This blog was edited 2012-Jan-02 to correct a mistake about the upper and lower levels of terminal 3 and comment about the noise level.
Previously, in June/July 2009, when I traveled through India back and forth from the U.S. to Nepal, I had to wait several hours in a teeny-tiny, overcrowded, and stifling hot waiting room. This time, I was determined to find a more comfortable place to wait. I looked online at the Indira Gandhi Airport website, and found something called Sam's Snooze at My Space.
Previously, in June/July 2009, when I traveled through India back and forth from the U.S. to Nepal, I had to wait several hours in a teeny-tiny, overcrowded, and stifling hot waiting room. This time, I was determined to find a more comfortable place to wait. I looked online at the Indira Gandhi Airport website, and found something called Sam's Snooze at My Space.
I was able to check my bags in the U.S. all the way to my final destination of Kathmandu, Nepal. However, I was only able to print out boarding passes for my flights from the U.S. to France and from France to India. (Possibly because I switched from a 'codeshare' airline to a more regional airline for my final flight from Delhi to Kathmandu?) Therefore I knew that, even if for some reason I could not get to Terminal 3 (where my pod was waiting to ease me into sweet dreams), I could still stretch out on the floor somewhere. By using my carry-on bag as a pillow I would not have to worry about someone rolling away with my luggage while I was unconscious.
Thankfully, after arriving in Delhi at 1130pm one night in early November 2011, I did NOT have to go through immigration or pick up my bags from baggage claim. Instead I waited at the transfer desk where airline staff from my codeshare flight processed me, printed my boarding pass, and had me wait while they confirmed that my checked baggage was where it needed to be.
Thankfully, after arriving in Delhi at 1130pm one night in early November 2011, I did NOT have to go through immigration or pick up my bags from baggage claim. Instead I waited at the transfer desk where airline staff from my codeshare flight processed me, printed my boarding pass, and had me wait while they confirmed that my checked baggage was where it needed to be.
After about an hour wait (1230am the next morning), I was able to go into Terminal 3. Wow, what a beautiful space, the entrance passed through many duty free shops until you reach a two-level space with a food court, bookstores, a pharmacy, transit hotels, a bathroom and lounges; as you continue walking you reach a T-intersection with the long hallway of gates stretching to the left and right. When I asked some of the airport staff, they told me that this international terminal had been open for 2 years (so it must have been finishing up construction when I came through in 2009).
I followed signs for Sam's Snooze at My Space to Gate 17 and took out the printed copy of my receipt for my online reservation for 6 hours from 12am to 6am. After a few moments of organized confusion (apparently all of the pods just behind the desk were occupied), one of the two staff members at the desk escorted me to a golf cart for a free ride down the terminal to a different gate where I got my first look at the inside of a two bed 'pod' room. As we traveled we passed many people stretched out facing the windows with their backs to the large planters for support, or sleeping in the lounge chairs at various gates.
Inside the pod, I found the mattress comfortable and the fan useful (to circulate the air which was a little stale). The pod was located conveniently next to a women's restroom where I brushed my teeth and washed my face before taking a 5 hour nap. The noise level inside the pod was tolerable for a girl raised in a family of 6. However, the pods have no ceilings and the walls are probably not soundproofed, therefore I would recommend an eye mask and ear plugs for more rested sleep. Don't worry about not waking up -- the staff pounds on the door for your wake-up call 15 minutes before you need to leave the pod. When you wake up, you can eat cold leftovers from your food court meal out of the Pod's mini-fridge. As an alternative to sleeping, use the Pod to just relax in privacy with your own flatscreen T.V.
A staff member knocked on my door at 545am after I had already made a trip to the bathroom to wash up a little. With a new change of clothes I was ready for the final leg of my 3-day international flight.
I followed signs for Sam's Snooze at My Space to Gate 17 and took out the printed copy of my receipt for my online reservation for 6 hours from 12am to 6am. After a few moments of organized confusion (apparently all of the pods just behind the desk were occupied), one of the two staff members at the desk escorted me to a golf cart for a free ride down the terminal to a different gate where I got my first look at the inside of a two bed 'pod' room. As we traveled we passed many people stretched out facing the windows with their backs to the large planters for support, or sleeping in the lounge chairs at various gates.
Inside the pod, I found the mattress comfortable and the fan useful (to circulate the air which was a little stale). The pod was located conveniently next to a women's restroom where I brushed my teeth and washed my face before taking a 5 hour nap. The noise level inside the pod was tolerable for a girl raised in a family of 6. However, the pods have no ceilings and the walls are probably not soundproofed, therefore I would recommend an eye mask and ear plugs for more rested sleep. Don't worry about not waking up -- the staff pounds on the door for your wake-up call 15 minutes before you need to leave the pod. When you wake up, you can eat cold leftovers from your food court meal out of the Pod's mini-fridge. As an alternative to sleeping, use the Pod to just relax in privacy with your own flatscreen T.V.
A staff member knocked on my door at 545am after I had already made a trip to the bathroom to wash up a little. With a new change of clothes I was ready for the final leg of my 3-day international flight.
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