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Spending a night inside an airport is not something many travellers experience but it can happen when flights get cancelled or connections are long. Rahul Mathur, a Bengaluru-based investor, recently shared his overnight stay experience at Delhi’s Terminal 3 on X. In his post, Rahul explained that his flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco got cancelled. “My BLR-SFO flight yesterday got cancelled – so I instead flew BLR-DEL and now I’m boarding DEL-SFO,” he wrote. With a layover of around 13 hours from 8 PM to 9 AM, he decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Express which is the only hotel located inside the T3 terminal. This badminton court is inside Delhi’s T3 building – I discovered this because I stayed overnight inside the terminal yesterday: My BLR-SFO flight yesterday got cancelled – so I instead flew BLR-DEL and now I’m boarding DEL-SFO – but the layover was ~13 hours (from 8PM to 9AM)… pic.twitter.com/eWHHAKbazJ — Rahul Mathur (@Rahul_J_Mathur) November 6, 2025 Staying Inside T3 In Delhi The hotel is unique because it allows travellers to remain within the airport building. Rahul mentioned that the experience was “quite a strange experience.” He highlighted that the hotel has around 90 rooms spread across the international and domestic wings. The rooms are available in standard size only which are roughly 21 square feet. He noted, “At the price point I paid – you’d typically get a 40+ sq.ft hotel in Gurgaon with 5-star amenities.” Despite the smaller room size, Mathur noted that the amenities were “decent” including a good shower and the ability to order food directly to the room. One key point Rahul shared was, “You cannot exit the hotel except at the time of check-out.” The hotel has approx. 90 rooms across the international & domestic wing. Sharing a few points: (1) My room was quite small (there is only a standard size) – it was ~21 square feet – and at the price point I paid – you’d typically get a 40+ sq.ft hotel in Gurgaon (with 5 star… pic.twitter.com/QBCjfJVlzh — Rahul Mathur (@Rahul_J_Mathur) November 6, 2025 Gym, Badminton Court And Restaurant Experience Rahul explored the hotel’s facilities during his stay. He did a quick 30-minute run on the treadmill which overlooks the airport tarmac. “You can see flights take off & land – and you can see the NH-48 road. It was quite a fun run,” he added. He also discovered that the hotel has a badminton court inside the terminal that serves as a recreational option for guests. “The hotel even has a 24 hour restaurant – it serves breakfast in the morning – since I booked via AMEX I ended up getting free breakfast (better than what I’d get in the lounge after immigration),” Rahul continued. I did a quick 30 min run a few hours back – the treadmills overlook the airport tarmac – you can see flights take off & land – and you can see the NH-48 road The hotel even has a 24 hour restaurant – it serves breakfast in the morning – since I booked via AMEX I ended up getting… pic.twitter.com/YaXwVtqq0I — Rahul Mathur (@Rahul_J_Mathur) November 6, 2025 Room View And Surroundings The hotel rooms vary in terms of view. Rahul stayed in a room overlooking the main check-in area at T3. He described it as having “a silent buzzing noise in the background, despite really good sound suppression in the room.” Other rooms in different wings mainly look into the terminal building. “So, there is no real view from this hotel (except from the restaurant and gym),” Rahul said. Now, the strangest part: My room overlooked the main check-in area at T3 – so there was a silent buzzing noise in the background (despite really good sound suppression in the room) The rooms in the other wing look into the terminal building – so there is no real view from this… pic.twitter.com/DMWzfUbG1H — Rahul Mathur (@Rahul_J_Mathur) November 6, 2025 Convenience For Travellers Rahul emphasised the convenience factor for travellers on connecting flights. The hotel is located before immigration which means people can save time by avoiding long walks after clearing security. Overall, this was an interesting (hopefully once in a lifetime) experience for me – the flight disruption yesterday was annoying – had to re-schedule lots of meetings! Imp: If you’re on a connecting flight in from DEL – it is a long walk inside the terminal building – the… — Rahul Mathur (@Rahul_J_Mathur) November 6, 2025 The cost of staying at the hotel, inclusive of GST, was approximately Rs 17,000 which he noted is comparable to 5-star options nearby once travel costs are factored in.
