At last, an affordable but stylish hotel right in the middle of New York. We check out a cunningly designed 'cabin' at the new Yotel

Win a trip for two to New York

It's a seriously sweltering New York afternoon as I limp gratefully off the street into the slick, glass-fronted Yotel. In stark, cool contrast to the hectic, less-than-lovely corner of 10th Avenue and 42nd Street outside, the airy lobby feels like the Starship Enterprise. To my left, a bank of airport-style touch-screen check-in machines; to my right, the Yobot, 18m of hydraulic arm guarding a giant wall of left-luggage lockers.

The baggage beast is at rest, but the smartly attired staff, six of them in Star Trek-issue grey and purple uniforms, bid me a cheery welcome, and Julio, "my" doorman, ushers me to the self-service screens. Too many unexpected items in the bagging areas at Sainsbury's have made me suspicious of unmanned automation, but Julio is on hand to help, and the machine digests my details and spits out a room key.

I must admit to having had reservations about the place. Yotel is the brainwave of Yo! Sushi supremo Simon Woodroffe, and his business partner, CEO Gerard Greene. The idea came to Woodroffe in 2007 after he was bumped up to first class on a flight and decided to try combining the clever use of space in Japanese pod hotels with the luxury elements of first-class air travel. Three smaller airport Yotels have proved successful at Heathrow, Gatwick and Amsterdam's Schiphol, but the $315m New York outpost, which opened last week, is the pair's first city venture, and with 669 "cabin" rooms over 27 floors of "affordable luxury", it's no minor undertaking.

It's in a plum spot in Midtown, two blocks from Port Authority bus station (handy for airport connections), three blocks from Times Square, and four blocks from the airy oasis of Bryant Park and the ringing tills of Fifth Avenue. Central Park, the galleries and museums are a 30-minute stroll (or a $7 cab ride) away; even SoHo is just a 10-minute subway trip.

My premium cabin, the basic room, begins at $149 a night (plus tax), which is not to be sniffed at in a city where affordable accommodation is found only in far-flung boroughs or bed-bug-happy hostels. The boutique hotels generally begin at around $300 a night for a room built for a Borrower. For $149, I feared an airless, beach-hut-size hovel, but I'm pleasantly surprised. If I had a cat, I could certainly swing it. Yes, it is compact, at 12 square metres, but it's white and bright, with soft purple backlighting and a cunning use of space. The similarity to a Virgin upper-class cabin should probably not be surprising, since Soho (London) architects Softroom worked on both.

The queen-size motorised bed is stored upright, giving extra floor space in front of the wall-mounted flatscreen TV, and a tray-table is stowed away in the bed's armrest. There's a neat work desk, an office-style chair and small storage spots underneath the TV for keys, wallet, phone and other travel ephemera. The bathroom too ? though a little reminiscent of a clap clinic ? is well-designed, with a monsoon shower, square sink and sliding glass door to the toilet, to preserve modesty and mystique.

I stand five foot four on a tall day, so a compact cabin isn't an issue for me. So in the interests of thorough research ? and thorough research alone ? I invited a gentleman friend of greater stature to stop by and give me the verdict from his rather more lofty perspective. Even he found no need to fold himself up; once we'd located the button to get the bed into the flat position, he could happily stretch his full six foot four self out unfettered. If you're reading this, Mum, he kept one large foot on the floor at all times.

The only spatial issue is really that of storage: there's no wardrobe, just six hangers on two open hooks. Suitcases can be stashed away under the bed, but those heading to NYC to help the ailing American economy would struggle to store armfuls of Bloomingdale's bags.

Larger cabins are available, from the corner rooms (15 square metres and only $20 a night more), to the first-class cabins, some of which feature terraces, hot tubs and outdoor dining tables. Three VIP suites, starting at $1,500, are blingtastic shag-pads with fireplaces, pool tables and pumping sound systems.

Designed with the ethos of airline seating in mind, Yotels operate to a philosophy of functionality, so you won't find fripperies such as bathrobes, slippers or minibars in any of the rooms. Instead, there's free fast-connection Wi-Fi, complimentary continental breakfast, and guest fridges in the galley kitchens on each floor. There's no shortage of spacious public areas on the fourth floor, and the Studiyo has a cinema screen and yoga space. At night, these morph into social spaces for drinking, dining and hanging out.

Back down on the fourth floor terrace, the sun is setting over the Hudson river two blocks to the west, throwing a golden glow over the Gotham skyscrapers of Midtown. The Chrysler Building glitters to the east as we sink exceptionally good cocktails in New York's newest rooftop bar.

My leggy companion and I mop up a few mango and ginger martinis at the hotel's restaurant, Dohyo, named after the Japanese sumo wrestling ring, and where, like the cabin beds, the central bench tables are motorised, sinking into the wooden floor after service ends to form a dancefloor. The Asian-fusion menu is made up of small sharing plates ? pork belly tacos, spicy tuna sushi, seared scallops and salt-and-pepper calamari ? most priced between $6 and $12. With the atmosphere of an upmarket Wagamama, Dohyo deserves to be a destination in itself, particularly in this culinary dead-zone that is called (appropriately) Hell's Kitchen.

