When Simon Woodroffe announced plans for 'pod hotels' at Heathrow and Gatwick, we admit we were more than a little sceptical. After all, this was a man known mainly for serving raw fish on tiny conveyor belts. But, so far, we've heard nothing but glowing reports for the Yotel, and now it looks like the trend for 'cheap chic', eco-friendly accomodation is really starting to take off.

The no frills hotel chain Qbic has recently opened up in Antwerp, Maastricht and Brussels, featuring state of the art accomodation squeezed into sleek but comfy rooms complete with mood lighting and Philippe Starck designed bathrooms.

While further afield, and slightly more upmarket, you can find the X2 Resort, Kui Buri on the Gulf of Thailand, which manages to combine the same unfussy elements and down-to-earth approach with classy, 'invisible' design elements like the villa walls, which are made of locally-quarried stone.