotel and naming it the Yotel.

The rooms are definitely small – about ten feet wide and seven feet deep.  But the bathroom is clean and includes stylish fixtures, and the bed is comfy and kind of fun in a top-bunk kind of way.  Throw in the free wi-fi and flat-screen TV, and you have a pleasant way to spend seven hours before an early-morning flight.

Here’s to the Yotel – and to Athens in the morning!

Mentre giro per Heathrow cercando di ammazzare il tempo, scopro, con circa 24 ore di ritardo, l’esistenza degli Yotel, alberghi che traducono in buon europeo la passione giapponese per le stanze-capsula.

La comodita’ e’ che lo Yotel si puo’ prenotare ad ore, cosa che mi avrebbe fatto comdo assai, in questo viaggio con lunghe attese e spostamenti tra un aeroporto e l’altro.

In futuro, chissa’. Intanto, sto cercando di venire a capo dei prezzi.

It’s nice to see the hotel industry innovating to respond better to the marketplace, particularly the business traveler. Martina sent me this post on Relactions outlining a new wave of affordable “no-frill chic” hotels being launched that provide safe, comfortable and clean hotels that appeal to the traveler on the move who values this over space and amenities. Some examples include Yotel, EasyHotel.com, CitizenM, and the highly anticipated Aloft. This is a great trend that seems to have already taken off in Europe and will soon spread across North America. Westin’s launch of heavenly beds and showers a decade ago has spawned some much needed energy in the placid hotel industry – guests value a good night sleep and a relaxing shower over room service and flat screens, go figure.

This latest trend builds off the same principles, while removing the nice-to-haves to keep prices in check. We’re also seeing a boon in the opposite side of the spectrum – small, boutique hotels that are able to cater more nimbly to their guest’s every need and are able to charge higher prices to do so, even when competing with the big chains. I can see myself being a customer of both, one for business and the other for pleasure.

Weary travelers, take heart.  London’s Gatwick Airport now offers restful, hotel-like stays on the premises, courtesy of Yotel.  Check out (no pun intended) www.yotel.com