Yotel Comes to The Big Apple

New York Daily News: A European hotel chain known for its itty-bitty rooms hopes to make a big splash this summer when it opens its first U.S. location west of Times Square.

Called Yotel, the futuristic 669-room hotel on 10th Ave. and 42nd St. offers "everything you might find in a luxury hotel in under 200 square feet," executives say.

"I wanted Yotel to use innovative radical design to create a mixture of luxury, fun, comfort and excitement at an affordable price," Yotel CEO Gerard Greene said in a statement Thursday.

Rooms - which the chain calls "cabins" - start at $149 a night for two adults. At 167 square feet, the low-end "Premium Cabin" offers a retractable queen-sized bed, cramped walk-in shower and mini-workstation.

Premium Cabins with a bunk bed over the queen will cost $179. That's a pint-sized price, considering most hotel rooms in the tourist-heavy area go for more than $200.

Yotel's three locations in London and Amsterdam feature even smaller rooms, which can be booked for as little as four hours at a time. All three are attached to major airports. At London Heathrow Airport, $145 buys 24 hours in a 75-square foot cabin with a single bunk bed and small shower.

Yotel in Times Square will include a restaurant designed like a Japanese sumo-wrestling platform with long, shared tables and a giant outdoor terrace with fire places, cabanas and two bars.

The compact quarters fill 27 floors of a new building on 42nd St. between Ninth and 10th Aves. called Middle of Manhattan - MiMA for short. The building includes 500 apartments, 151 condos and several theaters.

Tourists wandering Times Square had some reservations on Thursday about booking a room at Yotel.

"As a tourist, if it's convenient, clean and safe, definitely it would be a good deal," said Leo Yal, 32, a vacationer from Shanghai. "As a business traveler, it's not a good deal. My company pays for bigger hotels."

Christopher Meirelles, 24, a model who lives in Brazil, wondered whether the rooms were a bargain. "It sounds very practical, but I don't think the price is cheap enough for such a small room," Meirelles said. "It doesn't sound like a good deal, and I wouldn't stay there."

But Sue Rider, 65, of Wisconsin, sized up the price and gave a thumbs up. "You don't come to New York to stay in your hotel," she said. "All you need is a place to sleep and take a shower. I'm looking for cheap, so I would stay there."