I stayed in a London sleeping pod
Capsule hotels are a cheap alternative to expensive accommodation in London for office workers.
Sawdah Bhaimiya
Workers who left London to work remotely are under pressure to return to the city office, with some opting to stay in Japanese-inspired sleeping pods for just £30 ($40).
I traveled to Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London to spend a night at a newly opened capsule hotel after two colleagues who lived out of town recommended I stay there.
Zedwell Capsule Hotel, owned by Criterion Capital, opened in September and offers approximately 1,000 capsules measuring 1 meter long, 1 meter wide and 2 meters deep; probably London’s smallest hotel rooms.
Although it is located within the historic London Pavilion building, which was originally built as a music hall in 1885, it has a rather modest exterior. The entrance is through some black doors, in the corner of the busy station.
Private side-by-side sleeping capsules at the Zedwell Capsule Hotel in London.
Sawdah Bhaimiya
The cost of staying in a hotel in central London will average a staggering £265 per night in the third quarter of 2025, according to the property firm. Knight Frank. By comparison, the average daily rate for hotels across Europe was 125 euros in the summer months. Analysis of more than 600,000 bookings Of the 2,000 independent hotels offered by RoomRaccoon.
Halima Aziz, Criterion’s Director of Hotels, told me that the capsule hotel addresses the gap in the market between budget hostels and affordable accommodation.
“We’ve created this sweet spot between the two. We’re not a budget hostel. We’re not going to come at you with a £15 price tag, giving you a bunk bed in a steel room,” he said.
“We were really inspired by Asia when we decided to get into capsules, and the capsule concept actually originated in Japan as a response to similar pressures we were facing in London.”
The first capsule hotel in Japan was built in the city of Osaka in 1979; It was built primarily to serve as a cheap overnight option for salarymen who worked late and preferred to drink and socialize out rather than spend more money commuting home.
In New York, it has spawned some capsule-style hotels, from the sleeping pods at Wedge Central Park to Nap York, a sleeping station with private pods for naps or overnight stays.
Now that the concept had arrived in London, I wanted to see for myself what the British version had to offer.
Inside the sleeping capsule
Inside a sleeping capsule at the Zedwell Capsule Hotel in London.
Sawdah Bhaimiya
It’s a Monday evening and instead of my usual work-from-home routine, which involves getting ready to head into the office the next day, I slip into a brightly lit sleeping pod.
As I prepare to sleep, I pull down the garage-like shutters and lock them from the inside. My head is just a few inches below the ceiling of my pod, which has a dimmer, two coat hooks, an air purifier, a large mirror that runs the length of the pod’s head, and charger sockets.
I was surprised at how comfortable and comfortable the bed was, although I could feel my luggage (backpack and purse) at the end of the bed and the bottom of my coat hanging on the hooks.
I turn off the lights and the noisy air purifier and find myself surrounded by pitch darkness and silence. It sounds scary, but since there is nothing to distract me, I fall asleep immediately.
Each capsule is 1 meter long, 1 meter wide and 2 meters deep.
Sawdah Bhaimiya
I checked into the hotel earlier in the day using one of the four kiosks, and as I walked around the hotel I noticed that the walls were painted black to match the exterior and there wasn’t a single window in sight.
I went up to the first floor and used the key card to get into my women’s dormitory. My capsule was one of seven located side by side or on top of each other, some accessible only by steps.
A women-only dormitory inside the Zedwell Capsule Hotel.
Sawdah Bhaimiya
Despite the low initial cost, I found that there are a number of additional amenities guests can pay for; extra £10 to stay in a women-only dormitory, £8 for a padlock and £15 for secure luggage storage.
The hotel had an unfinished feel. The entrance was covered with scaffolding, and a faint sound of drilling could be heard from inside the building.
That’s because it’s “still under construction,” Zedwell’s General Manager Greg Walsh told me. The drilling sounds were coming from underground, where a larger reception was being built with a direct connection to Piccadilly Circus Station.
CEO Aziz confirmed the building was not completed, adding that the additional cost in the women’s dormitories was largely due to upgraded amenities within the pod, including a women-only beauty room complete with towels and a hairdryer – although this is still under construction and is not currently accessible.
“After all, if you’re not just targeting the traditional B&B market and you want to expand reach, you have to respond to people’s needs, and people have laundry and beauty needs that often go unaccounted for,” he added.
As I explored the building, I found communal toilets and showers that played classical music, as well as vending machines at the reception with snacks, drinks, slippers and eye masks, among other items.
I went out for dinner and since Oxford Circus, Leicester Square and Covent Garden were all within walking distance it wasn’t hard to entertain myself.
Zedwell Capsule Hotel is located in London’s Piccadilly Circus.
Sawdah Bhaimiya
Workers return to the city
During my stay at the hotel, I discovered that I was one of many professionals working in the building. I saw a few guests arriving in suits, ties, and carrying briefcases. In fact, one chef from Newcastle said he paid a total of £284 to stay at the hotel for two weeks while he was working in London.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many office workers in London have moved from the city, where it is cheaper to rent or own a home, as remote and flexible working options become normal.
“The cost of transportation from Oxford and Cambridge, which are city centers that cannot be reached by the London Underground, is quite high.”
Halime Aziz
Criterion’s Head of Hotels
A 2021 report from City Hall said it was likely London’s population fell during the pandemic. The number of employees on payroll in London has fallen sharply by around 210,000 as of November 2020; The report stated that flexible working arrangements make it easier to travel out of town.
This trend has continued, with 43% of commuters living more than 30 minutes from their workplace in the UK by 2022, reflecting high property prices in central areas, according to a report by commercial property firm. CBRE More than 20,000 people were surveyed worldwide.
Additionally, CBRE found that 41% of people worldwide plan to move further afield within the next two years, either in the same city or a different city.
However, there was a major decline in remote work offers in 2025. Companies following return to duty orders From HSBC in London to JPMorgan, Amazon, Salesforce and John Lewis.
A typical dormitory inside the Zedwell Capsule Hotel, with about a dozen capsules inside.
Sawdah Bhaimiya
Zedwell’s Aziz said one of the hotel’s core demographics consists of young professionals and hybrid workers who use the Zedwell as a “base in the city” because of their flexible work patterns that require them to be in the office several days a week. About 20% of the hotel’s customers are corporate employees, Aziz said.
“The cost of transportation from Oxford and Cambridge, city centers that cannot be accessed by the London Underground system, is quite high,” he said. “Our product is often cheaper than a commute to work or a late-night trip home.”
The imperative to return to the office has left workers who don’t live in cities scrambling to find cheap ways to stay in the city without having to resort to unattractive options like hostels.
“We determined that in places where they wouldn’t traditionally consider a hostel product, they would actually consider a capsule hotel because it provided privacy,” Aziz added.
As a Londoner, my journey to and from the office takes just over 30 minutes, so the hotel doesn’t offer much convenience for me, but I can see it being attractive for those living away from the city.
When I woke up in the morning, I almost forgot that I wasn’t in my bed at home. After a quick shower, I got ready in my pod and headed out to join the crowds of commuters in central London.
