ZzzleepandGo Venice Airport

For a nighttime layover, it did the job, even though I wasn’t expecting much from the online reviews. A pillow would have made it a lot better, and having a later checkout option would help. It was hardly noisy at all, since the pods are tucked into a quiet corner of the airport. An airport cleaner tried to stop me getting to the pod, saying that part of the airport was closed. He should mind his own business!

Most of the pods don’t work, and after I sent all the information they asked for, the company still wanted more. I couldn’t get into pod 4, so they moved me to another one. After two hours of sleep, the person originally booked in pod 1 woke me. We sorted it out, but I was supposed to be up at 4 in the morning, and I waited for him to get access to the other pod before going back to sleep. Then I found they’d locked me out of my pod with all my things inside. They hadn’t changed the lock on the right door, so they gave us the same code. I’m just glad the other person was really nice and not a weirdo. Never doing this again. What a joke. Don’t book if you’re a woman traveling alone.

I arrived at midnight, but none of the screens responded when I tried to get to the bed. I called the number in the email and got no answer, so I gave up. Luckily, a woman kept trying until she reached someone and got the entry code through WhatsApp. Thanks to her Italian persistence, she got the code for me too. It was 1:20 by the time I could get in and go to sleep. If you know you only have five hours to sleep, getting just 3.5 hours because of this is not what you want.

Even a fifth of a star would feel too generous. I chose the pod for its location, but couldn’t get in after more than four hours of calls and online messages. The WiFi password they advertised didn’t work, so I had to walk across the lobby to connect to airport WiFi. Their passport-photo upload link also failed every time I tried, and they wouldn’t accept a photo of my ID sent directly. The “shared bathroom” is past security, and a shower costs an extra 50 €. Customer service was terrible, and I ended up sleeping on the floor by the pods, where it was loud. I could hear everything from inside them, so I assume they aren’t soundproof either, if I’d managed to get in. I’m still waiting for a refund.