Inside the biggest sleep pod lounge at Dubai International Airport

With an area of about 600 square metres and capacity for 46 people, the biggest sleep lounge at Dubai International Airport has just made napping during transit easier.

The new facility, which is called "sleep 'n fly" and opened at Terminal 3 last month, consists of double, bunk and family cabins, FlexiSuite pods and power nap pods. It also offers business pods and Lounge Lite seats for passengers hoping to relax, get some work done or hold meetings ahead of their flight.

The National visited the newest lounge at concourse B, one of four sleep ‘n fly lounges at the airport. “We opened our first sleep lounge at concourse A of Terminal 3 in April 2017,” says Oliver Schulz, the managing director of Onground Hospitality, part of Airport Dimensions, which operates the sleep pod lounges.

“We've got another three premises at concourse C, at Terminal 1 in concourse D, and here we are today at concourse B, which is our new flagship lounge at DXB."

The lounges at concourse A and C at Terminal 3 can sleep 34 and 22 people respectively. The one at Terminal 1 in concourse D has a sleeping capacity of 19 people. Besides four lounges in Dubai, Airport Dimensions also operates a sleep pod lounge at Doha Hamad International Airport in Qatar.

The lounges are in the airport’s transit area. Guests must either be in transit or departing from Dubai in order to access them and must hold a boarding pass for a flight departing from Dubai International Airport.

Unlike regular hotels, you can pay by the hour with specific check-in and check-out time slots. The minimum duration of stay is one hour, but there’s no maximum. The newest lounge was built in an area previously used by Emirates as gate B16, Schulz explains. “It was decommissioned because of a new bus gate terminal which is right outside here, which no longer left any space for the aircraft to dock. We have happily occupied this space and repurposed it," he says.

“It's a very challenging shape because it's very long, up to 70 metres, and narrow. It’s an unusual and challenging layout. But I think it has turned out very beautiful.”

Lounge Lite seats and business pods
While the key focus of the lounges is to provide sleeping services, the newest has launched Lounge Lite. “Apart from a 46-bed sleep capacity in this particular location, we also have 14 Lounge Lite seats. We have four business pods for business travellers who need to get some privacy or maybe have a little meeting,” Schulz says.

The business pods come with foldable desks and charging points for electronic devices. With the press of a button, a divider can be removed and the pods can convert into a compact meeting room. All the guests have access to unlimited non-alcoholic beverages from the on-site bar. The Lounge Lite seats are currently selling on an introductory offer at Dh99 ($26.95) for three hours.

Power Nap Therapy pods
The lounge offers six Power Nap Therapy pods for guests on a quick transit. The maximum duration of stay in these is two hours.

“It is not just a regular pod or a bed, it comes with vibration technology built into the mattress. Every guest gets a noise-canceling headset. The vibration of the mattress goes in line with the music that people will be hearing through the headset,” he says. “It's a little bit like the Dubai Fountain where the water moves according to the music. In our case, the vibration of the mattress follows the sound of the music.”

Current prices start at $30 for a one-hour stay at the pods during the day. The night prices start from $35 an hour.

Double, Bunk and FlexiSuite pods
The FlexiSuite pod is similar to a first-class airline seat in a box. It is typically used for sleep, but passengers can use it for a meeting or just to have a private space. It comes with controls for adjusting the seat, separate air-conditioning, space for storing carry-on baggage and a sliding door. The current prices for a FlexiSuite pod start at $26 an hour during the day and $35 at night.

The double cabin is for a couple or two adults and an infant. The bunk cabin has two beds on top of each other without space for any further children. The family cabin can accommodate up to six people, including an infant and a small child. The prices for family cabins currently start at $123 for two hours. Bunk cabins and double cabins cost upwards of $78 for two hours. Shower access costs $20 for in-house guests and $25 for walk-ins.