New Eaton Smart transit hotel to open in Delhi Airport Terminal 3

It's a busy time at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Not only can you get to the airport in 20 minutes from the centre of Delhi with the new metro rail link, but the main international terminal 3 will play host to India's first transit hotel.

Hong Kong-based Langham Hotels is opening a mid-range Eaton Smart hotel offering 93 rooms inside the terminal itself later this month.

The hotel itself is split across the domestic and international wings on level 5 in Terminal 3, which is the newest terminal at Delhi Airport. 

36 of the rooms will be accessible from the domestic wing of the terminal (but only to passengers with valid tickets).

Over in the international wing, 57 rooms will be available for passengers who have cleared outbound customs or who are in transit.

Rooms can be reserved overnight or in blocks of five hours, which will cost roughly half the overnight rate.

"Aqua Pods", which are what the hotel calls its shower rooms, can be reserved for an hour or more, allowing business travellers with shorter connections to use the hotel's fitness centre to get the blood flowing again after a long flight.

Despite continuing hotels' odd fixation with glass-walled bathrooms, the rooms look ideal for a quick visit -- open entryways with enough space for luggage, a flat-screen TV, desk and either queen or twin beds, decorated in muted tan and wood tones.

There's also a business centre in both the domestic and international wings of the hotel.

With many flights to and from Delhi arriving at deeply unsocial times, business travellers can catch some sleep, freshen up and connect to domestic flights or arrive in central Delhi ready for the day's work.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.