Sneak peek: The new Rest Pods at GLO Hotel, Helsinki Airport
If you have an even shorter layover at Helsinki Airport than I did, then you may wish to consider the new Rest Pods located at Glo Hotel. While I found the hotel comfortable, prices are quite high at times so it may not be economically feasible to stay at this property or nearby. However, Glo Hotel has introduced its new “Rest Pod” Concept which may be a solution for some travellers…let’s take a look.
Rest Pods are located just to the right of the entrance
There are a total of 10 Rest Pods in total - five are Rest Pods and the other five are Rest Pod+.
Regular Rest Pods are designed for one person sleeping or two people relaxing/working. The total space of the room is 3.6m squared which is not particularly spacious, but enough for a short visit. The sofa turns into a 2 metre long bed with sheets provided as well as a sturdy table that flips down from the wall. Power is provided in the form of a European power outlet, USB and USB-C port.
The entire pod is controlled via a wall mounted panel, including lighting, ventilation and…
…the electrical switchable glass which can either be left transparent or opaque for further privacy - a pretty neat feature in my books.
While fundamentally offering the same functionality, the Rest Pod+ is designed for two people to sleep and relax/work. In addition to the sofa bed, an additional bunk bed features to cater for the extra person.
And, of course, the Rest Pods feature the cute teddies as seen in the hotel rooms.
The property operator states that all the Pods are soundproof - although I did not stay in them so I cannot judge this for myself.
Prices for the Rest Pods when prepaying start at EUR 40 for 4 hours up to EUR 70 for 7 hours - i.e. EUR 10 per hour. These prices do not seem to vary depending on the date which makes for a solid value proposition. Somewhat surprisingly, and perhaps a website glitch, the website does not currently charge extra for selecting 1 or 2 person neither for selecting the more premium Rest Pod+.
The only real downsides of the Rest Pods are first the lack of showers. While the hotel is trying to get permission from the airport operator to install showers, they currently aren’t there which is a big downside to opting for the cheaper Rest Pod over a hotel room. A shower in between flights is the best feeling, so it may be worth heading to the Plaza Premium Arrivals Lounge just after Arrivals (and about 3 minutes from the hotel, all within the same terminal). It’s expensive at EUR 18 just for the use of the shower but its justifiable with the money you will be saving. If you have lounge access either being a Finnair Business Class passenger or oneworld status holder you could wait to use the shower in the lounge prior to your departure - you can see the non-Schengen showers in this review here.
The second downside is that, like the hotel, these are located after Arrivals in the landside zone - making it less useful for transit passengers, especially those who cannot enter the Schengen Zone if they do not have a Visa.
If you can get over some of these downsides, the Rest Pods at GLO Hotel Airport, might be the right overnight connection for you.
What do you think? Drop us your thoughts in the comments below!
