We usually find cheap basic hotels when travelling, saving the money for experiencing the place you’re travelling to. But what if the hotel is an experience itself? When robots pick up your luggage, the waitress serves you food while roller skating and everything is called “yo” something, then you got to try it.

Yotel is a special hotel chain located in airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Schiphzl) and on Manhattan. When we were going to New York and heard of the hotel, we could not miss the opportunity. The concept is a modern hotel with technical solutions and space efficiency. Not really a special concept, but they have taken it to the next level.

We took the metro from JFK to Manhattan and arrived a few blocks from the hotel. After wandering around we weren’t entirely sure if we were in the right place. But around the corner we could see a purple light, very similar to the colour the hotel uses for more or less everything. We passed the corner and BAM, all of a sudden we saw the hotel, purple everywhere. Inside the hotel we could check in automatically on a computer and receive a key card. This did not work to well for us, but employees were present to assist. This solution was probably not very efficient, but a cool concept anyway.

When we got to our room we realised that it was very small. Far from the worst we’ve seen, but definitively not the largest. Everything is bigger in ‘Murca, but this was the exception. Despite this, the space efficiency was very good; the bed had electrical thingy things transforming it into a couch at daytime and turn it back into a bed at night. Flatscreen TV with iPhone connector, towel heaters on the wall, monsun shower and designated mobile app for the hotel are a few of the features this hotel can offer. The best part is still the naming convention of more or less everything. The hotel is named Yotel, the restaurant is named Doyo, the luggage robot Robot and the conference room Studiyo. To top it all, we noticed that the employees had notepads called “Yo notes”.

Doyo was a busy place in the evening. The waitresses roller skated, there was music and dance; things you definitively will not find in a normal hotel. But the checkout probably tops it all; Since we travelled late in the afternoon we wanted to store the luggage at the hotel. Most hotels can make arrangements for this, but Yotel has a twist to it. They have a luggage robot named Yobot. Yes, a huge thingy thing picking up your luggage and storing it safely in a box. We put our bag in a container and a large robotic arm picket up the container and put it in box. When we arrived to pick up our luggage again, the box was picked down from the shelf and given to us. Smooth!

This stay was definitively a memory for life, but it would be nice to be aware of a few things in advance. First, the standard rooms are as mentioned vert small. The space efficiency is good, and for a stay of only a few days there were no problems; however, if you’re staying a full week or longer, we would consider upgrading to a bigger room. It’s also worth mentioning that the Yobot is very popular. No wonder, it is awesome, but it could be a good idea to check out early to avoid the Yobot-line, it is in no way efficient. There’s a reason why no other hotel offers this kind if robot, but who cares, A robot stored my luggage, and it’s called Yobot!