Just how small can hotel rooms get?
A new concept hotel out of London features rooms just slightly more than 11 square metres in size
The new hotel concept ‘hub by Premier Inn’ is set to launch in London next summer. What sets it apart: rooms that measure just 11.4 square metres (122.7 square feet).
A touch-screen control panel by the bed lets guests control light and heat. They can also do this even before checking in. Using an app, customers can preselect light settings, room temperature and what television program or radio station they want to be playing upon arrival.
In order to maximize space, the bed performs triple duty. Besides a place to sleep, it also serves as home to luggage storage and a foldaway desk. And it’s the best spot from which to view the 40-inch television.
The bathroom is equipped with a ‘power shower,’ fast-drying microfibre towels and dual showerheads.
No surprise, the concept is being marketed to people ‘who value price, location and design over space.’ The goal is to have close to 40 of the hotels open or in the works by 2018.
If the room size sounds small, it’s still bigger than the six square metres (64 square feet) you can stay in at the Earl’s Court easyHotel in London. Rooms start at just £35, but you’ll pay extra for a window, television use and housekeeping services. (But, and I speak from experience, that’s still a bargain for the area and really not so bad for a solo traveller.)
And hey, things could be worse. Consider the capsule hotels popular in Asia. At this one in China, pods measure two metres long, one metre wide and slight more than a metre high.CHINA DAILY/Reuters