Review: Yotelair Amsterdam Schiphol – Convenient Transit Hotel

In a nutshell: the Yotelair Amsterdam Schiphol doesn’t offer much space, but it provides the essentials for the transit traveler who simply needs a place to sleep. Given the price, I’d much prefer an actual hotel. However, it you’re short on time or cannot enter the Netherlands, it is an option. 

After visiting Istanbul for three days in September, I started my journey back to the U.S. with KLM. The afternoon flight out of Istanbul had me arriving in Amsterdam in the evening, well past when flights depart for the west coast. This was the cheapest award ticket I could find (and also didn’t require a super early morning departure from IST), but it did mean I had to book a transit hotel.

As I couldn’t enter the Netherlands, I thought this would be an issue. However, there are a couple transit hotels at AMS, including the Yotelair Amsterdam Schiphol. It is located within the international transit area, which makes it easy for travelers with an extended layover. It’s also invaluable during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the country entry restrictions.

Booking Yotelair Amsterdam Schiphol

The Yotelair Amsterdam Schiphol turned out to be a bit more expensive than I initially thought it would be. Rates went up between the time I booked my flight and when I booked the hotel. A standard ‘cabin’ cost €140.00 before taxes. 

Booking online directly through Yotelair Amsterdam Schiphol is easy. You do need to provide both your arrival time and departure time in addition to the date. Yotelair rents the rooms out by the hour as well.

Getting to the Yotelair at AMS

I arrived into the E Pier (non-Schengen gates) at Amsterdam Schiphol and made my way to the main terminal area. The Amsterdam main terminal is roughly divided into three ‘lounges’, and the Yotelair is on the mezzanine level of lounge 2. I’ve passed through AMS only a few times, and I’ve always thought of this as pretty much the middle of the airport.

Heading up the pictured escalator to the mezzanine level will take you pretty much straight to the Yotelair Amsterdam. Just keep left.

Check-in was uneventful and I was sent down the hall to my cabin. I cannot decide if they are trying to go more for a ship or spacecraft feel.

Yotelair ‘Cabin’

Check-in was uneventful, and I was soon on my way to the Yotelair ‘cabin’. That’s right, they aren’t even called rooms. And for good reason, since they are tiny. It’s definitely more like a cabin on a ship than a hotel.

The Yotelair cabin is maybe 60 square feet. All the essentials are provided, including a single bed, TV, toilet, sink, shower, and even a desk/table. It’s as compact as possible and yet entirely functional. There are both upper and lower bunk options. My cabin had a lower bunk. The adjacent cabin would have an upper bunk directly over mine.

The television is small and at the end of the bed. There is also a phone and the climate control next to the bed. “Mission Control” is Yotelair’s name for the front desk. That settles it. They’re going for spacecraft.

The desk was entirely functional, although the seat could be better. Since a chair would obviously fill the entire room, Yotelair provides a foldable stool. One of the nicest features was the set of different international outlets provided. I’d forgotten my adapter and made do borrowing from the each hotel in Istanbul during the trip. Yotelair provides type B, type F, and type G outlets, which covers the U.S. and Canada, Europe, and the UK. There are also USB outlets.

The bathroom at the Yotelair is comically small. You have a tiny sink to the side of the room and the toilet in one corner. In the other corner is the shower. But it does the job.

There is also a tiny window to the outside world, also known as the hallway.

I slept well in my cabin, not minding the limited space. My flight out wasn’t until around noon, but I did provide a morning check-out time of 9:00 AM as I knew I would want to spend some time in the KLM lounge and photographing airplanes.

If you need drinks or snacks, the hotel has a limited number of items available for purchase. You obviously have all the AMS airport dining options.

Final Thoughts on the Yotelair Amsterdam

Per square foot, this is definitely the most I have ever spent on a hotel room. For what you get in terms of comforts, €140 is incredibly steep. The cabins provide the essentials, but no more. However, you’re also still within the transit area and staying at the Yotelair Amsterdam Schiphol keeps you from having to exit through immigration and re-enter the airport. It’s definitely convenient. My gate was a 10-minute walk from the airport.

Given the price, I will do my best to avoid the Yotelair in the future. I’d definitely prefer an actual hotel. But if I was again in a similar situation where I could not enter the country or had a limited number of hours to sleep between flights, I’d certainly consider it again.