Travelers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport and Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport can now sleep away their transits or flight delays in comfortable sleep pods. This follows the earlier introduction of “sleeping boxes” at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport Terminal 2.
The 12-room Boxtel Thailand, on the B floor of the Airport Link Zone at Suvarnabhumi, is run by a young entrepreneur named Pongthorn Laohavilai, who began working on the project mid last year before it opened on Apr 1. Forget the old-style of hotels: this place feels more like a cafe, with the sleeping boxes built around a common area with dangling plants, pastel walls and natural woods.
There are two different room types, square and rectangle, both of which have natural wood interiors and the same 4 sq m of space plus free WiFi. Rates here are really quite pocket-friendly, with two-hour stays priced at THB600 ($23), while additional hours start at THB280 ($10.80) with no limit to how long you can stay.
Over in Hanoi, Noi Bai’s SleepPods may look like vending machines from the outside but these bright wooden rooms are surprisingly roomy and come with comfy bunk beds and space for luggage.
Stays are charged in one- to five-hour slots, starting at VND130,000 ($7.90) per hour for a single room and VND150,000 ($9.10) per hour for a twin room. Twenty-four hour stays cost VND650,000 ($39.30) and VND750,000 ($45.30), plus taxes. Book in advance for cheaper prices here.
