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The Portico Guide

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Four addresses built around a berth

Four addresses where the sleeping space is compact and repeats without variation: stacked berths in a Japanese house, uniform city rooms, an airport hotel and a transit block inside a terminal. Where an address belongs to a chain, the entry says so, because arrangements differ between one house and the next.

Narrow interior corridor lined with stacked compact sleeping berths
01

nine hours Kanazawa

Kanazawa, Japan

nine hours Kanazawa is one address of a Japanese chain that runs capsule accommodation in several cities, with each house operated separately. This one stands in the centre of Kanazawa, within walking distance of the station side of the city. The building is arranged around a single idea: a berth to sleep in, a locker, and a floor of shared washing rooms.

Two tiers of white capsule openings along a narrow lit corridor

Berths are stacked in two tiers along corridors, with a blind rather than a door across the opening. Luggage and clothing go into lockers on a separate floor, and showers and washrooms are shared. Floors are divided by gender, and a small lounge sits near the entrance. There is no restaurant in the building.

Check the arrival and departure hours before travelling, as houses of this kind set them tightly and the daytime use is priced apart from the night. It is also worth confirming which floors are in use for a booking, since the arrangement differs between addresses of the chain.

02

citizenM Rotterdam

Rotterdam, Netherlands

citizenM Rotterdam is one house of an international chain and stands beside the Blaak area in the centre of the city, near the market hall and the railway station. Its rooms are compact and identical to one another, which is the working principle of the chain rather than a feature of this address. The ground floor is given over to one large shared room.

Compact hotel room with a wall-to-wall bed and a glazed shower cabin

Each room holds a wall-to-wall bed, a glazed shower cabin and a tablet that works the blinds and the light. The communal floor below has seating, long tables, a bar and a self-service desk, and it is used through the day. Arrival is handled at screens in the entrance with staff on hand.

Ask which floor a room sits on if the outlook matters, as the building is tall and what can be seen changes sharply with height. Anyone arriving late should also confirm how the entrance and the check-in screens work outside the usual hours.

03

Zleep Hotel Copenhagen Airport

Copenhagen, Denmark

Zleep Hotel Copenhagen Airport belongs to a Nordic chain with several houses in Denmark, and this one stands in Kastrup, a short distance from the airport terminals. The building is plain and the rooms are small and uniform, arranged for short stays rather than long ones. A shuttle and a metro line connect the site with the terminals and with the city.

Small uniform hotel room with a bed, a desk surface and a window

Rooms hold a bed, a desk surface, a small shower room and little else, and the plan repeats from floor to floor. The ground floor has a reception desk, a breakfast room and a seating area. There is no restaurant beyond breakfast, and the surrounding streets are given over to offices and airport buildings.

Confirm how the shuttle runs at the hour of arrival, since flights land outside the times when it is most frequent. It is also worth asking whether reception is staffed through the night and how a late arrival collects a key, as this varies between houses of the chain.

04

Aerotel Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia

Aerotel Kuala Lumpur sits inside Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in the satellite building used by long-haul departures. It is a transit house: the rooms lie behind passport control, and reaching them does not involve entering Malaysia. Cabins and small rooms are booked by the block of hours rather than by the night, which suits a long connection.

Row of enclosed sleeping cabins inside an airport terminal concourse

The accommodation runs from single sleeping cabins to rooms with a private shower, and there are shared showers and a small lounge for anyone taking a shorter block. A pool and a gym sit on the same floor of the terminal. Everything is inside the airside area and is reached from the departure concourse.

Confirm before travelling that a connection keeps you airside, because the entrance cannot be reached from the public part of the terminal. It is also worth asking how the blocks of hours are counted and whether arriving earlier or later than booked changes the arrangement.

The Portico Guide has no commercial relationship with the addresses listed above. Descriptions rest on open sources and on chain material, and arrangements differ between one house of a chain and the next. Hours, access rules and floor plans change. Nothing here is a booking, an offer or a promise of availability.