stop-over in luxury!

our flights to portugal weren't as direct from doha as expected back when the destination was decided upon. we thought portugal was considered *half way* between qatar and canada. looks that way on a map perhaps but not so much when you start involving flights. mike and i's journey took approx. 19 hours from doha to faro!! we travelled from doha - dubai - london - faro with a stop-over in london. the way there didn't seem so bad as we had each other's company and we were running on adrenalin BUT for me the return journey was brutal!!! my route was the same but with a 7 hour stop-over in london...by myself :(

in order to break the time up and prepare myself the 2nd leg of the journey back to the desert, i reserved a 'cabin' at 'yotel'. yotel is a luxury hotel located within airport terminals - london gatwick, london heathrow and amsterdam schiphol. here, you can reserve a single (standard) or double (premium) cabin for a few hours, overnight or 24 hours+. a place to freshen up, relax or work. genius idea!!! i booked a standard cabin for the min. time of 4 hours for 25 gbp (~50 cdn) so i could relax horizontally and escape the chaos of the airport.
the cabin wasn't that big (7 square metres) but it was equipped with everything you should need - a large single bed which was probably one of the most comfortable i have been in, a 20" flat screen t.v. recessed into the wall at the foot of the bed, a fold out table/ work desk, overhead luggage racks and a bathroom equipped with a rainfall shower (my favourite!). the t.v. offers a huge selection of movies and internet - you can even order room service onscreen and guaranteed to be delivered in 15 minutes.i spent my few hours in yotel watching a movie, checking email and just relaxing. a great concept that i would highly recommend to anyone passing through on a long journey. hopefully this trend will catch on in north america!!!