Capsule Hotels

Four houses built on a single repeated room or cabin plan, in Tokyo, at Gatwick, in London and in Copenhagen. Each belongs to a chain that runs several addresses, and each entry names the address it describes. The plan, not the decoration, is what these buildings have in common.

A row of identical compact sleeping units along a plain corridor.

The entries

Tokyo Ginza Bay Hotel

Tokyo, Japan

What stands here

The Bay Hotel group runs several separate houses, and this entry describes the Ginza address in Tokyo only. It occupies floors of a commercial building a short walk from the Ginza shopping streets and the underground. Sleeping is in capsules set in banks along quiet corridors, with the floors for men and the floors for women kept apart. Washing and bathing rooms are shared and sit on their own level.

How it works

Guests check in at a counter, leave shoes and larger cases in lockers, and are given a key for one capsule and one locker. Each capsule closes with a screen rather than a door. The bathing rooms follow the Japanese pattern, with washing before entering the shared bath. A lounge with seating and drink machines stands away from the sleeping floors.

Ask before you come

Ask which floors are assigned to which guests, since the separation is fixed and cannot be changed once you arrive. Bathing rooms close for cleaning overnight. Rules on the shared bath differ between the houses of this group, so confirm them for this address.

A quiet corridor lined with stacked sleeping capsules closed by screens.

Category: Capsule Hotels
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Checked: December 2029

Next: Bloc Hotel London Gatwick Airport

Bloc Hotel London Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom

What stands here

Bloc runs more than one house, and this record covers the Gatwick address alone: it sits inside the South Terminal of the airport, landside and before the security gates. Rooms are built to a single fitted plan, with the bed, the storage and a shower unit worked into the shell. Because the house is inside a terminal building, the corridors are internal and daylight reaches only part of the stock.

How it works

Guests check themselves in at the entrance, with staff on call rather than at a permanent desk. There is no restaurant and no bar in the house; the terminal itself carries the eating and drinking, a short walk from the door. Rooms are serviced daily, and the fitted plan puts everything within reach from one standing position.

Ask before you come

Ask for a room with a window if daylight matters, because rooms without one are part of the standard stock. Confirm the walking route to your terminal, since the two terminals are separate. Luggage space is limited by the fitted plan, so a large case may stay by the door.

A compact fitted hotel room with a built-in bed, wall storage and a shower unit.

Category: Capsule Hotels
Location: Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom
Checked: December 2029

Next: citizenM London Bankside

citizenM London Bankside

London, United Kingdom

What stands here

citizenM has several London houses, and this record is about the Bankside address on Lavington Street, near Southwark Street and the river. Guest rooms follow one plan throughout: a bed set across the full width of the room, a glazed shower and basin pod, and a tablet controlling light and blinds. The whole ground floor is given over to shared space rather than divided into rooms.

How it works

Guests check themselves in at screens by the door and take a key card from the same machine. The ground floor runs as one long room with a canteen counter at one end, tables, desks and armchairs through the middle, and a bar that stays open late. Anyone staying may use any part of it at any hour. Meeting rooms open off the same floor.

Ask before you come

Ask which side of the building a room faces, as the surrounding streets carry different amounts of traffic. The shared floor is open to visitors as well as guests, so it is busiest in the evening. Check-in is by machine, so confirm how to reach a member of staff if you need help.

A long open hotel ground floor with mixed seating, work tables and a counter at one end.

Category: Capsule Hotels
Location: London, United Kingdom
Checked: December 2029

Next: Zleep Hotel Copenhagen Airport

Zleep Hotel Copenhagen Airport

Copenhagen, Denmark

What stands here

Zleep runs a chain of houses in Denmark and its neighbours, and this entry is limited to the airport address on Lufthavnsboulevarden in Kastrup, beside Copenhagen Airport. Rooms are compact and built to one plan, with a bed, a small desk surface and a shower room worked into a fixed shell. The building is plainly finished and is arranged for short stays around flight times rather than for long ones.

How it works

Reception is staffed at the entrance and also handles the breakfast room, which is the only common room in the house. Breakfast runs early to suit departures. There is no bar and no lounge floor; guests use the airport terminal buildings for anything else. Rooms are serviced daily, and the corridors run straight from the lift core so the plan is quickly learned.

Ask before you come

Confirm the walking route and the time it takes to reach the terminal, since it changes with the entrance you use. Rooms facing the airport road carry more noise than those on the far side. Late arrival is common, so check how the door opens outside staffed hours.

A plain modern hotel building beside an airport road under flat daylight.

Category: Capsule Hotels
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Checked: December 2029

Next section: Ice Hotels

Each chain named here runs more than one address, and the entries describe the one address they name. Information comes from open sources and can go out of date when a house is refitted or renamed. This site is independent of every operator, sells nothing and takes no reservations. Check the details directly with the address you intend to visit.