Capsule Hotels

MyCUBE Nagano takes the capsule format and gives it a little more room than the standard. Units are enclosed cabins rather than moulded pods, with a solid door instead of a curtain or shutter, a mattress at proper bed height, and enough headroom to sit up without negotiating.

Bathing is communal, in the Japanese style, with a bathhouse on site. Luggage lives in lockers near reception, and the floors are separated by gender. The arrangement is familiar to anyone who has used a business hotel in Japan, and it keeps the private space small on purpose.

Nagano is the practical reason most guests are there. The station sits within reach on foot, the approach road to Zenko-ji temple runs north from it, and the Hakuba and Shiga Kogen ski areas are reachable by bus. A stay here tends to be one or two nights between other things.

Every room at citizenM Vienna is the same size, and that is the business model. A wall-to-wall bed, a glass shower cylinder, blackout blinds and lighting all run from a tablet — no desk, no wardrobe, no upgrade tier. What you lose in square metres comes back as a lower rate and a faster check-in.

The compensation is downstairs. The ground floor is given over to a large, deliberately furnished living room with mismatched seating, long tables, bookshelves and a bar that runs from breakfast through to late. Guests are expected to work, eat and linger there rather than in the rooms.

Vienna's branch sits close to the Prater, with U-Bahn access to the Ringstrasse in a few stops. It suits short city stays where the room is a place to sleep and the city is the itinerary.

Compact does not have to mean stripped back. The Nadler Soho runs small rooms, but each one includes a mini-kitchen — sink, microwave, fridge, kettle, crockery — which changes how long guests are willing to stay. A week here behaves differently from a week in a conventional room of the same size.

There is no restaurant and no room service. The hotel's position is that Soho already supplies both, and the saving is passed to the rate. Staff at the desk will point you at what is open; that is the extent of the food operation.

Location does the heavy lifting. Carlisle Street is a quiet turning off Soho Square, a few minutes from Oxford Street in one direction and the theatres of Shaftesbury Avenue in the other. Rooms face either the street or an internal light well, and the quieter ones are worth asking about.