Sated from the sumo ring, I wander back upstairs to my lodgings, and draw the blackout blind. The six lanes of traffic outside are silent, thanks to the super-insulated windows. The thing that does disturb my dreams, unfortunately, is the incessant heavy slamming of other cabin doors along the corridor.

So the Yotel ain't the Ritz, but it isn't aiming to be. Give me a good location, a relaxed vibe and a reasonable price over a white-gloved waiter and a $40 breakfast surcharge any day. And give me another scrumptious mango martini as the sun sets over New York City.

? Virgin Atlantic (virgin-atlantic.com) flies from Heathrow to JFK from about £405 return

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jun/11/yotel-new-york-hotel-review

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Confused by haircuts, rollovers and bonds? Our jargon buster should help you get to grips with the Greek crisis

Most of us can't get far into any article about the Greek debt crisis before coming across several terms that sound like English but don't really make much sense. Yet rather than bothering to find out what they do mean ? it's just too much effort and we're not that interested ? we tend to assume we've vaguely got the gist of things. As a result, most of us still don't have a firm grasp on what is going on. So here's an idiot's guide to some common misunderstandings regarding recurring terms in the euro debate:

Greek debt haircut

This sounds like shorthand for: "We all know Greece is completely screwed so we'll knock a bit off their debt to make it look a bit less bad to give us some breathing space." Not so. The haircut is actually something the Greeks are proposing to give its creditors; it's basically a way of Greece getting banks/countries to write off some of their debt without anyone having to lose face by calling it a write-off. In other words, if some of the debt isn't written off, Greece threatens to go bankrupt thereby ensuring its creditors gets nothing. It's the kind of sweetheart deal you'd love to make with your own bank.

Debt rollover

This has connotations of a reverse Euro Lottery, with some unlucky bank ending up carrying the can for a Greek default. It's not that simple. Greece has many thousands of packages of debt ? the loans range from three months to 10 years ? with one coming up for repayment almost every day. Except Greece hasn't got the funds to repay the loan, nor is any bank daft enough to lend it any more. So rather than suffer a default, banks merely extend the loan for a longer period. Hence the rollover.

Euro bonds

Surely this must be some dodgy financial instrument designed to wave away the debt crisis at a stroke? Well, it might be if the euro bond actually existed, but there isn't a cat in hell's chance they ever will. Greece loves the idea of a euro bond because it basically mean the whole of the eurozone would be responsible for Greece's debt, not just Greece. Understandably the Germans are not keen. As the only solvent country in Europe, the Germans would end up underwriting everyone else's debt. And they aren't that stupid.

Sluggish growth

The implication of this is that things are basically going in the right direction, if a little slower than would have been ideal. That's what finance ministers and politicians want you to think. They want you to hear the word growth. Actually it's a whole lot worse than that. What it means is that the economy is almost stagnant and, with inflation running at over 4%, we're in the worst recession since the 1930s without the promise of a looming war at the end to kickstart growth. In short, it means the politicians don't have a clue what to do and it really is time to panic.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/21/european-debt-crisis-idiots-guide

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Homeowners will soon be able to apply for government vouchers as part of a £15m scheme to provide funding for 25,000 homes

Households will be able to apply for substantial grants towards the cost of renewable heating systems, worth up to £1,250 for the biggest installations, starting from August 1.

Biomass boilers burning wood pellets, solar thermal panels for hot water heating, and both air and ground source heat pumps can all be installed with the grants, taking the form of government vouchers. The £15m scheme is part of the ministers' renewable heat support plans, and will provide funding for up to 25,000 households.

The households to be targeted are the 4m in England, Wales and Scotland not already heated by mains gas, and who therefore tend to use heating oil or electric fires to heat their homes, both of which tend to be more expensive and can lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions. However, Northern Ireland ? where 70% of households use heating oil ? is not included in the plans.

The grants will be set at £1,250 for a ground source heat pump; £950 for a biomass boiler; £850 for an air source heat pump; and £300 for solar thermal water heaters. On average, this should work out at about 10% of the total cost of the equipment and installation.

Greg Barker, climate change minister, said: "We're making it more economical for people to go green by providing discounts on the cost of eco heaters. This should be great news for people who are reliant on expensive oil or electric heating as the premium payment scheme is really aimed at them. Getting money off an eco heater will not just cut carbon emissions, it will also help create a market in developing, selling and installing kit like solar thermal panels or heat pumps."

Applications must be made through the government-funded Energy Saving Trust, and only households that have already put in place basic energy efficiency measures will be eligible.

Landlords will also be encouraged to access the grants to improve their housing stock, with £3m of the £15m on offer set aside for them.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said research undertaken by the organisation had shown people valued having renewable heating installed. He said: "When people have the kit in their homes they really see the benefit. The main barrier that prevents people from taking the plunge is the up-front capital cost. This is a great start in overcoming this obstacle."

Once households have installed the renewable heating equipment, they may also receive further subsidy payments through the £860m renewable heat incentive when it is introduced next October, though this will depend on the detail of the scheme.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/21/renewable-energy-heating-grants

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