Capsule Hotels

First Cabin borrowed its idea from long-haul flights. Cabins come in sizes named after airline classes, and even the smaller ones let you stand up, which a stacked pod never does. A blind closes the front; luggage goes in a locker.

This branch sits a few minutes from the Tsukiji Outer Market, so breakfast can be grilled fish at a counter at seven. Ginza is a walk away. Floors are generally split by gender, and bathing and washing facilities are shared. Expect order, quiet and very little wasted space.

• Airline-style cabins
• Near Tsukiji Outer Market
• Shared bathing
• Walk to Ginza

Pangea opened in 2017 in the middle of Whistler Village. The sleeping space is a pod: a private berth with its own curtain, reading light and storage, set inside a shared room.

Everything else is generous. Bathrooms are shared, but showers and toilets sit in separate private rooms. There's a living room downstairs and a rooftop patio for summer evenings. Gear matters in Whistler, so bikes and skis get proper storage. The lifts and trails are a short walk from the door.

• Sleeping pods
• Whistler Village
• Rooftop patio
• Bike and ski storage

Strictly, this isn't a capsule hotel. It earns a place anyway, because it applies capsule thinking to a studio. Rooms are compact and carefully planned, with a small kitchen, a work surface and storage fitted into a tight footprint.

Location does the rest. The building stands on the north bank of the Thames, close to the Millennium Bridge. St Paul's is a few minutes uphill; Tate Modern is across the water. A café and shared spaces downstairs make it workable for longer stays.

• Compact studios
• Kitchenettes
• Thames riverside
• Near St Paul's